Plus music and beach reads to get you through the long weekend.
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Hi, Art!

Sunday, June 30, 2024

Hi, Art!

Sunday, June 30, 2024

Hi, art lovers!

 
Illustrated graphic. Text reads in white:

(CBC)

 
Happy long weekend! Tomorrow’s Canada Day, and if you’re not too busy queuing for a slice of free sheet cake in a city park somewhere, tune into CBC. There are a couple of TV specials on the schedule that might appeal to your patriotic sensibilities, and the first is an event that’s absolutely packed with Canadiana. No, not the Tim Hortons musical — which, believe it or not, is an actual production (and there’s even a long and weird history of “industrial musicals” like it). What I’m talking about is Celebrating Gordon Lightfoot, an all-star concert that was recorded at Toronto’s Massey Hall this past May. The show features performances from Allison Russell, Burton Cummings, Kathleen Edwards and members of Rush. (On that note, here’s a clip of Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson performing “The Way I Feel” with Blue Rodeo.) The program will be up on CBC Gem at 9 a.m. ET tomorrow. 

Later in the day, you can catch Canada Day: Feel the Rhythm, a concert that will be streamed live from Ottawa. If you’ve been listening to Q lately, a few featured artists (Metric, Kiesza and Chromeo) should be familiar, and there’ll be plenty more acts joining them. The show airs live on CBC Gem starting at 8 p.m. (9 p.m. AT, 9:30 p.m. NT).
 
Not enough music for you? Here are 22 contenders for the song of the summer. And here are 45 Canadian books that would make for excellent summer reading. (Imagine reading one of those novels with an AI buddy trained on Margaret Atwood, Lena Dunham or Roxane Gay. Would you try it — or sign up to be part of the project like this author did? Or maybe you’d prefer to revisit a classic … through an AI-enabled adventure game?) 

My preferred beach read? A stack of fresh magazines, a habit that began in July of 1993 with Julia Roberts’s wedding album, a very special issue of People magazine (to this extremely bored child). Whatever happened to People magazine? (If you’re at all curious about how we consume media, you’ll want to know the answer.) Further reading on the art of the celebrity profile: its golden age is well and truly kaput, but at least we still have gorgeous magazine archives — like this one from Vogue and Google Arts & Culture. 
 

And because we promised you eye candy ...

 
Photo of an outdoor mural on a wall with many vents. It is a 2D illustration of colurful waves and botanical forms. In the foreground is a blue construction lift.

Eepmon

Florals for … summer? Ottawa’s Arts Corridor is home to this new mural (Chaos Bloom - Tidal Wave) by digital artist Eepmon. Commissioned by the Ottawa Art Gallery in partnership with MassivArt, the piece was unveiled earlier this month.
 
Photo of art installed on a white wall. Forms of various sizes, all brightly coloured and patterned.

Charlene Vickers

It’s the last day to catch Your Old Way Kind of Vision, a group show at the Libby Leshgold Gallery in Vancouver. Charlene Vickers is one of the artists featured in the exhibition.
 
Photo of a white walled gallery. In the centre of the room, four translucent textile quilts hang in a row, suspended from the ceiling by invisible threads.

Libby Leshgold Gallery

One more photo from the same show: dreamy textile art by Wally Dion.
 
Surreal drawing in pastel colours. At centre, a glowing round aquarium. A child-like figure gazes into the glass from behind a table.

Evelyn Tan

Aquarium (for Nhi) by Evelyn Tan.
 
Photo of an all-white room filled with colourful sculptural objects arranged in dense and chaotic rows.

Leif Low-Beer

And finally, this piece by Toronto’s Leif Low-Beer strongly appeals to the pack-rat portion of my brain.
 
 

You've got to see this

 
 
 
Photo of three performers on stage, dressed like Bollywood stars in ornate saris and jewels. They are bathed in blue and purple light.
Mitchel Raphael/Rangeela

One last party

 
For more than a decade, Rangeela was the home of queer Bollywood revelry in Toronto, but Saturday’s event marked the end of an era. Here, organizers reflect on the nights of music and performance that offered a lifeline to the city’s South Asian 2SLGBTQ+ community.
 
Photo of two performers standing on stage facing one another from a great distance. The figure at left is bald with a beard and heavy eye makeup and wears a full-length strapless gown. The performer at left is bearded with short hair and glasses and wears red shorts, suspenders, a button-down shirt and socks with loafers. Behind them, an image is projected on a large screen. Pictured: a drag performer in a pink bouffant wig and white bra with smeared makeup. They grimace at the viewer. The setting is a dressing room filled with clothing.
Jaime Vedres

Nova Scotia's hottest summer ticket

 
The Princess Show is an intergalactic romp, a stage production that mixes anime and drag. And thanks to word-of-mouth buzz, it’s become a perennial favourite among theatregoers.
 
Still from I Am Celine Dion. Singer Celine Dion appears in a closeup. She is white woman wearing a black blouse. She looks up, her arms stretching above her head. She wears no makeup and pulls a tight smile.

Amazon MGM Studios

 

Name 7 songs

 
A new feature documentary about Céline Dion premiered last week, and it has everyone revisiting the pop star’s greatest hits. Anne T. Donahue shares her personal faves.
 

Follow this artist

 
 
 
Instagram

Amanda Boulos

@amooboo
Photo of a white-walled art studio. The walls are covered with colourful paintings, some cut out in the shape of flying birds and butterflies.

Amanda Boulos

Amanda Instagrammed this peek inside her studio just before opening an exhibition with Ibrahim Abusitta (The Days We Sang). Want to know more about that show? You got it.
 

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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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