 Hi, art lovers! | | |  | Pop star Tate McRae, who was born and raised in Calgary, appears in a still from her video for 'Exes.' (Beth Saravo) | | | I’ve been bookmarking a lot of lists this week, wondering what I did with the last 12 months. How about you? Did you read everything on CBC Books’ ranking of the year’s best Canadian fiction? Did your most-played song of 2023 make it into this article? And do your favourite Canadian albums of 2023 match up with CBC Music’s picks? (Also for the music fans: CBC’s selections for the year's top Canadian songs — and Canadian pop songs — plus an in-depth analysis of the divisive mushmouthed vocal style that took Tate McRae’s “Greedy” to the No. 1 spot on their lists.) Expect more year-in-review fun as we roll into the holidays.
Been there, done that?
Links from the here and now: Did you catch this story about Drake investing in an artsy amusement park from the ‘80s? Launching in L.A. later this month, the attractions include a restored Keith Haring carousel — and $750 souvenir T-shirts. (There’s heaps of fascinating history in this New York Times feature, which also teases plans for an international tour.) Also on now: Miami Art Week. For a frank and frothy take, I loved this insider’s diary on “how to close a deal during the art world’s biggest bacchanal.”
Links from the future: What will 2024 look like? Peach Fuzz is Pantone’s surprisingly beige choice for the colour of the year, and according to Pinterest, your new favourite esthetic microtrends will involve badminton, jazz and jellyfish. | | | | | And because we promised you eye candy ... | | | | |  | Marney McDiarmid | | The 2024 DesignTO Festival launches next month, and this is a teaser of one of the event’s (many!) featured projects, Adrift. Created by artist Marney McDiarmid, the piece will be up at Toronto’s Stackt market Jan. 19 to 28. It’s an installation of ceramic flowers and paper-cut seeds — “disconnected and missing their roots, yet still searching for firmer ground.” | | | | |  | Maria Szakats | | I had to rub my eyes after seeing this on Instagram! Austrian artist Maria Szakats achieves that incredible blurring effect by embroidering with mohair yarn. | | | | |  | Rebecca Manson | | As seen at Art Basel Miami Beach, Grafted Wing by American artist Rebecca Manson. From her Instagram: “Moths may be ‘pests,’ but I think they deserve a closer look or even a monument. Through destruction they help along change. These have been days of reconciling with simultaneous grief and hope, repulsion and beauty. Molting days, maybe.” | | | | |  | Azza El Siddique and Bradley Ertaskiran | | Also at Art Basel Miami Beach: Sobey Art Award nominee Azza El Siddique has been earning heaps (and heaps and heaps) of praise for this new installation, Final Fantasy, which is being presented by Montreal gallery Bradley Ertaskiran. | | | | |  | Vito Amati/Ontario Science Centre | | | | | Remember the gadgets from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang? For almost 50 years, Rowland Emett’s wondrous contraptions have appeared at the Ontario Science Centre every winter. And now, for the first time, Toronto’s most whimsical holiday tradition has moved downtown. | | | | |  | Samuel Engelking/CBC Arts | | | | | Her acting career started with a tarot reading. Now, the Markham, Ont., native stars in The Sex Lives of College Girls, the HBO Max series created by Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble. | | | | |  | CBC Gem | | | | | | | Streaming on CBC Gem, I Hate People, People Hate Me is about a couple of queer misfits trying to make it in Toronto. Meet its creators, comedians Bobbi Summers and Lily Kazimiera. | | |  | Alex Graff | | Alex makes videos of her artsy adventures for CBC’s Creator Network, and you can find her latest dispatch on our Instagram. In the video, she recaps a fun DIY project inspired by childhood nostalgia. Watch it here. | | | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
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I’m Leah Collins, senior writer at CBC Arts. Until next time! | | | | | |
