BY MATT HARRISON The Mostly Art, Art, Art… and Opera edition

Enemy Within
Fear. The idea that there was an ‘enemy within’ led Canada to create internment camps during the First World War — mainly for Ukrainian and German communities. As part of the focus on the WWI’s centennial this year, a new archival photographic exhibit opens this week at the Canadian War Museum. Enemy Aliens — Internment in Canada 1914-1920. The exhibit explores who the approximately 8,500 prisoners were, what conditions were like, how the camps were run, and what the prisoners did daily. The exhibit opens on Thursday, Oct. 2, and runs until 2015.
Canadian War Museum, 1 Vimy  Pl.

Ottawa Art Gallery FREE
Full disclosure — the new exhibit, The Life and Art of Alma Duncan (1917-2004), opening Thursday, Oct. 2 at the Ottawa Art Gallery is co-curated by my wife. Who is Alma? As Catherine Sinclair writes, the Ottawa-based artist “travelled the world recording the beauties of the land and the stories of her models, transcending the lines between modern interpreter and visual activist.” From painting to drawing, to puppetry and filmmaking (she worked for a time at the NFB), the exhibit presents an all-encompassing look at this fascinating artist, who made such a stamp on the Ottawa art scene, as well as in Canada. The vernissage starts at 5:30 p.m. (I’ll be there, of course.) The exhibit runs until 2015.
Ottawa Art Gallery, 2 Daly Ave.

Carleton University Art Gallery FREE
The second art exhibit at the Carleton University Art Gallery is actually fourfold — the first, Not a New World, Just an Old Trick, beckons viewers to enter a large-scale model of an imaginary building. The rough tiered structure “connotes an idea of the art gallery or museum,” and to that end, the artist, Samuel Roy-Bois, has selected 90 artworks from the gallery’s collection to complete the illusion. It opens alongside an exhibit by Raymond Boisjoly — Interlocutions — whose video projections create commentary around Indigenous literary traditions. His exhibit accompanies a selection of Northwest Coast graphic art from the MacDonald Collection. Inuit printmaking is also featured in Norman Vorano’s exhibition: Inuit Prints — Japanese Inspiration, which examines that islands’ influence on the development of printmaking in Cape Dorset. All four continue to show until Dec. 2014.
CUAG is at Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive

Peking Opera
Want to experience ‘total theatre’? This is what Peking Opera is referred to since it is a “complete synthesis of, and harmonization of, singing, acting, recitation and dancing.” This form of theatre — recognized, by the way, as an UNESCO intangible cultural heritage — also allows for a certain degree of personalization: the artist is free to adapt basic conventions to suit their own personal style/artistic talent. On Saturday, Oct. 4 there will be a matinee performance of three celebrated Peking Opera excerpts (including one by the renowned Madame Sun Mingzu, who’ll be performing Princess Shuangyang) at the University of Ottawa. The cost of this unique presentation is $15 adv., $20 at the door. Purchase adv. tickets here. The performance begins at 3 p.m.
Academic Hall of the Theatre Department, 135 Séraphin Marion Private

Home Invasion! FREE
People are always complaining that art — especially contemporary art — is too incomprehensible; didactic panels are often little help either, usually muddying the waters further with obscure names like “Untitled No. 5”. Unravel the mysteries; decode the enigma; solve the riddle at this year’s annual Chelsea Wakefield Studio Tour, where you can visit 22 artists in their own environment and converse with them mono e mono about their art. This is the last weekend of the studio tour, which takes place on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 4 and 5 respectively. Times for visiting are between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. For a route map, visit here. http://www.tourcw.com/

Support Local (NOT FREE, but Discounted!)
October is Support Local month (didntchaknow?) — an Apt. 613 annual event, which — just as it sounds — was created to encourage Ottawans to buy local. The event features a bunch of stores to visit where locally made goods can be purchased/consumed, usually at a discount. On offer are limited editions or stuff made specifically for the event: Ben Jensen T-shirts, screen prints, craft brew coasters, special cocktails, and more. For the full list, visit here. http://apt613.ca/supportlocal/month-long-events/