Jill Barber, Jeremy Dutcher, Pierre Lapointe, Lisa LeBlanc, Dominique Fils-Aimé, Elisapie, Mary Ancheta Quartet, the NAC Orchestra and others will represent Canada on the world stage
The National Arts Centre (NAC) is proud to present a powerful line-up of performing artists at World Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai in Japan, through a partnership with Global Affairs Canada and its Canada Pavilion experience. The official announcement and program preview took place on November 6, 2024 during an event hosted by the Embassy of Canada, in the Oscar Peterson Theatre, in Tokyo.
With an anticipated 28 million visitors over six months (opening April 13 and closing October 13, 2025), Expo 2025 Osaka will be a unique opportunity for Canadian performing artists to showcase our country’s breadth of talent and creativity to Japanese and international audiences.
Expo 2025 Osaka will explore the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives,” intended to drive co-creation by the international community in designing a sustainable society.
Canada’s cultural programme in music, dance and theatre at Expo 2025 Osaka is curated by the NAC’s Executive Producer for Popular Music and Variety, Heather Gibson, as an integral part of Canada’s overall participation.
Canadian artists performing at Expo 2025
Some of the artists to be featured during Expo include (with more to be announced):
- Performers Tanya Davis, Diyet and the Love Soldiers, and Shakura S’Aida will kick off Canada’s lineup in Osaka the week of April 22.
- In June, the Oscar Peterson Centennial Quartet (OPCQ) and Oscar Peterson’s youngest daughter, Céline Peterson, join forces to celebrate the life and music of one of the most important musical figures in Canadian history.
- Canadian West Coast artists Mary Ancheta Quartet and Jill Barber, as well as Francophone artists Pierre Lapointe, Dominique Fils-Aimé and Lisa Leblanc will be part of the late June programming leading up to Canada Day on July 1.
- East Coast performers Irish Mythen, Old Man Luedecke, The East Pointers and Kellie Loder will take the stage throughout Expo.
- Creative Boost Canada, a street dance performance created by Montreal’s 100Lux organization, will showcase the incredible talent of Canadian and Japanese street dancers who will come together for an unforgettable show.
- Indigenous artists Jeremy Dutcher, Elisapie, Amanda Rheaume, Shoshona Kish and Digging Roots, Sechile Sedare, and the NAC Indigenous Theatre Artistic Director Kevin Loring will participate in an international Indigenous symposium in August.
- Also in August, Open Pit Theatre will share northern Canadian culture with the world with Radio Silence, a funny, heartwarming story for all ages.
- NAC French Theatre Artistic Director Mani Soleymanlou will present the French-language play Zamân with multi-disciplinary artist Valaire.
- In addition, the NAC Orchestra and its musicians, under the baton of Music Director Alexander Shelley, will perform at Expo 2025 Osaka during their upcoming international tour next May-June that will bring them to famous concert halls in the Republic of Korea and Japan, with details to be announced in January.
Video credits
“We Are Rivers”
Original score by Maïa Davies
Collaborators: Sandy Scofield, Tarun Nayar, Patrick Krief, Morgan Doctor, Kinley Dowling
Music produced by Maïa Davies
Mixed by Damien King.
Engineered by Maïa Davies, Damien King, Sandy Scofield, Tarun Nayar & Sergey Varlamov
Thank you
RBC Bluesfest, Renell Doneza, Neon Dreams, Chariz Faulmino, Angelique Francis, Gordie Mackeeman, Gurdeep Pandher, Tamara Podemski
