Start the school year surrounded by art, music, and community. Whether you’re discovering your first campus concert, exploring exhibitions, or connecting over coffee and conversation, September brings a lineup of events that will spark curiosity and inspire connection.
Abbas Akhavan: One Hundred Years 👣
September 5–December 7 | Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery
Free
Step into Abbas Akhavan’s world of “suspended time,” where stories freeze, glitch, and shift before your eyes. This new exhibition blends site-specific installations, video, and sculpture that transform the gallery into a stage, a gameboard, and something entirely in-between. Explore spaces where hospitality and hostility coexist, and where narratives unfold (or refuse to) on their own terms.
The Compass Open House
September 9 | 2:00–4:00 PM | The Compass: Arts Student Engagement Hub (Brock Commons South, Room 3001)
Free
Discover how The Compass can help you make the most of your UBC Arts experience—inside and outside the classroom. Drop by to explore events, programs, and opportunities, and leave with a free tote bag (and snacks!) while supplies last.
Making the Most of Your Time at UBC 👣
September 10 | 4:00–5:00 PM | The Compass: Arts Student Engagement Hub (Brock Commons South, Room 3001)
Free
New to UBC Arts? Your student leaders in the Arts Undergraduate Society have the tips, tricks, and campus know-how to help you hit the ground running. Join them, and Dr. Laurie McNeill, English professor and Associate Dean, Students, for a relaxed coffee chat on thriving in class, getting involved, and finding your community. Coffee’s on us, so just bring your curiosity. ☕️
Tim Hecker and Loraine James: Whatever The Weather
September 17 | 7:30 PM | Chan Shun Concert Hall, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
Tickets: $30–69
Experience two trailblazers of ambient electronic music in one unforgettable night. Vancouver-born Tim Hecker brings his haunting, hallucinatory soundscapes from his latest album Shards, while London-based Loraine James makes her Vancouver debut under her introspective alias Whatever The Weather. Expect immersive textures, rich harmonies, and moments of pure sonic surprise.
Exhibition: Indigenous Symbols and Signifiers 👣
September 18–October 9 | Monday–Friday, 12:00–4:00 PM | Hatch Art Gallery, AMS Nest
Free
Discover artworks by six Indigenous UBC students, each exploring cultural symbols that reflect their identities, histories, and traditional teachings. From beadwork and Formline Design to pictographs, native plants, and ceremonial language, these pieces honour heritage, family, and the resilience of Indigenous Nations across the country. Presented by the Faculty of Arts and the First Nations House of Learning.
UBC Harvest Feastival + Art Crawl 👣
Thursday, September 18 | 5:00–9:00 PM | University Commons
Student tickets: $45
Grab a seat under the tent for a family-style dinner with 800 new friends! Enjoy locally-sourced dishes (yes, vegan options too) and exclusive programming in UBC’s Arts and Culture District—just for Feastival guests.
Come Toward the Fire 👣
September 20–21 | Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
Free
The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts and Musqueam presents Come Toward the Fire, a festival celebrating Indigenous culture with music, dance, storytelling, film, poetry, food, and crafts. This free, family-friendly event aims to amplify Indigenous voices and showcase creativity. No tickets are needed (except for the finale concert). A full schedule and site map will be announced soon.
Naomi Klein: Facing the mirror world of digital doppelgangers
Wednesday, September 24 | 12:15–1:00 PM | Online
Free, registration required
What if you found you’d acquired another self—an online double who seemed to be you but wasn’t you at all? hear from acclaimed author, intellectual, and UBC professor Naomi Klein as she discusses her award-winning book, Doppelganger.
Women of the Fur Trade 👣
September 25–October 4 | Frederic Wood Theatre
Tickets: $13–45
Three women with a taste for twenty-first century slang swap stories of life, love, and Louis Riel in this sharp historical satire by Frances Končan. Presented by Touchstone Theatre with Western Canada Theatre and UBC Theatre and Film, this acclaimed production arrives in Vancouver after a sold-out premiere at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre.
UBC Opera Teas: Welcome and Welcome Back!
September 28 | 2:00–4:00 PM | UBC Botanical Garden
Student tickets: $18
Celebrate the start of a new season with music, conversation, and a taste of what’s ahead. This special Opera Tea welcomes the 100th Anniversary Class of 2025 and returning UBC Opera students with intimate performances in the beautiful setting of the Botanical Garden.
The 2025 Intergenerational March to Commemorate Orange Shirt Day
September 30 | 11:45 AM–3:00 PM | 1956 Main Mall
Free
Each year on September 30, people across Canada wear orange and participate in Orange Shirt Day to recognize and raise awareness about the history and legacies of the residential school system in Canada. All are welcome.
