Western Front

10/13/2026

Join us for Joda Clément's 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 premiering Saturday, Oct 17, 2026 at 8:00 p.m.

In development since 2021, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 draws on recordings made at Beaver Lake in Stanley Park, translating relationships among pitch, amplitude, timbre, and duration into a performance framework. Rather than reproducing a sonic environment, Clément considers how sound behaves in relation to space, site, and listening to aks: under what conditions do observed phenomena become legible as compositional material?

Twelve local musicians perform a 100-minute durational score of sustained tones, gradual pitch movement, silence, and extended listening. Arranged as three staggered quartets, the performance explores the relationships between silence and simultaneity.

A performance by Joda Clément and twelve local musicians.

09/30/2026

Join us for a free talk by curator Suzy Halajian on Oct 7, 2026 at 3:30 p.m. at Emily Carr University of Art + Design

Halajian’s curatorial practice explores how ideas develop through time, relationships, and sustained attention. As Executive Director & Chief Curator of JOAN, she brings exhibitions into dialogue with film, performance, publishing, and discursive practices.

She will discuss her ongoing collaboration with artist Saodat Ismailova, including 𝘖𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 currently on view at Western Front, as well as 𝘈 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴, an independent curatorial and publishing project that traces racialized and gendered relationships between bodies and land.

Presented with Art Forums at Emily Carr University of Art + Design and Fillip, with support from the Audain Foundation.

09/24/2026

Saodat Ismailova’s first Vancouver exhibition, 𝘖𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, brings together two films, 𝘔𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘯 (2024) and 𝘛𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘯 (2026), exploring light as a political and spiritual force through which history, memory, and myth are continually remade.

Rooted in the layered histories of Central Asia, Ismailova’s work draws on oral traditions and cosmologies to trace ancestral knowledge that persists through political and environmental upheaval.

𝘖𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 is on view at Western Front until November 28, 2026.
Free admission.

Western Front is a non-profit multidisciplinary artist-run centre located in Vancouver.

07/13/2026

Performance by Stina Fors
Jul 25, 2026, 7:30 p.m.
Admission by donation

Western Front is pleased to present 𝘈𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘦, 𝘗𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘢, the second of two performances by artist-in-residence Stina Fors. The work emerges from Fors’s research into the ancient Greek figure of the Pythia, the fabled soothsayer at the Temple of Apollo who delivered cryptic prophecies that compelled seekers to confront their own truths.

In the hour-long performance, Fors embodies the Pythia, seated with her ventriloquist dummy—a puppet who can say what she cannot. Working with ventriloquism as both an extended vocal technique and a historical system, Fors questions where the voice comes from, who it belongs to, and what bodies it is allowed to pass through.

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/answer-me-pythia-tickets-1993169621994?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

07/09/2026

Performance by Stina Fors
Jul 15, 2026, 7:30 p.m.
At Boombox, 44 W 4th Ave, Vancouver
Admission by donation

Western Front and Boombox are pleased to present 𝘚𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦, the one-woman punk band of choreographer, performance artist, and our upcoming artist-in-residence, Stina Fors.

𝘚𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 combines explosive drumming and extended vocal techniques—forming death growls, overtone screams, and grotesque spoken-word monologues—into visceral, site-responsive performances. No recordings of her music exist, and no two performances are ever the same, with everything unfolding in the moment. What emerges is an improvisational field of sound and presence, charged with tension, humour, magnetism, and raw energy.

This is an intimate performance with capacity for 30 people, we encourage booking in advance: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/stina-force-tickets-1993159855783?aff=oddtdtcreator

07/05/2026

📣 OPEN CALL FOR MUSICIANS 🎶

Western Front is seeking twelve musicians to participate in 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵, a new work by Vancouver-based sound artist and composer Joda Clément.

The project investigates a simple question: under what conditions do observed phenomena become legible as compositional material?

Using recordings made at Beaver Lake in Stanley Park, the project translates relationships of pitch, amplitude, timbre, and duration into a performance framework for an ensemble. Arranged as three quartets, the selected musicians will use a score to realize a system of sustained tones, gradual pitch movement, and long-duration listening. The final performance will be 100 minutes in duration.

Selected participants will receive a $650 honorarium.

Who should apply:
Participants must be able to produce a continuous, unbroken tone for one minute or longer, and move between pitches without interrupting the sound. All sound producing means are welcome, including acoustic, electronic, and extended techniques.

Schedule:
Aug 8, 2 - 3 p.m. | Online introduction
Aug 22, Sep 5 or 19, 1 - 4 p.m. | One rehearsal (assigned by quartet)
Oct 3, 6 - 9 p.m. | Full ensemble rehearsal (mandatory)
Oct 17, 6 - 10 p.m. | Performance (mandatory)

The rehearsal and performance take place at Western Front.

Application Deadline: July 24, 2026

See the link below for further info and application details.

Western Front is a non-profit multidisciplinary artist-run centre located in Vancouver.

06/16/2026

Performance Installation by Angel Bat Dawid
Jun 19, 2026, 6:30 & 8:30 p.m.
By donation (Suggested $15 - $35)

Western Front is pleased to present a new performance installation by Angel Bat Dawid, developed as part of our artist-in-residence program.

The work is inspired by the life of Henry “Box” Brown, who in 1849 subverted chattel slavery by mailing himself from Virginia to Philadelphia inside in a three by two by two-and-a-half feet wooden crate. Brown’s act of survival and self-determination launched him into a remarkable public life as a magician, illusionist, preacher, and performing artist. Dawid’s work reclaims his legacy and draws on the tradition of the “hush harbor”—secluded gathering spaces where enslaved people practiced liberatory spiritual worship and political resistance. In the work, live ritual, projection, sculpture, and original composition form what Dawid calls a “contemporary sanctuary of emancipation.”

05/20/2026

Western Front is pleased to take part in The Vancouver Heritage Foundation’s annual Heritage Discovery Day, happening this year in the Mount Pleasant and Riley Park neighbourhoods on Saturday, June 6, from 10 am–5 pm.

Join a day of exploration across nine curated heritage properties, offering a rare opportunity to step inside and discover the layered stories behind their architecture, design, and history—including a visit to our own building!

More info and tickets here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/vancouverheritagefoundation/2090103

We hope to see you there.

Our Heritage Discovery Day is taking place June 6th from 10am-5pm in the neighbourhoods of Mount Pleasant and Riley Park!🎉

Take a look at the THIRD stop on our 2026 tour:

🏠Western Front | Places That Matter Site

This three-storey wooden building was constructed in 1922 as a lodge hall for the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal organization founded on the principles of friendship, charity, and benevolence.

Register to learn more and visit this heritage site in-person: https://www.vancouverheritagefoundation.org/events/heritage-discovery-day/

Thank you to our Presenting Sponsor, Equitable Real Estate Investment Corp Ltd.👏

📸 cred: Martin Knowles

05/19/2026

Reading and talk by Anakana Schofield with Caitlin Jones
Jun 13, 2026, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Free admission.

Western Front is pleased to present an afternoon with the writer Anakana Schofield to launch her latest novel 𝘓𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘭 (Knopf Canada, 2026). Loosely inspired by the architecture and atmosphere of Western Front’s own building, the novel imagines a precarious and unruly space shaped by labour, care, and collective survival.

The event will begin with a conversation with curator, cultural worker, and writer Caitlin Jones, and will be followed by a reading from the book by Schofield.

Copies of 𝘓𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘭 will be available for purchase at the event from Pulpfiction Books. Tea, coffee, and light refreshments will be available.

05/13/2026

Read Robert Kuang's review of our current exhibition, "Magic Show" by Rosamunde Bordo, now online at Stir Vancouver.

Multilayered exhibition of video and handcrafted works at Western Front blends detective tales and esoteric rituals to create an ongoing, genre-defying form of storytelling