 Hi, art lovers! | | |  | Wynne Neilly | | | It’s here, it’s queer — and now, it’s on CBC Gem. Hosted by CBC Arts producer Peter Knegt, Here & Queer is a chat show featuring LGBTQ stars including Tegan and Sara, Matt Rogers and Bilal Baig. And seven months after the project launched (with this Billy Eichner interview), it’s never been easier to binge.
Season 1 dropped on CBC Gem before the long weekend, and on the eve of the launch, Peter wrote this short essay about the series’ origins. A show celebrating queer creators and performers still feels urgent in 2023, he writes. “Folks like these are fighting back against the hate in this world simply by creating. We're excited for you to hear what they have to say, and we're even more excited for what this show has in store for you in the very near future.” Stream Season 1 on CBC Gem. | | | | | And because we promised you eye candy ... | | | | |  | Riesbri | | If you’re reading this in Toronto, a heads-up: today’s the final day of the Artist Project art fair. The event crams more than 250 exhibiting artists into the Better Living Centre and there are loads of activities happening, too: fashion shows, painting lessons, tarot card readings (courtesy of Laura Dawe, an artist who’s a thoroughly entertaining painting teacher, come to think of it). And while I didn’t get a second to try those offerings while I was zipping up and down the aisles on opening night, I did take note of enough eye candy to fill this week’s quota. First up, enjoy these poppy paintings by Alexandra Riesemberg, a.k.a. Riesbri, a Montreal-based artist currently studying at Concordia University. Her booth was part of the fair’s Untapped Emerging Artists Competition — probably my favourite section at the event, and dammit, I wish I had the space to feature everyone. But for now, I’ll shout out … | | | | |  | Emma Ducharme | | Emma Ducharme, who’s showing a new oil-on-wood wall sculpture. | | | | |  | Jonah Strub | | And Jonah Strub, whose kitsch ceramics make me LOL (in a good way) — especially this li’l dude. (It’s more than meets the eye. Scroll all the way through the gallery I just linked to. Do it!) | | | | |  | Heejung Shin | | Heejung Shin’s booth mesmerized me immediately. Zoom in, if you can. Those are strips of shredded mulberry paper. | | | | |  | Kejie Lin | | Another stopped-me-in-my-tracks moment — this time from a booth that wasn’t in the Untapped competition — was Red Mandragora by Kejie Lin. | | | | |  | Dahae Song | | Upon entering the venue, one of the first things you’ll probably notice is an exhibition wall (After Image) featuring work by artists including Ness Lee and Tessar Lo. This painting by Dahae Song sold on opening night. | | | | |  | VF6-14 © The Vimy Foundation | | | | | “In the First World War, drag was just this massive component,” says historian Sarah Worthman, and every Canadian division “would have had a female impersonator as part of their concert troupe.” | | | | |  | CBC Arts | | | | | On the latest episode of digi-Art, meet Canadian artists who are working with new (and old!) technology to create wildly original sounds. If the show leaves you wanting more on the subject of art and AI, check out CBC Radio’s Commotion. The show devoted all of last week’s programming to AI chatter, and if you’re especially curious about how the technology is disrupting music, start with this conversation from last Tuesday: Does AI-generated music pose an existential threat to composers? | | | | |  | Samuel Engelking | | | | | | | Director Faran Moradi is our latest Rising Star. He talks to Radheyan Simonpillai about his new film (Tehranto), a joyful rom-com set in Toronto’s Iranian community. | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
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I’m Leah Collins, senior writer at CBC Arts. Until next time! | | | | | |
