The Art Gallery of Ontario’s latest blockbuster and an Atlantic art award exhibition are among the items on our agenda over the next seven days. Leading cross-country picks are below; for extensive listings of exhibitions, openings and events nationwide (including other ones recommended by our editors) please visit canadianart.ca/calendar.

October 18 from 6 to 9 p.m.: Opening for “Nicholas Galanin: I Looooove Your Culture” at Trench Contemporary Art, 148 Alexander Street, Vancouver
Tlingit artist Nicholas Galanin is known for sharp reworkings and inversions of cultural artifacts; for his Indian Petroglyph series, he carved the Cleveland Indians logo into rocks and New York City sidewalks, and for his Raven and the First Immigrant, he commissioned a to-scale redo of Bill Reid’s Raven and the First Men. Currently, he’s a visiting professor at the University of Victoria and this is his second solo show at Trench. Also notably opening in Vancouver this week is “Duane Linklater: Beothuk Building” at Or Gallery, in which the Ontario-based Cree artist addresses findings from a visit to Newfoundland.

October 19 at 8 p.m.: Opening for “Kai Chan: A Spider’s Logic” at the Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery, Halifax
The quiet, meticulous textile-based artworks of Kai Chan get an impressive and deserved overview in this travelling survey which debuted at the Textile Museum of Canada in 2010. Fans should note that it’s supplemented by a Chan lecture on the evening of October 18 at NSCAD University. Another promising show opening in Halifax this week is “Animal,” a group exhibition at Dalhousie Art Gallery.

October 20: First day of “Frida & Diego: Passion, Politics & Painting” at the Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas Street West, Toronto
One-quarter of Frida Kahlo’s production goes on display alongside works by her husband, Diego Rivera, in this show that aims to offer new reflections on their tumultuous relationship and their revolutionary politics. Guest-curated by Dot Tuer and borrowing significantly from three private collections in Mexico, the exhibition also includes some 60 photographs by other artists—like Edward Weston, Lola Alvarez Bravo and Tina Modotti—that help to shed light on these themes.

October 20: First day of “Kim Adams: One for the Road” at Museum London, 421 Ridout Street North, London
Kim Adams—the 2012 Gershon Iskowitz Prize winner—is well known already on the Canadian art scene, but this exhibition in particular tempts with a 30-year overview of his practice. During the show, his illuminated cargo van, seen at Toronto’s 2011 Nuit Blanche, is due to be parked on the lawn of the gallery.

October 24: First day of Sobey Art Award shortlist exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, 952 Queen Street West, Toronto
Five artists—one of whom will win $50,000 at the Sobey Art Award announcement on November 16th—are presented in this exhibition. All of them are worth a look, so now is the time to get familiar with these artists and their newest works: the regional finalists are Gareth Moore for West Coast and Yukon, Jason de Haan for Prairies and the North, Derek Sullivan for Ontario, Raphaëlle de Groot for Quebec and Eleanor King for Atlantic.

Find more listings at canadianart.ca/calendar.