Talk about a sweet gig.
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Hi, Art!

Sunday, April 18, 2021

Hi, Art!

Sunday, April 18, 2021

Hi, art lovers!

 
I didn’t think I’d be desperate for streaming options come spring, but such is life in a global pandemic. On Wednesday, though, I’m going to try to convince myself that too much screen time is cause for celebration. It’s National Canadian Film Day again! And more content than you could possibly consume in 24 hours will be available to watch for free. As for what to watch, this roundup from 2020 still feels fresh, unfortunately: 10 Canadian films we’d bring with us into quarantine. Expect another curated list of staff picks soon, but if you want a head start on finding some movies, CBC Gem has an eclectic library to choose from. Plenty more listings, including virtual events, on the National Canadian Film Day website.

Three random things that have nothing to do with the Meatballs Cinematic Universe: Why are designers so obsessed with making fluffy rugs? Are artists creators? To the surprise of absolutely no one, the biggest NFT art collectors are bros.
 

And because we promised you eye candy ...

 
Photo of a gallery visitor standing in front of a large-scale installation by Refik Anadol at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. The art is a square at least six times taller than the person viewing it. It contains an image of swirling colour in a white 3D frame.

@ngvmelbourne/Instagram

So … you’re going to want to see a video of this. (Installation view of Refik Anadol’s Quantum Memories at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.)

 
Film still of The Shirley Card by Sonya Mwambu. A young Black woman with curly dark bangs wears her hair in a low ponytail. She is shot medium closeup and holds her face, which is relaxed and gently smiling, in her right hand. An image of Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's is projected over her, filling the entire frame. Another image is layered in the composition, appearing in the right side of the frame. It depicts a second young Black woman. Her face is also relaxed and she wears her hair in a short bob with bangs.

@sonya.mwambu/Instagram

Still from The Shirley Card, a film by Sonya Mwambu. (Sonya’s one of the artists featured in an upcoming virtual exhibition co-presented by McMaster University of Art and Nia Centre for the Arts. It’s called The Cut, The Tear & The Remix: Contemporary Collage and Black Futures. The show launches April 22.
 
Photo of a painted skull with antlers resting on the leafy ground.

@jordanbennettart/Instagram

In Vancouver? This piece by Jordan Bennett (al’taqiaq: it spirals) is installed on the exterior of the Dal Grauer Substation building as part of the Capture Photography Festival.
 
Photo of a ceramic piece by Zara Gardner. Cream and green tentacles emerge from a glossy pale blue detergent cap. The piece is held by a human hand.

@zara.gardner.artist/Instagram

You’re not wrong. That’s a laundry detergent lid. Zara Gardner uses the stuff you might find in a recycling bin to make her ceramic moulds. (Neat!) She has an online exhibition of new work appearing via the Gardiner Museum’s shop.
 
Painting of an abstracted mountain/beach landscape in shades of crimson, gold, amber, blue and purple.

@joanitremblay/Instagram

You were not born here but this is where you belong. Painting by Joani Tremblay.
 
 

You've got to see this

 
 
 
Photo collage. At left, a photo of a white and yellow tiered cake topped with a clear yellow candy blossom. At right, an illustration of the same cake.

The Great Canadian Baking Show/Kenna Barnes

 

Who does all the drawings for The Great Canadian Baking Show?

Talk about a sweet gig. The CBC series launched Kenna Barnes's career as a food illustrator.
 
Photo collage. At left, a hand holds up a white vessel filled with a viney green plant. At right, Dorrington Reid sits on the floor of his apartment surrounded by green plants. He is a young Black man with short curly hair and dark framed glasses. He smiles broadly at the camera and wears a green Hawaiian shirt and black shorts. He holds two potted plants on his lap. A grey couch draped with grey and cream blankets appears behind him.
Dorrington Reid

That’s one hell of a houseplant collection, but is it art?

 
Who didn’t start gardening this year? Stuck at home, I know I became a bit of a “plant aunt.” But Dorrington Reid turned a chill hobby into a pandemic photo project that’s earned him a massive following on Instagram.
 
Photo of Daumante Stirbyte in her ceramic studio. She is a young White woman with long cherry red hair that is parted to the side. She wears tortoise shell glasses and a white T-shirt. Behind her on a wood table appear five of her ceramic sculptures. All resemble hybrid insect/plant creatures that either sit, stand or recline.

CBC Arts

 

In the studio with a 'creature creator'

Visit ceramic artist Daumante Stirbyte in London, Ont., and watch how she’s built a universe of clay critters. 
 
 

Follow this artist

 
 
 
Instagram

Hangama Amiri

@hangamaamiri
Photo of a work by Hangama Amiri installed on a white wall. It is aquilted textile portrait of a dark haired, fair-skinned woman in a cloud grey hijab and red blouse. She stares into the distance. Behind her is a blue sky and hilly landscape interrupted by power lines.

@hangamaamiri/Instagram

You might remember seeing Hangama’s work in a newsletter from earlier this spring. Chris Hampton interviewed the artist this week about her recent exhibition at Toronto’s Towards Gallery. 
 

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I’m Leah Collins, senior writer at CBC Arts. Until next time!

 
XOXO CBC Arts
XOXO CBC Arts
 
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