Drift: Art and Dark Matter is a residency and exhibition project generated by Agnes Etherington Art Centre, the Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute and SNOLAB. Four artists of national and international stature were invited to make new work while engaging with physicists, chemists and engineers contributing to the search for dark matter at SNOLAB’s facility in Sudbury, two kilometres below the surface of the Earth.

Please join us for the opening of Drift: Art and Dark Matter with a performance-conversation by artists Denise Ferreira da Silva and Jol Thoms. Ferreira da Silva and Thoms will touch on intersections between Soot Breath / Corpus Infinitum (2020) and n-Land (2021), both of which will play throughout the evening on the Belkin Screen.

Resources related to the artists in Drift: Art and Dark Matter. This list is not exhaustive, but rather comprised of suggested readings compiled by researchers at the Belkin. These readings are intended to provide additional context for the exhibition and act as springboards for further research or questions stemming from the exhibition, artists and works involved.

We were delighted to once again welcome the UBC Contemporary Players to the Belkin for a concert inspired by the exhibition Drift: Art and Dark Matter. Led by director Paolo Bortolussi, this graduate and undergraduate student ensemble from the UBC School of Music drifted through the gallery, creating a unique response to themes of the exhibition. For the first time this year’s concert featured graphic scores created by composition students and interpreted by the players in the ensemble.   

This fall, the Belkin's Outdoor Screen sets a number of works in relation to one another, drawing associations between the exhibition in the gallery, the longterm artist's residency in the Outdoor Art program and the affinities to be found with research partners on campus. Installed in the summer of 2021, the 4x2 metre digital screen extends the exhibitions and programs from inside the Belkin to the outside through video, sound and animation, supporting a more porous encounter for visitors. Transforming the grassy area in front of the gallery into an informal and flexible lounge space, with the boardwalk from Holly Schmidt's Fireweed Fields as a functioning viewing platform, the screen creates a space for engagement and conversation. Alongside curated works, the screen also highlights upcoming programs and events, and is often a site for facilitated conversations, class visits and workshops.