This weekend, the South Asian Arts Society’s sixth annual Monsoon Festival of Performing Arts, comes online from August 1 – 31.
“In 2016, we launched the Monsoon Festival of Performing Arts to provide South Asian artists with a platform on which to showcase their creative work, and to share their talents with a broad audience. This year we’re excited to again present our festival online with a range of remarkable artists presenting and performing in some amazing music, dance, informational and participatory events – as well as a special partnership with the Punjabi Market Regeneration Collective. We invite everyone to join us!,” says South Asian Arts Society Executive Director and Monsoon Festival Producer, Gurpreet Sian.
Running throughout the month of August, the festival celebrates South Asian art in the world, offering a diverse program including music and dance performance, panel discussions, a marketplace of visual art, dance classes, development workshops and more.
The event schedule features:
Monsoon Marketplace
Throughout the entire run of the Monsoon Festival, visit monsoonartsfest.ca/marketplace to view the work of a range of talented visual artists, each offering four works for sale.
Monsoon Music Night
Livestreaming on Monsoon Festival’s Facebook and YouTube on Sunday, August 15 starting at 5pm the power of sounds from around the world – India, Africa, Japan and Cuba – all coming together as one!
Monsoon Talks – Artist Panel Discussion
On Sunday, August 22 starting at 5pm, the festival hosts an intimate and honest conversation, live on Facebook and YouTube, about the trials, tribulations, and successes of the artistic process with the artists involved in the Murals in the Market public art project.
Sunday Funday Dance Lessons
Every Sunday mornings in August, Monsoon presents an opportunity for folks to burn off some calories and learn some dance moves with FREE dance lessons, on ZOOM, led by renowned dance artists performing in a variety of styles.
Workshop Wednesdays
Monsoon’s free community-based development workshops offer excellent opportunities for people to immerse themselves in the artistic process. It’s a chance to learn valuable skills from accomplished industry professionals in a variety of disciplines.
Murals in the Market
Murals in the Market is the Punjabi Market Regeneration Collective’s initiative to help facilitate storytelling along with discussions on racism and discrimination through public art. By collaborating with local BIPOC artists, they are presenting a series of murals in the Punjabi Market
The murals are scheduled for completion by August 10, 2021, when they will be accessible to the general public for viewing around the Punjabi Market on Main St. between 48th & 51st Ave
For the full list of event, performances, artists’ bios and to register for online events, visit monsoonartsfest.ca