 | | Because we promised you eye candy ... | | | | |  | Shamika Pierre | | Shout-out to anyone who’s in the final stretch of the school year, and big congrats to anyone graduating. Lately, I’ve been hitting refresh on the website for OCAD University’s graduate exhibition (GradEx), which is on May 7-11 in Toronto. Have a scroll for yourself. I’ve been doing it to hype myself up for the show, which might be one of my favourite springtime events. Fun little fact for you: GradEx is the city’s biggest free exhibition of art and design. And if you plan on checking it out, look for these artists while you’re running up and down the halls … starting with illustrator Shamika Pierre. This ink and watercolour piece is called In Bloom and it features in her series, The American Dream. (Read more about it.) | | | | |  | Anna Teolis | | The Window by illustration grad Anna Teolis. As Anna writes on the GradEx website, it’s meant to juxtapose “the common feeling of looking out a window as connection to the outside world — as providing a sense of space or scope, with the feeling of regret and repetition, of falling back into a closed-off or isolated mindset.” | | | | |  | Supriya James | | In 2023, artist Supriya James made a trip to her birth country of Guyana, and her time there inspired this painting (Roots). “It manifests my overwhelming joy and trepidation of being on and in the magical, tea-coloured waters of the Essequibo River,” she writes. (Those colours really make me feel what she’s talking about!) | | | | |  | Gabriel George | | There’s a sound component to this three-part sculpture by Gabriel George, so a visit to experience it IRL at GradEx is definitely in order. The installation references Theyyam (a ritual performed in northern Kerala, India), which combines multiple art forms, including dance, theatre and music. Gabriel shares more about the concept here. | | | | |  | Lydia Roy | | I’m no fan of cigarettes, but this is a Smoke Break I can get behind. Lydia Roy is the artist. The oil painting is part of her thesis project, What It Means to Be Brave. | | | | |  | Doxa Documentary Film Festival | | | | | Re-introducing Judi Singh. A new documentary puts the Edmonton musician back in the spotlight. | | | | |  | Micro_scope, NFB, Urban Factory | | | | | But there’s an even bigger mystery at the heart of this new doc. | | | | |  | William Sabourin | | | | | | | Maggy Hamel-Metsos makes conceptual art that will shake your bones. | | |  | Evelyn Tan | | May is Asian Heritage Month, which got Evelyn thinking about her Chinese Canadian background and how it informs her connection to nature. That’s one of the ideas she brought to the table when designing this version of the CBC Arts logo, and you can learn more about the concept — and Evelyn! — in this Q&A. | | | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
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I’m Leah Collins, senior writer at CBC Arts. Until next time! | | | | | |
