 Hi, art lovers! | | |  | Smoke in the colours of the France flag appear over the Seine River in Paris during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics. (Matthias Schrader/AP Photo) | | | The 2024 Paris Olympic Games are underway, and I’ve got to imagine you’ve already spent a chunk of the weekend fully immersing yourself in the hype, circling events on the CBC streaming schedule. If not, check out this reading list from CBC Books. Maybe there’s something there that’ll get you feeling in sync with the sport-obsessed.
Me? I’m definitely a casual viewer of the Olympics, and gawking at the national uniforms is usually my favourite part of the whole extravaganza. But after listening to Commotion’s segment on Olympic breakdancing last week (link below), I’m suddenly determined to watch anything to do with that competition. Breaking is a new Olympic sport this year, and if you’ve yet to see Canadian B-boy Phil Wizard in action, do yourself a favour and watch him win gold at the 2023 Pan American Games. The Vancouver dancer (profiled here) recently spoke to CBC Music about his all-time favourite rap albums, although here’s a bit of trivia I didn’t realize until I read this feature about the DJs who will be at the Summer Games in Paris: Olympic breakers don’t get to choose the tunes they dance to!
More Olympic trivia for you: once upon a time, there were Olympic medals for the arts … and this Canadian composer won silver. These Olympic posters are considered some of the best in history. (Take a closer look at one of them, designed by Yvon Laroche for the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games.) | | | | | Because we promised you eye candy ... | | | | |  | Clive Holden | | And while I’m on an Olympic kick … the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris is hosting a timely exhibition of work by Clive Holden. For the show, Clive pulled archival images of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to create digital, video and photographic installations. (There’s lots more info here.) | | | | |  | The Clichettes | | | | | Packed with costumes and props, the group’s first retrospective is like visiting a secret wing of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. | | | | |  | Carlos Osorio/Reuters | | | | | Could Canada bring home the gold for breaking? The hip-hop dance style makes its Olympic debut this summer, and Commotion has some thoughts. | | | | |  | Alexa Viscius | | | | | | | Will Butler’s Stereophonic leads this year’s Tony Award nominations. Set in the ’70s, it’s a show about a fictional rock band on the cusp of stardom. As a former member of Arcade Fire, the composer knows plenty about the music business, but as he revealed on Q, he’s kind of clueless about classic rock. | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
forwarded to you. | | | | | | | Got questions? Typo catches? Story ideas? | | | We're just an email away. Send us a note, and we'll do our best to get back to you.
If someone forwarded you this message and you like what you've read, here's where to subscribe for more.
I’m Leah Collins, senior writer at CBC Arts. Until next time! | | | | | |
