Tag Archives: Poetry

Under the Shade of the Lotus Tree: Pari Azarm Motamedi and Rozita Moini Shirazi

September 23 – December 9, 2023

Legacy Downtown | 630 Yates St.
Lekwungen territory

Under the Shade of the Lotus Tree: Pari Azarm Motamedi and Rozita Moini Shirazi is an exhibition that delves into the deep impact of leaving one’s homeland and the need for a connection to one’s roots. This show explores the power of Persian poetry as a foundation of cultural preservation and self-expression via the works of Persian-Canadian artists Pari Azarm Motamedi and Rozita Moini Shirazi. Motamedi and Moini Shirazi expertly translate and modernize classic Persian symbols, and stories, uncovering hidden messages in poems and tackling socio-political challenges in their nation. These artists inspire us to consider the complications of displacement and the everlasting value of art in bridging cultural barriers with powerful vision and elegant brushwork.

Explore the Under the Shade of the Lotus Tree 3D virtual exhibition.

Organized by the West Vancouver Art Museum.
Curated by Hilary Letwin and Anahita Ranjbar. 

Image: Rozita Moini Shirazi, The Valley of Unity (detail), 2022. 

Shakespeare’s “Big Books”

Detail of a portrait of William Shakespeare

Detail of a portrait of William Shakespeare

September 21 – October 23, 2013

Legacy Small Gallery

Curated by Dr. Janelle Jensted and Dr. Erin E. Kelly

Click here to read more about the University of Victoria’s celebration of the Bard.

The Shakespeare First Folio (First Collected edition of his plays) is one of the Western world’s best-known and most iconic books. Discover why these folios have held people’s fascination through the centuries and enjoy and opportunity to see all four 17th century folios together for the first time in BC.

This exhibition was part of the Shakespeare Onstage-Offstage community celebration of the Bard. View the Shakespeare Onstage—Offstage brochure here and learn more about the events here.

Macbeth: A Civil War of the Mind

Wade Stout
Wade Stout

April 3 – May 31, 2008

Legacy Maltwood (at Mearns Centre – McPherson Library)

This exhibit features the paintings of Wade Stout and his unique representations of Shakespeare’s Macbeth from an artist’s viewpoint. Combining classical drama, Tarot, mythology and the culture of the early 17th century with modern symbolism, he recreates an accessible Shakespeare that spans layers of meaning and media.

Stout explores three layers of meaning by Shakespeare: concept, character and plot. The background allegory of Macbeth is a war within families, making references to biblical stories such as King Saul and King David. We sympathize with this anti-hero while he loses the battle for his soul.

Beauty in the Rocks: Photographs by David Baird

Ammonities Graveyard #2 - Drumheller, Alberta, David Baird, n.d.

Ammonities Graveyard #2 – Drumheller, Alberta, David Baird, n.d.

April 11 – May 4, 2006

Legacy Maltwood (at Mearns Centre – McPherson Library)

An exhibit of 30 photographs by David Baird with accompanying poetry. Beauty in the Rocks is comprised of select images from Baird’s years of world travel as a record of his research. Dr. David Baird’s contribution to geology includes mapping the geological history of Newfoundland, and founding the National Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa.

The Chapman Group

March 30 – April 29, 1999

McPherson Library Gallery

A gathering of young artists who gather weekly to work on creative endeavors. Their show consists of the work of seven of the group’s members and includes paintings, drawings, sculptures, poems and a stage set design.

About the Chapman Group: The Chapman Group was started by J. Gordaneer and R.C. Lorens in order to develop a system of critical analysis that would allow for articulated and consistent criteria on the subject of art. With this criteria, the artist could develop an individual style that would be founded on stable methodological considerations.

Painted Words

March 28 – April 24, 1994

Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery

The story of an artist, Lillian Dyck, and a poet, Bill Harrington, who both have Parkinson’s Disease. This show is a story of their creative journey to spiritual healing. The exhibit contains humour as well as hope, joy and faith. It is an honest portrayal of the pain, fear, anger and desperation of coping with disease.

Drawings from the Newborn

December 3, 1985 – January 3, 1986

McPherson Library Gallery

The exhibition featured a reading and an exhibition by Heather Spears. The exhibit  included drawings of newborn children from a large Danish hospital. The series included 51 drawings and 20 poems.

About the Artist:

Heather Spears is a Canadian poet and artist. She was living in Denmark when she produced this series of poems and drawings of newborn children.

Yves Vial Collage

July 4 – July 25, 1983

McPherson Library Gallery

The two groups of works presented are results of Yves Vial collaborating with other artists. Vial’s illustrations were inspired by Robin Skelton’s poetry, and Michael Butor’s text was inspired by Vials’s collages.

About the Artist:

Yves Vial was born in France in 1954 and studied art in both France and Canada.

Similar Exhibitions

The Maltwood Collection

Katherine Maltwood, at work on Magna Matter. London, c.1910

Katherine Maltwood, at work on Magna Matter. London, c.1910.

March 11 – April 15, 1978

University Centre

View the online catalogue:

The Maltwood Collection – Catalogue

On April 2, 1901 Katherine Sapsworth married John Maltwood, an advertising manager, whose not inconsiderable fortune enabled her to devote her entire life to travel, collecting, writing and sculpture. After John Maltwood’s retirement from business in 1921, she and her husband made extensive tours of the Middle East, India, China, Korea and both North and South America. As a result, the diverse range of the Maltwood Collection began to develop. In 1938 the couple decided to leave England and settle in Victoria, B.C. They purchased the house at Royal Oak, formerly a restaurant called “The Thatch” and here the Maltwoods arranged their sizeable collection, including Mrs. Maltwood’s own sculptures and the many items associated with her antiquarian interests. Mrs. Maltwood died in 1961, bequeathing the house, her collection, and an endowment to the University of Victoria. Her husband died in 1967.