Watch performances from the show and stream Debby Friday's winning album.
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Hi, Art!

Sunday, September 24, 2023

Hi, Art!

Sunday, September 24, 2023

Hi, art lovers!

 
Screencapture of Debby Friday at the 2023 Polaris Music Prize gala. Medium closeup of a Black woman with long black braids. She smiles broadly with her mouth open. She wears a thick white flower choker around her neck. Text reads:

CBC Music

 
Tuesday night, Toronto’s Massey Hall played host to the 2023 Polaris Music Prize gala. It’s one of the most exciting events in Canadian music, and all of the performances (Begonia! The Sadies! Snotty Nose Rez Kids!) are streaming right now on CBC. 

But if you’re strapped for time this Sunday morning, Debby Friday is the act you absolutely cannot miss. Debby claimed the $50,000 prize for her debut album, Good Luck. If you’re a fan of Death Grips, Crystal Castles or Sophie, she’ll be your next musical obsession.

Good Luck arrived via Sub Pop in March, which is when Debby appeared on Q to discuss the record’s origins, and how her time in Montreal’s rave scene inspired the project. 

More recently, however (like, last week), Debby was talking with CBC’s Elamin Abdelmahmoud. That post-Polaris convo was recorded as an exclusive interview for the Commotion podcast, and you can only listen to it here.

But let’s not forget about the music! Kelsey Adams, a CBC Music producer who was on this year’s Polaris grand jury, described Good Luck as “a wild ride through Friday’s psyche, full of contradictions and revelations.”

Want to decide for yourself? Stream the album in full (courtesy of CBC’s The Ten). Then, visit CBC Music for all of their Polaris coverage. 
 

And because we promised you eye candy ...

 
Photo looking upward. Depicted is an installation by Amanda McCavour. Long bolts of translucent fabric, embroidered with green botonical forms, hang from a skylight, falling at least two stories.

Amanda McCavour

On Sept. 30, Peel Art Gallery Museum and Archives in Brampton, Ont., will open an exhibition from two textile artists who’ve dazzled us time and time again: Amanda McCavour (pictured) and Jannick Deslauriers.
 
Daytime photo. A figure, in silhouette, stands against a clear blue sky holding a transparent quilt (red, yellow, black fabric) that blows in the wind.

Wally Dion

More ethereal textile work! This “fire quilt” by Wally Dion was featured at the Bonavista Biennale in Newfoundland this summer. (Shout out to reader Susan M. Clark in Saskatchewan for recommending Wally for the newsletter!) 
 
Installation view of Allyson Vieira's exhibition at Daniel Faria Gallery, a white-walled room. Inside the room are woven tapestries with eye-like motifs woven on translucent fabric. They are stretched across tall metal poles that reach the ceiling.

Allyson Vieira

An exhibition of tapestries by American artist Allyson Vieira (You Too) is now up at Daniel Faria Gallery in Toronto. It’s actually one of the destinations on this year’s Gallery Weekend crawl, and if you’re in Toronto, this is your last day to explore the event. The Montreal edition runs Sept. 28 to Oct. 1.
 
Intallation view of a life-sized house made of gauzy green silk. It hangs from the ceiling in a wood-walled museum atrium. People can be seen on the floor, looking up at the artwork.

Do Ho Suh

Huh. Every image I bookmarked this week is translucent. I’m OK with that if you are! Here’s a peek at a jaw-dropping installation that’s currently appearing south of the border at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It was made in 2012 by Do Ho Suh, who recreated his family home with gauzy silk. 
 
 

You've got to see this

 
 
 
Illustrated portrait of various celebrities predicted to win an Oscar in 2024. they are ensconced in gold ribbons.
Ben Shannon/CBC

Who’s ready for 2024 Oscar predictions?

 
Peter Knegt is the top self-identifying Oscar nerd at CBC Arts. Every month, he’ll bring you an updated round of predictions, based on the latest Hollywood buzz.
 
The Toronto sign and City Hall at Nathan Phillips Square on May 11, 2023. Daytime photo. The curved towers of City Hall rise in the background in front of a light-up sign that reads "Toronto" in giant letters. A few dozen people walk through the concrete square. A reflecting pool appears in the image's foreground.
Michael Wilson/CBC

For Nuit Blanche, this artist dug up Nathan Phillips Square

 
Jenine Marsh removed 200 slabs of concrete for her project, Wellspring. In the process, she discovered decades of trash … and some inspiring Toronto history.
 
Still from Bones of Crows. Grace Dove in the role of Aline Spears, a Cree woman. She stands on a grassy plain. Wind blows through her chin-length wavy hair as she looks toward the horizon. Puffy clouds fill the blue sky.

David Strongman/Ayasew Ooskana Pictures

 

Grace Dove embodies half a century of Indigenous history in Bones of Crows

 
In the new miniseries, Grace stars as Cree matriarch Aline Spears, a character she portrays from ages 16 to 70. (Watch the first episode on CBC Gem!)
 

Follow this artist

 
 
 
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Alex Graff

@alexgraff.art
Colourful painting in an illustrative style. It's a swirl of pattern in turquoise, purple and magenta. Figures include a turquoise skeleton holding a purple skateboard that reads

Alex Graff

Alex made us a video diary about one of her recent art adventures. Keen to try different forms of street art, Alex made a trip to Vancouver’s Leeside skatepark, a spot where graffiti is legal — and, by the looks of things, totally encouraged. 
 

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

 
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