Melissa Haney talks being a preteen girl, Grant Lawrence's final chapter of Whale Tale and Nigerian Canadian musician Tk The Artist's debut album NXNW June 28/29, 2025 | Welcome to the NXNW Newsletter! Happy weekend! Guest host Joseph Otoo is here. He'll bring you a conversation with Tk The Artist, a Nigerian Canadian musician who is releasing his debut album; Melissa Haney discusses her first book about being a preteen girl; Grant Lawrence brings us the final chapter of Whale Tale and we bring you to the Polygon Gallery to talk about Star Witnesses and how art and science can work together. Looking for something from a past show? Check out our CBC Listen page. | | Coming up on NXNW this weekend: | | | Saturday | | CBC's Missy Johnson takes us to the Polygon Gallery for their newest exhibit, Start Witnesses. Which is on now. She speaks with the curator, Monika Szewczyk, and one of the artists, Paul Wong, about a brand new material called Nxylon and the magic that happens when art and science intertwine. | | | | Guest host Joseph Otoo takes us to Kelowna's Mosaic Books in Kelowna to speak with assistant manager Cassidy Tooley about books she's recommending people add to their summer reading list. | | | | Grant Lawrence brings us the final chapter of his series Whale Tale where we learn about the whales that escaped from Pedder Bay. | | | | Victoria-based singer-songwriter Tk The Artist joins the show to talk about releasing his debut album, performing at the Tofino Jazz Festival and the pride he feels performing in Canada as a Nigerian Canadian. | | | | | Sunday | | We revisit an interview with Margaret Gallagher and Juno-winning artist Christine Jensen. The Christine Jensen Quartet is performing at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival on Sunday, June 29. | | | | We'll discuss a new study that tells us how much Canadians are supporting women's sports. | | | | Guest host Joseph Otoo speaks with the Okanagan Chinese Canadian Association and the Okanagan Filipino Canadian Society about how the city of Kelowna is marking Canada Day by hosting its annual Kelowna Folkfest. | | | | Melissa Haney, an author and illustrator, joins us to discuss her debut graphic novel, Best Buds, A Year In The Life of a Preteen Girl, and how she hopes to help families have awkward conversations. | | | | | | | Star Witnesses | | Monika Szewczyk, the Audain chief curator for the Polygon Gallery, has a brand new exhibit called Star Witnesses. It's meant to look at the cosmos and ask questions about ourselves. Vancouver-based artist Paul Wong's newest piece, Parallel Universes, uses Nxylon, a brand new material created by researchers at the University of British Columbia. | | | Paul Wong with his work, Parallel Universes, with curator, Monika Szewczyk, in the reflection. Parallel Universes is two diamond-shaped pieces of Nxylon, a material created by UBC researchers. (Credit: Missy Johnson) | | | | | Puberty with Melissa Haney | | The Kootenay-based illustrator and author has published her debut graphic novel called Best Buds, A Year In The Life Of A Preteen Girl. She joins us to talk about how she was inspired by watching her daughter's journey, and wanted to help other young girls and families have awkward conversations. | | | | | Summer Reading List Recommendations with Mosaic Books | | Guest host Joseph Otoo heads to downtown Kelowna to ask Mosaic's assistant manager Cassidy Tooley what she's telling people to read this year. Here's what she recommends:
-Shark Girl by Kate Beaton.
-One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune.
-The Best of B.C. Road Trips, edited by Sam Burkhart.
-Favourite Daughter by Morgan Dick.
-Bones of a Giant by Brian Thomas Isaac. | | | | | | In case you missed it... | | Last week on NXNW, Jeremy Ratt interviewed Tsimshian artist Roy Henry Vickers, who shared his first colouring book for people of all ages.
If you missed the broadcast you can stream this interview on CBC Listen. | | | | Thanks for listening! | Have comments or suggestions you'd like to share? Email us! The NXNW Team | | | | |