How a group of Prairie filmmakers changed cinema forever.
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Hi, Art!

Sunday, July 20, 2025
Hi, Art!

Sunday, July 20, 2025

Hi, art lovers!
 
Medium close-up of two people with short cropped mousy hair. They wear primary colours and are partly obscured by a striped pattern also in primary colours.

(Bibi Club/Facebook)
 
The must-read story of the week has got to be this feature on the legacy of the Winnipeg Film Group, but while our hearts and minds were in Manitoba, our colleagues at Commotion were having a think about Quebec — all because of the Polaris Music Prize. The 2025 short list was recently revealed, and it’s stacked with talent from la belle province. (Click here for fast facts on all the nominees.) The award, which recognizes the best Canadian album of the year, comes with a $30,000 grand prize, and the winner will be announced Sept. 16 at Massey Hall. In the lead-up, CBC Music will air new episodes of The Ten every Sunday through Sept. 14. Hosted by Odario Williams, the program explores the shortlisted albums. Q listeners should already be familiar with a bunch of the nominated artists, including Bibi Club, Nemahsis and the OBGMs.
 

Because we promised you eye candy ...
 
Realistic painting of hands holding a Bananas in Pajamas doll: a smiley faced banana wearing blue and white striped PJs.

Holly MacKinnon
Are you thinking what I’m thinking, B1? It’s eye-candy time! Banana by Holly MacKinnon, who’s part of Duran Contemporain’s Summer Salon in Montreal.
 
Realistic painting of an empty indoor swimming pool. Two doorways are illuminated in shades of warm yellow and red, casting a yellow reflection on the pool.

Neltje Green
Here’s a throwback to last Sunday’s newsletter! Neltje Green is one of the artists we interviewed for this story about the influx of out-of-province artists appearing at the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, and it sounds as though the trip was totally worth it. The Montreal-based artist won the fair’s inaugural United Contemporary Award (yay!).
 
Surreal painted ceramic figure. It is humanoid but rests on all fours. Its hands and feet are red and large. Its joints are painted with bands of pink, red and yellow. Its back and head are spotted like a Dalmation.

V Vallières
Toronto-based artist V Vallières left TOAF with some hardware too. They won the Aaron Milrad’s Best of Ceramics prize.
 
Photo of a sculptural artwork in a grey gallery space. It appears to be carved oak: an enormous human foot attached to a long and jumbled cord (also oak) that connects to a spindly form reminiscent of tree branches or walking tentacles.

Artwork: Megan Feniak; Photo: Charles Cousins/Art Gallery of Alberta
Out in Edmonton, the Art Gallery of Alberta is marking its centennial year with the exhibition What We Leave, What We Take. Megan Feniak is among 14 Alberta artists whose work is featured in the show. Pictured: The Leash of Love.
 
Surreal watercolour painting suggesting a red floating human head resting on ghostly human limbs. The background is gauzy and ocean blue, layered with shapes and forms. A face in the top left corner appears to peer down on the scene.

Artwork: Anjuli Rathod; Photo: Alignements/Pangée
Severed Head by Anjuli Rathod. The piece is appearing at Pangée in Montreal as part of the group exhibition Fools for Truth. Curated by artists Delphine Hennelly and Grace Kalyta, the show pulls from eight years of the gallery’s archives.
 
 

You've got to see this
 
 
 
Still from the film Universal Language. An urban outdoor winter scene. A line of people in colourful winter outerwear stand looking at a figure in a tweedy blazer. They are gathered in front of a brick low-rise apartment building.
LevelFilm

How a group of weirdos from Winnipeg changed cinema forever
 
Universal Language is part of a long tradition of off-centre filmmaking.
 
Two people sit on black folding chairs watching a large TV screen.
Lesley Loksi Chan

Let's go to the mall
 
At Jackson Square in Hamilton, a local film collective has opened a pop-up gallery.
 
Realistic painting of a woman in a bedroom. She gazes at the viewer in a medium close-up. Her hair is dark and braided, adorned with red and white flowers. A brass bed frame is seen behind her, along with a cluttered tabletop which features a framed portrait of the same woman and a vase full of the same flowers in her hair.

Artwork: Atleigh Homma; Photo: The Kingston Prize
 

Did you know there’s a Canadian award for portraiture?
 
The new chair of the Kingston Prize is on a mission to raise the competition’s profile.
 

Follow this artist
 
 
 
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O'shane Howard
@oshane.howard
Three Black men in colourful patterned clothing stand together on a basketball court. The man in the centre holds a basketball.

O'shane Howard
Images from O’shane’s 2017 series Jump Ball are appearing in Home Game: Toronto Loves Basketball, a pop-up exhibition organized by the Museum of Toronto. He told us more.
 

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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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