Affording the Arts in Toronto

Eight ways to experience Toronto’s painting, pottery making, DIY craft making and more on a budget

By Azalea Young

As a multicultural city with an expansive art scene, Toronto has quite a number of artistic experiences and activities to offer for tourists and residents alike. Whether that comes in the form of exploring different art and history museums, attending painting sessions at art studios, or even doing something completely different, there are always new things to do around the city. Unfortunately, not all of these experiences are accessible to different groups of people, particularly students. 

With rising costs in almost every industry in the city, it can be difficult to experience everything its streets offer. But if you’ve only got a small budget (or no budget at all!) the experiences and activities listed below might be able to give you some inspiration on what to do when you’re feeling artistic.

#1: Charlotte @deconstrut - DIY Jewelry, Fashion, Design

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A post shared by Charlotte (@cheerscharlie)

Charlotte (@deconstrut), known to her followers as Char, is a Canadian social media content creator most popular for her styling and fashion videos. They showcase her different skills, whether it’s creating DIY jewelry—one of her most popular and pinned videos is her tutorial on how to make shimmering rhinestone earrings—sewing and crocheting outfits, creating felt patches, or nail polish art, her content is perfect for aspiring designers. She mostly focuses on showing her followers how she styles the outfits she creates, but there are plenty of sewing videos, as well as jewelry tutorials, although these are not as popular as her clothing videos. Still, if you want to see how she makes daisy chain rings or strawberry earrings that are perfect for spring, her TikTok page can get you started. She even has a separate website, titled “deconstrut” where you can read tutorials on making your own DIY design patterns.

#2: Clay With Me - Paint Your Own Pottery

Clay With Me has several pottery-making services, as well as pottery painting services. There are two locations in Toronto. (Gustavo Fring/Pexels)

Clay With Me is one of the best spots to go to if you’re interested in making your own pottery, whether you’re a beginner or a more experienced guest. Known as “Toronto’s Friendliest Pottery Studio,” they have locations at King St. W and Dundas St. W. The studio offers different workshops for various activities such as hand-building clay and wheel classes (note that these classes are more expensive), as well as paint-your-own pottery nights, where guests can book an hour-and-a-half painting session and choose a piece of pottery to paint and decorate. There’s a base fee of $15, plus an additional fee based on the size of the piece of pottery you choose to paint. The pottery piece fee starts at $5 for a small piece and grows from there. For those with a smaller budget, this is one of the best places to go for pottery painting, but if you want the painting without the pottery, the next experience is for you!

#3: Pinot’s Palette - Open Studio Freestyle Painting

Pinot’s Palette has weekly guided paint nights, with their freestyle painting workshops available at least twice a month. The Studio is located in Toronto. (Sarah Brown/Unsplash)

Also located at Dundas West is Pinot’s Palette, a painting studio that offers all kinds of guided painting sessions, as well as freestyle ones. With its friendly and bright atmosphere, Pinot’s Palette is accessible to all age groups and painters at all levels. While some sessions are more expensive than others, similar to Clay With Me, the guided ones—like this Toronto Skyline at Sunset one—are around $45, and the freestyle ones are around $25. Labelled as ‘open studio’ these paint sessions are more casual, with a professional artist available to guests only for consultation and advice, leaving individuals to paint whatever they want! You can drop in for a session during a two-hour period where you can choose to paint either a small canvas or upgrade to a larger canvas (doing so comes with an additional $10 fee), but if you want to paint something different, it’s perfectly fine to bring in clothing or drinking glasses instead. Allow your inner artist to shine through in whatever piece you want to paint, and embrace the creativity that comes with it. 

#4: Reminiscent Candles @_reminiscentco - Candle Making/Candle Hacks

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A post shared by Reminiscent ☁️ (@_reminiscentco)

Reminiscent Candles (@_reminiscentco) is run by Alyce Whitenect, a New Brunswick-based candle maker who started her business during the COVID-19 pandemic. All of her TikTok content is geared towards showing her audience the new and unique kinds of soy candles and wax melts she makes, ranging from sweet raspberry creamsicles to festive crushed peppermint. Not only does she show viewers how she makes them, but she also uses special techniques like adding whipped toppings to candles. While most videos are about creating these candles, she also has quite a few where she gives viewers some insight into what a day in her life looks like, along with some tips for aspiring small business owners. There are quite a few on “candle hacks” as well, including a very helpful one on how to fix candle tunnelling. She also has a website titled “Reminiscent” where you can purchase the majority of the candles and wax melts she features on her channel. It’s a good account to keep an eye on if you’re interested in trying to make candles yourself, or if you’re trying to get in the market for selling them as well.

#5: Bata Shoe Museum - General Admission

The Bata Shoe Museum has several different galleries open to the public, all displaying a small piece of the history of fashionable shoes through different eras, located in Toronto. (Philip Castleton/Bata Shoe Museum)

Although it’s not very well-known, the Bata Shoe Museum is a “shoe-in” for Toronto’s most unique museum! Over a thousand shoes and shoe-related artifacts are displayed in the museum’s permanent exhibition, “All About Shoes,” available for guests to view every day of the week. Tickets for students are available for $8, with this price granting you access to three changing galleries plus their permanent exhibition. Exhibitions that are on now consist of: “Dressed To Impress: Footwear and Consumerism in the 1980s,” “In Bloom: Flowers and Footwear,” and “Obsessed: How Shoes Became Objects of Desire.” You can wander around the different galleries and admire the history contained in each pair of shoes. For example, if you’re interested in floral patterns and beading, the In Bloom exhibit features these Peranakan mules from Southeast Asian Peranakan wedding garments, but if footwear from the ‘80s speaks to you instead, the Dressed To Impress exhibition showcases these Italian Gucci loafers. All the exhibitions are worth the journey, and you may even see your own shoes reflected in the countless pairs at the museum.

#6: Charlene Wong @allstylelife - DIY Arts And Crafts

@allstylelife 3 Easy Valentine’s Day treats! 💘 Melted chocolate & sprinkles does wonders 😁 1. Chocolate Dipped Pretzels 2. Chocolate Covered Oreos 3. Timbits Pops Which would you grab first? … #valentinesday #galentinesday #oreos #timbits #GalentinesDayParty #valentinesday2024 #valentinesrecipes #valentinesdaytreats #vday #valentinesdaychocolate #diytreats #dippedpretzels #dessertideas #valentinesgifts #giftideas #selflove #torontocreator #torontoblogger ♬ original sound - edun23

Toronto-based social media content creator Charlene Wong (@allstylelife) has a number of different DIY activities that you can easily do from home. While she started her account by posting content about health and exercise, now most of it is targeted toward themed holiday creations. Most videos show her preparing different foods and creating small projects for Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day. If you want some inspiration for your next Halloween costume, you can look to her 2023 fortune cookie costume, or if you want to paint something, you can check out how she transformed some cheap plastic Dollarama pumpkins into terracotta pottery barn ones. If you’re more interested in Christmas instead, she has plenty of activities to try out involving the holiday, from showing her audience how to elevate their Christmas present wrapping to painting candles (although really you can do this at any time during the year). Most recently, she has quite a bit of Valentine’s Day content posted. If you want some cute pink candy popcorn, chocolate-dipped pretzels and Oreos, or Timbit pops, look no further than some of her most recent videos. 

#7: Anice Jewellery - Your Design Workshop

Anice Jewellery offers several different jewelry-making services with both workshops and private appointments in Toronto. (Maksim Goncharenok/Pexels)

Create-your-own jewelry store, Anice Jewellery, has been around for over 10 years, offering guests a variety of services. These are mainly geared towards couples creating wedding/engagement jewelry, but it’s a memorable experience if you’re interested in booking something with your friends or a larger group too. The larger your party, the less expensive the cost, with a party of four to six people being the sweet spot—each person pays $50 plus material fees. Although this experience is the most expensive on the list, I think it can work well if you want to celebrate a birthday or a special occasion with friends. Blending creativity with fashion, it’s a way for you to decorate your body with charms and memories that are meaningful to you.

#8: Joy Of Dance Centre - Thursday Workshops

The Joy of Dance Centre is open to both beginners and more advanced dancers in Toronto. (Michael Zittel/Pexels)

Last on this list is Joy of Dance Centre, a dance studio that offers different dance workshops throughout the year. From group ballet to Irish step dancing workshops, there is quite a list of classes to choose from, but the Thursday workshops are the ones where guests can enjoy a new dance form each week. Adult tickets cost $15 for an hour-and-a-half-long session with a different instructor based on what kind of dance style is being taught that week. There is no obligation to attend every single class, as you can book an appointment each week for whatever class you’re interested in. These workshops are an excellent way for beginners interested in dance forms to learn with the guidance of a professional. Whether you go alone or with friends, this is a way for you to feel in sync with your body, moving to the beat of your own drum. 

Earworm Extraction 101

The art of rebound relationships in music

By Melanie Nava Urribarri

Earworms, not to be mistaken for earwigs–who have a poor reputation from the old European myth where these creatures burrow into the ears of sleeping people and lay eggs in their brains–can be perhaps one of every day’s greatest nuisances. Though they aren’t literal creatures, these tunes can certainly feel like wiggling, persistent worms that won’t go away, making a home in your head and adding yet another voice to block out.

Luckily, there are ways to fix this problem. Like finding a good rebound to get over that pesky ex, here are some Canadian earworm remedies that will have you swooning for another song in no time.

The Classic

How many times have you had that song on replay? Have your family and friends already begun to give you the stink eye? Oh, what’s that? You just can’t get it out of your head? Well, have you tried the musical version of “Have you turned it on and off again” by simply playing a different song on repeat? This classic solution can be more effective than you think if you play your cards right. For example, if you’re stuck in 2012 with an infamous Canadian earworm like “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen, there’s no need to change decades for the right counterattack. Stay in the year of the theorized apocalypse with Grimes’ promotional single “Oblivion”. A much more difficult Canadian song to hit the notes to, perfect for erasing numbers.

Change your environment

Just as being in a room for too long can suck away your energy and creativity, sometimes, the problem might not be you at all but your surroundings. How can you get over Avril Lavigne’s song “Girlfriend” if you’re stuck in the angry energy of your bedroom with all the memories of them? Get out and have some fun! Maybe go to your kitchen and treat yourself to something sweet with Nelly Furtado’s “Maneater”. Change your looping song from desiring to being desired and cure that earworm by switching locations and moods.

Chew

Stuck on 2010s Canadian heartthrobs like Justin Bieber or Shawn Mendes? According to the UK Counselling Directory, chewing gum or eating can create a new sensory experience, diverting your attention and possibly helping with a bad earworm. Instead of looping “As Long As You Love Me” with your young, hopeless romantic heart or “Treat You Better” –an earworm that peaked on the Billboard charts in 2016 and became a lovesick anthem–try eating the worm away like you might eat ice cream after a bad breakup.

Read a Book

Yes, reminiscing on the “best days of [your] life” with Canadian singer Bryan Adams and his recorded song “Summer of ‘69” can be all you need on a dreary day, but what happens when you simply can’t stop? Choosing a new distraction that requires new concentration can be just the way to do it.f you still want to do some nostalgic reflecting, maybe you can pick up Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables for a heartwarming, coming-of-age other than your own.

Make a Playlist

Play games with your brain and battle the earworm with a combination move called “the playlist.” Much like simply playing a new song for your brain to catch, this strategic tip gives your mind something new to set its sights on– or many new somethings. Feel new adrenaline and satisfaction with a good playlist, such as one created by The Guardian with 30 of Toronto rapper Drake’s best songs. 

Embrace it

People are wired to look for patterns. Our brain likes consistent stimulation, and as stated by Harvard Medical School, some songs are created with specific musical intervals and tempos that are just more appealing to us subconsciously. Earworms can be harmless, and, sometimes it’s really not that serious. So if you can, embrace your earworm! Listen to that song on a loop and dance the annoyed glares away. The artists receiving a rush of streams on their songs might just thank you.

Beyond the Silver Screen: The work of film archival and archivists

 Props, costumes and set pieces are the backbone for immersing us in the films we watch but what happens to this artwork after filming ends?

By Luis Ramirez-Liberato

(Luis Ramirez-Liberato/CanCulture)

Tucked away on the fourth floor of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Lightbox is TIFF's very own film reference library tasked with collecting, preserving and providing access to a wide variety of film history. 

As a way of connecting the public to Canada's filmmaking heritage, TIFF presents "Archival Jolt!" An open invitation for the public to peer behind the curtain of film preservation and delve into the world of archival experts. Organized to celebrate TIFF's Canada's Top Ten programming, this event offers patrons an opportunity to witness firsthand the work of film archivists and explore the impressive collection of heritage items from Canadian moviemaking.

Fly head prop from The Fly (Luis Ramirez-Liberato/CanCulture)

Natania Sherman, Senior Manager at the TIFF Film Reference Library, shared insights into her job as an archivist.  Sherman says  a majority of their collections come from donations by production companies, like with their latest acquisition of props from David Cronenberg's Crimes of the Future.

"We're very lucky that TIFF has these relationships with different production companies and filmmakers. They've seen the work that we've been doing to preserve Canadian Heritage, so they trust us with their materials," said Sherman.

Piece of the Sark from Crimes of the Future (Luis Ramirez-Liberato/CanCulture)

The process of taking props from donation to display can be difficult. Often, donated film materials arrive in storage in a condition unsuitable for long-term preservation. Therefore, archivists must transfer them to acid-free casings and proper storage to ensure their longevity for future generations. Additionally, props used in films are often not built to stand the test of time.

"They're really made for the purpose of making the film," said Sherman. "So you might have these beautiful art pieces that are made to last for maybe three to six months of filming, but they're made out of materials that aren't necessarily fine art materials meant to last a long time."

Sark attachments before being moved into proper storage (Luis Ramirez-Liberato/CanCulture)

Preserving Cronenberg's work can be a difficult task due to the "unstable chemical makeups" and "jello-like texture" of the materials he uses, says Sherman. Many of his pieces are quite large, with some towering over attendees at the "Archival Jolt!" exhibit. Working with Cronenberg's material involves logistical challenges and requires specialized art handlers to bring them on-site.

The breakfaster prop from Crimes of the Future (Luis Ramirez-Liberato/CanCulture)

Along with preserving film, the work of an archivist is akin to solving a puzzle where each prop used in a film reveals new insights and secrets of its own. When donated, props may not come with labels or instructions, making it challenging for archivists to understand their mechanics and functionality. Therefore, film archivists must put together the pieces of the puzzle and decipher how each prop works. Often, this means analyzing every frame of a film to see where props are used in a scene. From the subtle placement of a vintage lamp to the grandeur of a larger-than-life set piece, every detail is meticulously documented, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of its contribution to Canadian cinema.

The Sark from Crimes of the Future (Luis Ramirez-Liberato/CanCulture)

Archivists, especially those working at film reference libraries, face the challenge of balancing preserving historical items and making them accessible to the public. Their primary goal is to safeguard these props for future generations. As an archivist, you must ensure that the items are handled with care, stored in climate-controlled environments and kept in storage for as long as possible to ensure their longevity. Still, they also strive to make them available to the public.

"But the problem is, sometimes that sort of puts you in this position. It's almost like being a gatekeeper," says Sherman. 

Sherman says that younger archivists emphasize facilitating public engagement with film material and exploring ways to increase access to these archives. The film reference library collaborates with programming colleagues at TIFF to change the displays in the Lightbox building periodically. This initiative aims to establish a connection between audiences and craftsmanship that goes on behind the scenes of the films they have just watched.

Ramona Flowers’ outfit from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Luis Ramirez-Liberato/CanCulture)

Through initiatives like rotating displays and educational programs, they bridge the gap between preservation and engagement, ensuring that the magic of Canadian cinema remains within reach.

"It's very important that we're not just hiding things away for some unnamed time, the future, but we're also making sure that people can access things now," says Sherman.

In attempting to connect the public with Canada's film heritage, the Film Reference Library has recently updated its collecting mandate to better reflect Canadian diversity in cinema. With the library's collection being primarily donation-based, it faces the hurdle of over-representing white auteur male directors. The underrepresentation of marginalized communities is an aspect of the archival process that Sherman and her peers try to be mindful of. The Film Reference Library aims to preserve the "diverse faces in Canadian cinema" through acquisitions from underrepresented communities and reflect a "full spectrum," says Sherman.

For Sherman, it is connecting people with these moments in Canadian cinema that she finds most rewarding. The special feeling that people get from connecting with a piece of history that matters to them is what brought about the name "Archival Jolt!"

“There's this a-ha moment that you feel when you get to come across an object or an artifact [that] represents something important to you,” says Sherman. 

“I think whenever I get to show someone a piece from the collection, and they have that moment and I get to share in that, I think that's really special.”

Canadian nominees fall short at the 2024 Oscars

Looks like there was very little love for Canada at this year’s Oscars ceremony

The red carpet at the 1988 Academy Awards (Alan Light via Wikimedia Commons)

By Sarah Grishpul

Oh… Canada.

If you’ve been following along with the Academy Awards, you’ll notice a distinct lack of Canadian winners. Despite nine nominations, only one took home an award during this year’s ceremony.

Here are the nominees from Canada who just didn’t make the cut:

Canadian sweetheart Ryan Gosling ignites the “Ken-ergy” of the room with his performance of “I’m Just Ken”

Anywhere else he’d be a 10—just not at the Oscars. 

While “I’m Just Ken” of the Barbie (2023) soundtrack did not take home the award for Best Original Song, (an honour bestowed upon Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” from the same film), Gosling’s performance stole the show. 

Donned in a pink, bedazzled suit, oozing with what could only be described as Ken-ergy, Gosling was joined onstage by his fellow Kens, recreating the iconic dance sequence from Marilyn Monroe’s "Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend." He even had his Barbie co-stars and director, Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie, and America Ferrara belting into the microphone. 

The production also featured a cameo from Slash—yes, the lead guitarist of Guns N’ Roses—who emerged on a platform below the stage to accompany Gosling in his big finale. 

It was clear the entire crowd of wealthy Hollywood talent and executives were enjoying the show. One in particular was critically acclaimed filmmaker, Martin Scorcese, who was shown to be smiling and clapping along during the performance in a video posted by his daughter.

Who needs a golden statue to determine the worth of a song? If Scorcese likes it, then that should be Kenough.

Killers of the Flower Moon snubbed by the Academy, while Canadian musician Robbie Robertson commemorated in a memoriam segment

One of the biggest surprises of the night was when Emma Stone beat Lily Gladstone for Best Actress, a clear shocker to both the audience and Stone herself.

It wasn’t just Gladstone’s performance that had been snubbed, but Killers of the Flower Moon had left the ceremony with zero wins under their belt, despite their many nominations.

Robbie Robertson’s work composing the film’s score lost to Academy-favourite Oppenheimer, which took home several awards including Best Actor, Best Director and Best Picture.

Aside from collaborating with Scorsese on many films, Robertson was well-known for his musical presence as lead guitarist and songwriter for The Band, backing Bob Dylan in the late sixties to mid-seventies. 

Robertson unfortunately passed away in August of 2023 and wasn’t able to witness his nomination nor his loss at this year’s Oscars. However, his legacy will continue to live on through his work, golden statue be damned.

Much like the film’s central themes, the love for Past Lives was unrequited

Much like Killers of the Flower Moon, Celine Song’s Past Lives was kicked to the curb at this year’s ceremony. The film lost Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture to Anatomy of a Fall and Oppenheimer, respectively.

Past Lives was Korean-Canadian director Celine Song’s debut feature film, which made its nominations all the more impressive. The film follows two childhood lovers who are pulled in and out of each other’s lives—some by choice, others by circumstance. 

In an interview for The Hollywood Reporter on the red carpet, Song spoke on the impact her film had on audiences, and how one in particular expressed how much they needed to see a story like that on screen.

“The fact that you get to make a movie that at least one person needs, to me I’m like ‘ah, what an amazing amazing dream,’ so that means a lot to me.”

It’s a delicate and wounding film that makes it one of the quieter entries into this year’s awards race. Yet, it still deserves recognition and your attention. 

To Kill a Tiger loses “Best Doc” but wins Netflix streaming distribution

One of the bigger awards Canada was betting on winning was for Best Feature Documentary, with Indian-born Canadian filmmaker Nisha Pahuja’s film, To Kill a Tiger. 
You’ve likely seen the posters for this documentary plastered on the walls of the subway stations in downtown Toronto. The film documents the story of a father in India fighting to protect his 13-year-old daughter after she is raped by several men in their village. 

Pahuja spoke on the importance of spreading awareness about sexual violence and rape, not just in India, but on a global scale. The film supports the #StandWithHer campaign in challenging gender roles and helping survivors speak out and seek justice. 

According to producer Cornelia Principe, it took eight years for Pahuja to make this documentary. 

“I think only Nisha could have survived eight years in making a film because she’s so determined and doesn’t give up,” she said in a red-carpet interview with Etalk.

Despite losing the Oscars to 20 Days in Mariupol, a film documenting the horrors of the war in Ukraine, To Kill a Tiger is now available to watch on Netflix for all audiences to engross themselves in. 

Godzilla crushes Canadian nominees in “Best Visual Effects” category

“A living nuclear weapon destined to walk the Earth forever. Indestructible.”

Secret agents and Marvel superheroes are no match for the VFX behemoth that is Godzilla Minus One. The visual effects team behind this latest, and one of the best, Godzilla films even brought along mini figurines of the monster himself onstage to accept their award.

“The moment we were nominated, we thought that, like Rocky Balboa, we were welcomed into the ring being equals by our biggest rivals which was already a miracle. But here we stand,” said filmmaker and visual effects supervisor, Takashi Yamazaki. “To all the VFX artists outside Hollywood, Hollywood was listening and this, all of this, is proof that everyone has a chance.”

They even thanked their former producer, Shuji Abe, who had passed away a couple of months before the ceremony and was renowned for his work in the Japanese film industry.

While it was disappointing to see Canadian nominees Jeff Sutherland (Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One) and Stephane Ceretti (Guardians of the Galaxy 3) lose in this category, Yamazaki and his team were definitely deserving of this win.

In a category alongside Wes Anderson, the cards were firmly stacked against this Canadian short film

Montreal filmmaker Vincent René-Lortie was inspired by the passing of his friend to create Invincible, a story following the last 48 hours of a boy before his death. 

In an interview with CityNews, René-Lortie spoke about how he hoped to spread the word about mental health and humanizing people who died by suicide through his work.

“For me, the film wasn’t about [the death] it was about the character itself, it was about what he was going through,” he said. “It wasn’t about how he passed away and how tragic that event was.”

The short was bested by Wes Anderson’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, a tough one to beat given the director’s revered status in Hollywood.

Ah well, there’s always the Canadian Screen Awards, where Invincible is nominated for both Best Live-Action Short Drama and Best Performance in a Live-Action Short Drama.

Until then, the film is currently available to watch in its entirety over on Vimeo.

Nimona remains the underdog in the awards race

It was no surprise to anyone that Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron claimed the Oscar win for Best Animated Feature. As the writer and producer of Across the Spiderverse, Chris Miller tweeted: “Well, if you’re gonna lose, might as well lose to the GOAT.”

But, honestly, I wish there was a little more love for Nimona.

Following the corporate acquisition of Blue Sky Studios in 2021, the adaptation of ND Stevenson’s queer-coded graphic novel was seemingly cancelled. Luckily for us, the film was picked up by Annapurna and Netflix, who revived the project and gave us the delightfully demonic movie that is Nimona. 

As a fan of the comic, I must admit that I was a tad biased in my desire to see this film take home an Oscar. Its messaging around gender identity hit close to home, and the themes surrounding questioning authority are important to instill among viewers of any age.

In an interview for Little Black Book with Canadian-born co-director, Troy Quane, he called their Oscar nomination the comeback story of the decade.

“The nomination hopefully just means more people will hear about the film and watch it. I also hope it sends a message to the studios that audiences are not only ready for but demanding unique, original, diverse and inclusive stories.”

Netflix even released the film in its entirety on YouTube before the award show, a particularly daring move for a streaming service that relies on paid subscriptions. Yet, it helped ensure that anyone, regardless of monetary constraints, was able to access and appreciate this movie.

Couldn’t be prouder of this Halifax filmmaker!

No one was as delighted to walk up to that Oscars stage as Porche Brinker. 

The 12-year-old musician and one of the stars of Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers’ short film, The Last Repair Shop, received a standing ovation as the three walked down the aisle.

“The Last Repair Shop is about the heroes in our schools who often go unsung, unthanked and unseen,” said Bowers during his speech. “Tonight, you are sung, you are thanked, you are seen.

This is Ben Proudfoot’s second Oscar win (and only win for Canada this year). The film tells the tale of how a group of people in LA worked to provide public school children with free repair services for their musical instruments.

The Last Repair Shop took home the award for Best Documentary Short, and the entirety is currently available to watch on YouTube.

Why Gen Z is Making Everyone Fall Back in Love With Film Photography

In a sea of advancements in cameras, film photography has resurfaced in popularity thanks to Gen Z. 

By Rachel Cheng

(Courtesy of Anthony Ung)

We’ve all seen film photos on Instagram. The warm, grainy photos always seem to promise a dreamy, carefree, and far away moment somewhere between nostalgic memories and romantic imaginations. 

According to a recent article from the Globe and Mail, it is clear that film cameras are back with the new generation, after being on the brink of extinction about a decade ago. But with all of the new advancements in phone cameras that make high resolution photos so accessible, why is Gen Z opting for older technology? 

“In film, the limited amount of shots allow you to not care too much about whether the photo was good or not, but whether the moment you caught was of value.” says Anthony Ung, a student at Western Ivey, with years of experience in professional photography. “There’s less of a concern about exact composition, and minute details. You’re able to take a step back and just appreciate the moment.”  

Ung started taking photos after the pandemic restrictions started to lift in 2021. He says that the motivation for using film cameras was from nostalgia – not from the experience of using the equipment – but rather a wish for a simpler time. 

“I think in the context of post-COVID-19, the definition of nostalgia is not necessarily defined as something that you actively lived, rather it is a yearning of normalcy,” says Ung. “I think COVID-19 just allowed people to feel a lot more sentimental towards a past, not necessarily their past. I think that cultural shift is what kind of drives the explosion of analogue.” 

Kendra Kelly Peterkin, film student at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), says that the medium just feels more authentic. 

“It just feels a lot more real. It takes a lot more effort,” says Peterkin. “With digital cameras nowadays, you have everything at your fingertips. With film you have to do everything yourself, so there's a lot more effort and energy going into it. It makes it more authentic.” 

Shots from Peterkin’s short film (Courtesy of Kendra Kelly Peterkin)

And a lot of the appeal also lies in the wait. 

“There is freedom in just taking photos and being like, okay I’ll just take it and I’ll see it in a few weeks,” says Ung. 

Flexibility and creativity are also learned through the wait, since the photographer is never exactly clear on what their shots look like. 

“When you [use] film you can’t see it right away, but when you get it developed and see that everything worked out fine – or it didn’t work out how you expected but it still looks good – I think that’s the most gratifying thing about film,” says Peterkin. 

But Gen Z isn’t just copying old trends, they also have a lot to add to the old medium. 

Peterkin says that they bring a lot of diversity into their films, and allow people in this generation to see themselves represented in a medium that used to be limited to certain races and classes. 

Photo of Ung’s friend stopping at a gas station before prom (Courtesy of Anthony Ung)

“A lot of my motivation, and why I started in the first place is because I wanted to bring inclusivity and diversity,” says Peterkin. “Especially growing up, I wouldn’t see people like me in film, and when I did it would be very stereotypical [...] I wanted to be able to create media that is more inclusive and accurate.”  

Shireen Agharazi Dormani, film student at TMU, also mentions that the motion picture cameras used to shoot movies on film are more accessible now to people of any class. 

“Those existed like years ago, not just anyone can have them, they’re super expensive. But now we have better access,” says Dormani. 

Through their art and passion, all young photographers, in a way, reclaim the old medium with oppressive beginnings, and shift its legacy into something more diverse and vibrant. 

But at the end of the day, the most gratifying thing about art will always be the moments and feelings they represent. 

“My favourite thing is taking photos of my friends,” says Ung. “My favourite thing I’ve done with film is just learn to appreciate moments. Passing moments. And learning to capture it in a way that is not invasive and doesn’t take away from the presentness required to go about life.”  

(Courtesy of Anthony Ung)

Shot from Peterkin’s short film (Courtesy of Kendra Kelly Peterkin)

Shot from Peterkin’s short film (Courtesy Kendra Kelly Peterkin)

So you want to be a model?

Your ultimate guide to embracing the model in you

By Surina Mehroke 

Countless aspire to become models, holding onto the cherished dream, yet what's the key to truly flourishing in this industry? Drawing from my experience as a talent agent at ICON Models, a premier agency in Toronto, I've crafted four simple steps to guide you on your journey. 

Understanding the industry in Canada

Zia Syed via Unsplash

If your goal is to be on the covers of major fashion magazines in the likes of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, then you have to first consider your current environment. Toronto is unfortunately not a major fashion city, and thus Canada does not necessarily have the climate to present you with the same fashion opportunities you would get in cities like New York or Paris. 

Canada’s most lucrative modelling opportunities are based around commercials. However, if you’re set on fashion — do not be disheartened! Agencies will often place their models overseas for periods of time ranging from a  couple months to a year to provide them with the most opportunities in fashion. Not only does this mean you get to travel to build your model portfolio, but it also means you don’t miss out on any of the fashion week action internationally! 

Understanding where you fit in the industry 

Radeon Prasetya via Unsplash

Understanding where you fit in the industry is just as important as grasping the mechanics of the industry itself. Unlike popular beliefs, you do not have to be extremely tall or slim to be accepted in the modelling industry. While there are height and measurement requirements to work in fashion, The industry is gradually becoming more inclusive. More and more you see high fashion brands searching for plus size models. Similarly, commercial modelling welcomes a diverse array of people of all shapes and sizes! 

Although modelling is commonly linked with fashion, commercial assignments can prove to be more financially rewarding, with clients often showing greater appreciation for their models. 

Building a portfolio 

Ailbhe Flynn via Unsplash

Building your portfolio is a crucial process as a model and is something you can do even on a budget! It is important to remember that being a model isn’t just about looking pretty but how you react in front of a camera. Modelling is a talent that takes practice and dedication to perfect. Using your knowledge of where you fit in the industry will help guide how your portfolio should look. There are two ways to gain this expertise and curate a professional portfolio. 

The first is trade for prints (TFP), which refers to unpaid shoots where models lend their skills to a photographer in exchange for the pictures afterward. It is a win-win for the photographer and model, allowing both parties to gain applied experiences and build their portfolio. TFP’s can be easily secured through reaching out to photographers on Instagram or checking out institutions with photography programs where students are likely to work with you on a TFP.

The second option available is paid shoots. There are plenty of photographers in the city who will charge a set fee for a shoot with them. In these paid shoots, you can ask to be photographed in multiple outfits and  they oftentimes will edit the pictures after for you as well. This can be a great alternative if you want more creative direction and freedom in the photoshoot.

Start looking for agencies 

Christin Hume via Unsplash

Once you have a solid portfolio built up, you can start applying to modelling agencies in your respected city. An agency will help you book jobs and further mould your portfolio to the best of its potential. They have the ability to place you overseas as they see fit and represent you for future opportunities. Agencies will also  give you advice about the industry and be honest with you on where your career is likely to thrive. 

It is worth noting that whilst agencies will try their hardest to book you jobs, it is entirely up to the client on whether you get selected. This means that even with an agency jobs are never guaranteed, something representative of the industry at large. 

Being a model can be a fulfilling and fun career but like most creative industries, it is competitive and requires a lot of dedication. Building a tough skin and being willing to consistently work on your portfolio is necessary to ensure a successful career in the modelling industry. Most importantly, having fun and enjoying your work reflects positively on camera. 

Love-filled Fashion – A Valentine’s Day Lookbook

Get your Valentine’s Day fix post-love-day.

By Julia Lawrence

Valentine's Day is when lovey-dovey eyes exchange between partners and friends—it's also when you can show off the pink, red and overall fashion-forward pieces you have in your closet.

CanCulture’s 2024 Valentine’s Day lookbook showcases different fashion styles encapsulating the love holiday’s aesthetic. Scroll down to fill your heart with love, joy and fashion inspiration.

Mikayla Trainor (@meekeela_) pairs a bright pink skirt with a pale pink sweatshirt. (Julia Lawrence/CanCulture)

Parker Theis (R) (@_jurassicparker_) and Michael Karant (L) (@michaelkarant) dress to impress for their dinner date. (Julia Lawrence/CanCulture)

Minori Peters (@minori.peters) wears thrifted heart-shaped earmuffs alongside a simple red and black outfit. (Julia Lawrence/CanCulture)

Lama Alshami (@lama.alshxmi) dons a full pink look with nails to match. (Julia Lawrence/CanCulture)

Debeshi (@_debeshi_228) (Julia Lawrence/CanCulture)

Yllana Williams (@yllanawilliams) layers white on white for a textured look paired with heart-eyed makeup and pink heels. (Julia Lawrence/CanCulture)

Rachel (@booperdontcrossthelinedooper) layers a heart-filled vest over a red sweater. (Julia Lawrence/CanCulture)

Daniella Lopez (@lopez_daniella_) contrasts dark brown pants with a light pink sweater and cream cardigan. Julia Lawrence/CanCulture)

Prescela Jeeves (@prescelaaa) matches her pink rose with a bright pink sweater draped over a white long sleeve. (Julia Lawrence/CanCulture)

What did you wear this past Valentine’s Day? Email (cancultureinfo@gmail.com) a photo of your outfit for a chance to be featured on @canculturemag’s Instagram.

Unveiling the ink: The tales behind tattoos

The strangers of downtown Toronto share the unique stories behind their permanent body art  

By Kayla Solway

I don't have any tattoos of my own, but I am always curious about the ink on others. I'm intrigued by the backstories and how the shapes, colours and unique designs have come to be. Was it a spontaneous decision or a carefully planned tattoo that holds deep meaning? 

For Isabella Keats, this was the case for her first tattoo, done in memory of two of her grandparents. 

"The tattoo wraps around my wrist like a bracelet. In my inner arm, it says ‘Love Avó,’ which in Portuguese means grandmother. On the other hand, in my other grandmother's handwriting, it says ‘Love Grandma.’"

After a three-year battle with brain cancer, Keats explained that one of her grandmothers had sadly passed away over the winter break.

"I wanted to get something to commemorate her, and this seemed like the best way to do it." 

After searching through storage and finding old birthday and Christmas cards, Keats was able to get both tattoos done in each of her grandmother's handwriting. 

"Both these women in my life have made me the person I am today, and without them, I wouldn't be me. Why wouldn't I not want to commemorate them?"

Keats shows off her inner arm tattoo done in her grandmother’s handwriting (Kayla Solway/CanCulture)

Sidney Haqq chose her arm tattoo for its design rather than its profound meaning.

"I follow a lot of tattoo artists based on their artwork. As a photography student, I appreciate aesthetics, so I lean towards something more creative than meaningful," she said.

Haqq received the ink only a few months ago after picking it as a flash, a pre-prepared design usually found in street shops and suitable for quick walk-ins. After making a few slight changes to the design, she settled on the final product.  

Haqq displays her tattoo that is on the back of her upper arm. (Kayla Solway/CanCulture)

For Hiyab Redae, her only tattoo carries a deep meaning and represents her younger sister.

"There were a lot of reasons I got it, one being my little sister. We have this little joke where we say four in a British accent. It's so stupid, but my sister is close to my heart."

Only one week after her 18th birthday, she had the number four done in red ink, although it did take preparation with her mother.  

"My mom is very Christian and traditional and does not approve of tattoos. My older sister has a lot of tattoos, so I conditioned her for weeks upon getting it."

Although small, the ink on her hand is something Redae will carry with her forever, a reminder of her love for her younger sister and a new chapter as she transitions into adulthood.

Redae shows off the ‘4’ tattoo placed on her lower thumb. (Kayla Solway/CanCulture)

Matti Leppik is an artist at Chronic Ink in downtown Toronto who shared his most meaningful and prominent tattoo. It took over four years to finish, spans from his neck to his knees, and contains a wide array of colours. 

"It was a big commitment, seeing as it's almost half my body and a big process with the artist," said Leppik. 

"I wanted to make sure that the tattoo was done historically in a way that accurately depicts the Japanese style tattoo. At one point I wanted something to be purple and thought it would be cool. My artist was like ‘No, that's not what colour that character is historically.’"

The main subject of the tattoo is the Indian Buddhist teacher, philosopher and author named Nagarjuna. Surrounding Nagarjuna are patterns that spread across Leppik's shoulders and all the way down his back.

"He taught at the Madhyamika school of Buddhism. The core of the teaching is the middle way. It means emptiness, not in the sense of nothingness but more in the sense of everything being connected. His teachings and principles will be something I take with me my entire life, and it will always be important to me to take the middle path," he said.

Leppik displays the upper half of his tattoo that depicts Nagarjuna. (Courtesy of Matti Leppik) 

Olivia Adolfo, who is now 22, got her first tattoo just days after turning 18: two roses interconnected on her arm. 

"I'm named after my grandmother, Rosie, and my middle name is Rose, so I got it for the both of us. I planned it the day after I turned 18, and I definitely don't regret it!"

Adolfo shows off her rose tattoo on her outer arm. (Kayla Solway/CanCulture)

Another delicate floral motif found its home on Keesha Levesque’s back, her tenth and most recent tattoo. She had just moved to Toronto, and it was her first week as a student living in residence at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU).

"I was in the elevator of my building, and I overheard a girl talking about her recent flash tattoo at a nearby shop. I liked the work, and she explained that they took walk-ins. So I thought, you know what, let me start off this new journey in Toronto with a tattoo."

Levesque has many tattoos that mark significant events in her life and symbolize personal growth. It seemed only fitting for her to get a new ink on this occasion.

"This is my only flash piece and will probably remain the only one. I put a lot of thought into the tattoos I get and want to be a part of the design process, but I thought why not be spontaneous and get a flash."

Levesque expressed that this is the first tattoo she feels genuinely proud of.

Levesque proudly displays her back tattoo of a flower. (Kayla Solway/CanCulture)

"I have some pretty tattoos and feel proud to wear all of them, but this one was very well done and such a cute spot. Now every time someone asks me about it, I get to tell them: it was the start of my journey to Toronto," Levesque said.

8 handmade jewelry businesses to look out for

From beaded to fabric, here’s where to get the best handcrafted accessories in Canada

By Lynette George

From beaded earrings to jade rings, small businesses all across Canada are creating stunning handmade jewellery (Lynette George/CanCulture)

Ivy and Lua

Ivy and Lua is a Toronto-based handmade jewelry business that specializes in polymer clay earrings as well as stunning pearl and chain creations. Shefali Kalra started crafting these mini masterpieces as an outlet for her creativity in 2020. It’s only been a couple of years since she decided to start selling her creations, and her work is only getting better! A youth worker by day, you can find Kalra online or at various local markets, selling her pieces and spreading joy with her art!

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JShine Design

A tribute to the land and all of its many offerings, JShine Design focuses on using natural elements to create wearable art. The small business focuses on jewelry made from home-tanned hides, vintage beads, shells, porcupine quills and more. Owned by Cree artist, Jessica Sanderson Barry, the company is located in Edmonton and ships all across Canada and internationally. Head to their website to learn more!

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Velanidi

Toronto-based artist Dina Baxevanakis has cracked the code on fun statement earrings at her small business, Velanidi. Specializing in hyperrealistic food earrings (yes, food earrings), the shop is most popular for its “produce bag” collection. Using recyclable mesh bags to create miniature accessory versions of it, Baxevanakis handcrafts polymer clay food items to put into it, giving customers a perfect “fresh from the farmers market” look. It’s playful and more importantly, a great conversation starter! 

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This Ilk

Founded by Tamara Bavdek in 2008, This Ilk is a Montreal-based business pushing the definition of what jewelry can truly be. Unlike most jewelry brands, This Ilk chooses to use vintage fabrics to create wearable art, giving a second life to materials that would have otherwise been discarded. Promoting sustainable fashion without compromising on quality or style, Bavdek’s vision is profound. If you’re searching for an eco-friendly alternative to fast fashion accessories, take a look at This Ilk’s website!

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Haley Made

If you’re searching for a bright pop of colour to liven up your look, Haley Made is the right fit for you! With designs featuring iridescent pearls, pretty charms, beads and gold accents, the small business’ jewelry has a soft, delicate and hyper-feminine look. The owner, Haley Crespo, discovered jewelry making when she was hospitalized due to Lupus. Now, she has turned her passion into a business, creating everything from hair clips to phone charms, with the hope of spreading joy. Find Crespo on Instagram to learn more.

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A post shared by ✨HALEY✨ (@haleymadeshop)

Bead n Butter

Bead n Butter is a growing small business based in Winnipeg that specializes in beaded earrings and necklaces, intricately made for everyone. Metis artist, Jessie Pruden, founded the company a few years ago after being enraptured by the art form. This year, if you’re looking to support a queer, disabled, Indigenous entrepreneur, or if you’re just looking for some mind-blowing beaded jewelry, check out Bead n Butter!

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Running Fox Beads

Skye Paul’s Running Fox Beads is a force to be reckoned with in the world of handmade jewelry. A member of the English River First Nation, Paul works with traditional jewelry-making techniques, while still allowing room for innovation and modernization. The result — a set of perfectly beaded Cheeto earrings and a detailed blueberry bolo tie. Based in Toronto, check out Paul’s work online or at Kensington Market’s Wildflower Goods.

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A post shared by Skye Paul (@runningfoxbeads)

Jade House

Having been in the field for three generations, Jade House sells beautiful jade jewelry on their online shop and via social media. Made with Grade A Burmese jade, the Toronto-based small business sells everything from earrings to necklaces, carving each piece with precision. If you’re looking for some stunning jewelry that’s going to get you the best compliments, check out Jade House on Instagram.

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The Film Industry’s Ins and Outs for 2024

2023 changed a lot for the industry, but how much of it will stick?

By Tia Harish

New year's resolutions have had their time in the spotlight. With a new year comes a promise to do better, to grow and to ultimately do something different. The past year has encouraged casual viewers to think a little harder about an industry that may not often cross their minds. The film and TV industry is far from perfect. Just like the content it creates, it is a mirror of our world’s merits and flaws. Coming into this new year, nearly two years post-pandemic and roughly 3 months after the SAG-AFTRA strikes ended, and 5 months after the WGA strike came to an end, this industry has a lot of rebuilding to do. So what's in and what's out for this new year in film?

Out: Objectifying Celebrities

Heartthrob of the season Jacob Elordi’s infamous bathtub scene in Saltburn inspired a scented “bath water” candle that his co-stars were asked to sniff on a red carpet. The Bear actress Ayo Edibiri was asked about co-star Jeremy Allen White’s very suggestive Calvin Klein campaign. It's easy to forget that actors are real people with real feelings, especially since it's challenging to connect with them in a non-parasocial way. Recently, Elordi has also been accused of assault after a radio producer joked about the aforementioned scene, a classic example of not being able to separate the character from the actor. Actors should be given enough respect and not be treated like objects for sexual gratification or degrading sexual humour. This should have always been an "out,” but I think we'll still be  talking about this for a few years to come.

In: Intimacy Coordinators

Intimacy coordinators (ICs) are effectively stunt coordinators for scenes that involve nudity or simulated sex. ICs often work closely with the cast and crew to effectively choreograph sex scenes. In The Idol, the first episode features a plotline where the IC is ridiculed and locked in a bathroom so a model can be more exposed during her photoshoot. This is not the kind of energy we need in the new year. ICs were not compulsory until the SAG-AFTRA strikes concluded. This mandate will hopefully reduce sexual assault cases on set, power imbalances between cast and crew and create a better environment for everyone involved in film and TV production.

@intimacycoordinator Account Introduction!! On this page, we talk about all things spicy tv (and theatre). I love what I do and sharing with others about how it works! While you’re here, there are three things you should know: 1) I don’t talk about projects I’ve worked on for privacy reasons. All of my breakdowns are just guesses from what I see on screen and all my skits are made up! 2) This is a new discipline, so I only speak for myself and welcome differing viewpoints. 3) My goal is to approach this work from a place of joy, normalizing conversations about intimacy filmmaking. De-stigmatizing the process is one of the first steps towards safer and better artistry. Feel free to ask questions, introduce yourself, or leave a comment ❤️ Thank you!! #intimacycoordinator #filmtok #behindthescenes #netflix #hulu #queencharlotte #bridgerton #outlander #euphoria #365 #hbomax #actor ♬ Blue Blood - Heinz Kiessling

Out: Movie & TV Reboots for the sake of Cash Grabs 

There's been a disappointing amount of lacklustre reboots released in the past few years. Off the top of my head are How I Met Your Father, Velma and Gossip Girl. None of them stand up to the legacies of the originals. Velma, in particular, was an offence to the gift that is Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. And that's putting it lightly. These reboots were all marketed towards fans of the original. They made waves despite their poor reception and with no clear value added to the narrative, it is clear they were made to bank off the profit of the originals. 

In: Reboots & Sequels that can stand alone

In the past few years, we've seen some reboots & sequels that have rivalled the originals. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off came out during my Scott Pilgrim hyperfixation, so perhaps I am biased. The reboot included everything the original movie lacked, particularly character development and lore. It was also definitely fleshed out enough to stand on its own. Similarly, the Bridgerton prequel, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, could have functioned as its own story, independent of the primary series. These shows exhibit the kind of creativity we the audience still crave, and will hopefully continue to get.

Out: So. Many. Streaming Services

If the goal of creating a streaming service like Netflix or Amazon Prime was to move people away from the inconvenience of cable, it has failed spectacularly. These days, bundles of streaming services with small discounts are growing more common. Frankly, it’s annoying. Cable TV today is genuinely better, with more channels and shows available, sometimes at a lower price. And you can usually set certain shows to be recorded, so you can watch them even if you miss them live. Streaming services seem overrated these days, especially when there are so many better alternatives.

In: Actively Supporting the (big and small) Film Industry

This past year, we have seen the industry strike for better wages, job security and labour rights. The creative industry will always be a volatile one and profit will always be at the forefront of large media outlets.  By making donations to companies that fight for these rights, or going to the local theatre to watch a movie instead of waiting for it to come out online, you can show your support for an industry that is far more essential than people give it credit for. Perhaps you want to attend a film night at a park or help crowdfund an indie movie. If you don’t have any cash to spare, consider learning more about the issues in the film industry and what you can do to help.

House of Dwir: A celebration of inclusivity, individualism and creativity

A genderless fashion line based in Toronto fuses the traditional divide between men and womenswear into garments inclusive to all. 

By Neda Madany

Leading Toronto designer, Dan Dwir creates genderless collections for his fashion brand. House of Dwir (Neda Madany/CanCulture, photos courtesy of Dan Dwir)

Dan Dwir combines avant-garde artistry with transformative tailoring to create his versatile and genderless collections. 

The Swiss designer behind House of Dwir says the brand is meant to celebrate inclusivity, individualism and creativity. “The idea behind it is really so everybody can express themselves with fashion, and to style them in different ways to create a new look,” says Dwir. “Hence the creativity behind it.”

Growing up in Switzerland, Dwir studied fashion design at Haute École d’Art et Design in Geneva, where he also spent time learning French-style tailoring from Genevan tailors. Dwir left Switzerland soon after that to Chicago, where he did lots of tailoring and constructed garments for people, typically for events. “I used to do a lot of wedding gowns, custom-made garments, cocktail dresses and all that stuff.” Dwir spent two and a half years in the U.S. before coming to Toronto in 2019 and launching House of Dwir, his first ready-to-wear collection. 

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A post shared by DAN DWIR (@houseofdwir)

“It came from the fact that I was unable to find clothing that I like and enjoy,” says Dwir. The flowy and interesting fabrics that intrigued him were typically categorized as womenswear and only created to fit the traditional female body type.

Dwir began making garments for himself to expand a wardrobe better curated for him. “I started making myself pieces with silk and very flowy fabrics for shirts because I love them.” After the designs he created for himself received admiration, desire and love from others, Dwir decided to share his genderless fashion through his ready-to-wear line House of Dwir. In addition to his line, Dwir teaches and mentors aspiring designers and students in fashion. 

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A post shared by DAN DWIR (@houseofdwir)

Upon introduction, Dwir says many people confuse genderless with unisex. “For me, unisex really means that there are only two sexes,” says Dwir. “Genderless really embraces the whole spectrum of it. Genderless fashion means that anybody can wear it.”

Constructing garments that can fit everybody poses an immediate challenge when it comes to genderless clothing, an obstacle that Dwir loves. While baggy clothing might be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of garments that can be worn by anyone, Dwir has a different approach. His experience in very precise French-style tailoring is what he uses to make his garments completely genderless. “ “I did a lot of tailoring in Geneva. I really try to find that fine line in between, in my tailoring,” says Dwir. He innovatively constructs his pieces to be versatile and completely wearable by their owner, whoever it is. He adds pockets while omitting the zipper in the crotch area of all his bottom designs, to ensure an accommodating fit for anyone. ”Women have the right to have pockets,” says Dwir, discussing the common lack of pockets in women's pants and bottoms.

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All House of Dwir garments are separated into two sizes, XXS-S and M-XXL, with versatility kept in mind. “It’s really trying to have one piece that can be worn in as many sizes as possible.”

Fabric for draping, buttons, and different clips are considerations Dwir makes when creating his collections. He encourages his consumers to adjust and creatively drape his garments, allowing for individualized versions of each piece.

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Dwir embraces the creativity of each of his consumers, building a connection from designer to customer. “I love people literally taking my pieces and doing something wild with them,” says Dwir. Working with stylists for photoshoots and witnessing a look come to life with his designs is a reminder to Dwir. “It really means to me that I achieved what I wanted.”For Dwir, it is about the person taking the piece and working with it, doing whatever they want with it. 

All House of Dwir garments are produced in Canada, with an effort made to support local seamstresses and fabric distributors when possible. “If I have contractors, they’re all local,” Dwir says. Although most likely produced somewhere else in the world, the fabrics used in garment production come from showrooms in Canada. “It promotes the local economy here.” Dwir says by using  Tencel, a branded lyocell sourced from wood and created using environmentally cautious processes, the fabrics and materials used in House of Dwir production are sustainable and eco-friendly as well. 

The warm and welcoming aura of the Toronto fashion industry has been ideal for  Dwir. “It’s a community, we work together,” says Dwir. In contrast, New York City, North America’s fashion capital, isn't appealing to the designer after five years in the Canadian city. “You’re just a drop of water in the ocean over there. While here you can actually be heard and make a statement,” says Dwir. “I love to be able to grow the Canadian market, the Toronto market in particular, and just be a part of it.”

Although the line does have a website, Dwir appreciates the times he can connect with his customers, hence most of House of Dwir’s sales are in person. “When I do shows or pop-ups and things like that, I really get to talk to people, that’s where the connection is really made.”

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Dwir says he is disappointed at the lack of genderless representation in general fashion.  He recalls that all the efforts made by several fashion houses to be more inclusive have been erased. “I had a little bit of a sad moment when I saw all the Fashion Week’s this year, for these big brands, genderless fashion was only a trend to make money,” he says. 

This motivates Dwir to put in more work to represent all-inclusive and genderless fashion. “It makes me want to be even more on the scene, to do even more and to not let that go.”

Valentine’s Day date ideas for music lovers

Whether you stay in or go out with your boo, let music take the lead.

By Isabella Soares

A romantic occasion made special with a curated playlist. (Isabella Soares/CanCulture)

February is here, meaning that the clock is ticking when it comes to planning a romantic hangout with your partner for Valentine’s Day. Although going to the movies or eating a three-course meal at a bougie restaurant seems like the way to go, there is more in store for couples that want to add music to this special occasion. From pairs that want to keep it casual to love birds that want to enjoy an epic night out, the list below has several music-centred ideas to help you find the perfect way to celebrate.

Go Record Shopping

If there is one place that music lovers can’t help but swing by from time to time, it’s a record store. There is something about roaming through the aisles filled with albums from a variety of genres that is appealing to any music enthusiast. In the case you and your significant other share the same desire to purchase vinyl or CDs, what better way to enjoy Valentine’s Day than shopping together? Maybe once you get past the cashier, you can give each other a record as a gift.

See a musical at a local theatre

Musicals aren’t for everybody, since they often have more singing and dancing than wordy dialogues. Yet, for those couples that do enjoy a dramatic story accompanied by upbeat tunes, attending a musical production at a local theatre is a must. You’ll laugh at the occasional jokes, hold hands when the characters fall in love, and will surely have a new repertoire to sing together after the curtains close.

Attend a Candlelight concert

You have probably seen ads promoting a Candlelight concert on your Instagram feed, but never actually purchased a ticket to experience one in person. Well, Valentine’s Day seems like an ideal occasion to give it a try. After all, there is nothing more romantic than being in a dimly lit room next to your soulmate, listening to orchestral versions of your favourite songs.

Enjoy a meal to the sound of a curated playlist

With so many people making reservations in advance to eat out, enjoying a meal together at home might be a cozy way to go. To make the night even more intimate, come up with a playlist filled with tunes that you both enjoy—or remind you of each other—and listen to it while having dinner. Once a ballad begins to play, you can always seize the opportunity to slow dance with your partner in the living room.

Sing at a karaoke bar

Listening to music 24/7 means you probably know several songs by heart and sing them in the shower. Why not get out of your comfort zone and belt out the lyrics with your significant other at a karaoke bar? The whole point of karaoke is to have fun and let go of the pressure of sounding good to a picky crowd. Putting your names on the list and hitting the stage will make the night nothing short of exciting!

Watch an artist or band perform live

If an artist or band that you and your partner love is planning a concert on Valentine’s Day (or maybe during that week), then purchasing a ticket to see them live should be a given. Yet, in the case that they aren’t performing in your hometown anytime soon, why not see a local band or a cover group instead. They might not seem as exciting as the person on your concert bucket list, but you might leave their show with a new local talent to add to your playlist afterward.

No matter the date idea you and your boo settle on, the truth is that music has the power to make a special occasion even more significant. After all, songs can evoke emotions and remind us of a moment in our lives better than words can. When the right tune plays at the right time, magic happens and a simple get-together with the person that you love becomes an everlasting memory.

Musical Memories: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Music is inseparable from memory, so you better hope it’s good music you’re listening to!

By Sam Santos   

Human memory works in strange ways, none more intriguing than how music can impact it. There are certain moments in our lives that we attach to a song, even if insignificant or seemingly mundane. 

As I write this intro while waiting for my international literature lecture to start, a girl I don’t know got up and played Ghost by Justin Bieber on the piano, much to everyone’s surprise. I’m not the biggest “Belieber,“ but I know the next time I hear the song I’ll remember this particular moment.

Music has the power to transcend time and space. It manifests itself in our memory, sometimes subconsciously. For me personally, there are certain moments in my life that are inseparable from a particular song or artist. 

Imagine a collection of songs you despise greatly. Now imagine listening to them on repeat during the course of a 10-hour shift at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), a fair that takes place over 18 days in August and September every year in Toronto, in the sweltering heat of August. Unfortunately, I don’t have to imagine!. 

I ran a carnival game by myself with no coworkers nearby, so taking in the sights and sounds was the majority of the job. There were rare positives in this regard, like when an Amy Winehouse tribute concert was held within earshot. Most of the time though, I was subject to a loop of the same songs over and over. I don’t remember all of them, but here are some notable examples. 

Girls Like You (feat. Cardi B) by Maroon 5 

Some people like it when a Maroon 5 song includes a random rap verse for help on the Billboard charts. I am not one of those people. I thought I didn’t like Cardi B before, but after hearing this track on repeat, that disdain has grown to heights I didn’t think were possible. 

I Gotta Feeling by Black Eyed Peas 

I admit I am biased enough to give this song a pass. One of my earliest memories of music is dancing to I Gotta Feeling at my friend’s 4th birthday party in 2010. No complaints here. 

bad guy by Billie Eilish 

Eilish’s vocal technique is very unique and I happen to really enjoy some of her stuff. When it comes to bad guy, something about the xylophone-like refrain throughout the song just makes me want to fill my ears with cement. 

Cha Cha Slide by Mr. C The Slide Man

This is another musical memory within a musical memory, because most Ontario Gen-Z kids will recall hearing this song at some point in their journey through the public school system.

However, by no means do I ever want to listen to it on repeat again, no matter how sweet it was to hear as a kid. Hearing this song upwards of 10 times a day was truly akin to being waterboarded with Kool-Aid. 

Cold Heart - PNAU Remix by Elton John, Dua Lipa, PNAU 

I will not stand for this crude bastardization of Rocketman... enough said. 

Baby Shark by Pinkfong 

The most egregious inclusion on this list by a wide margin has to be this children’s hit. There are very few songs that could even dream of competing with the repetitive abhorrence of Baby Shark. The fact that it was even included in the playlist boggles my mind. 

Sonic Boom Records is basically a candy store for someone like me (Sam Santos/CanCulture)

I have much more positive memories of songs that I listened to willingly. The Morning by The Weeknd, from his 2011 mixtape House Of Balloons, has an ironically misleading title. The dark synths and cold lyrics are more reminiscent of a drunken Friday night bleeding into Saturday, certainly not anything bright or cheery. At some point during the summer of 2022 though, I began listening to The Morning to start my day. 

I’m not sure if someone put the idea in my head or not, but that was my wake-up soundtrack for quite a while. That song, and by extension, the entire mixtape, contains themes of heavy partying, self-destruction and regret. I think that in addition to those main themes, it symbolizes the breaking down of walls and having to confront reality eventually. Something about the brutal honesty of that has always been appealing to me. 

I bought a House Of Balloons vinyl from Sonic Boom Records on Spadina Avenue that same summer. It was the only copy in the bin and I felt like I had just won the lottery. The two friends who were with me that day didn’t quite grasp the magnitude of me randomly finding that record, but it was one of the highlights of my summer. That day was extremely hot, into the high 30s, and we explored the dimly-lit malls of Chinatown to escape the heat. 

Record collecting is an expensive but rewarding hobby. Not only do you get to physically own music you love, but you get to tell the stories associated with acquiring that music. 

The folks at Sonic Boom Records were kind enough to let me take some pictures in the store for the thumbnail of this story. While I was there, I found a signed copy of Kendrick Lamar’s Untitled Unmastered. Turns out, even writing about musical memories can lead to making more of them. 

The last memory I want to share also relates to the CNE (and Kendrick Lamar), but thankfully is more positive than the previous story. Before the fair itself, my job interview took place at the Exhibition grounds. I was, admittedly, quite nervous. 

The interview went well and I was hired on the spot. I remember walking away with a silent fist pump before popping in my AirPods and shuffling my playlist. No More Parties In LA by Kanye

West and Kendrick Lamar was the song that came up first. An unconventional celebratory song? Absolutely. But sometimes unconventional is exactly what you’re in the mood for. 

When it comes down to it, you can’t avoid some less-favourable songs from seeping into your mental hard drive every once in a while. I’m thankful for that, though. It makes the good musical memories all the more enjoyable.

Canadian Artists to Look Out For At Coachella 2024

 Could this be the start of a Canadian Invasion?

By Rebecca Draper

Seeing Canadian artists take on big stages around the globe always warms my heart. There’s no doubt that they are leaving an international impact with their talents, and Coachella 2024 is no exception. The lineup was released recently, with plenty of prominent names, some newbies and some expected regulars.

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The annual festival is taking place from April 12-14 and 19-21 in the desert city of Indio, California. Headlining this year: Lana Del Rey, Tyler, The Creator and Doja Cat along with a special reunion from No Doubt. The festival showcases some of the music industry’s biggest artists of all genres, creating the ultimate live music experience. Canadian artists such as Kaytranada, Testpilot (Deadmau5) and Chromeo were some of the big names featured last year. Here are some artists repping Canada on the lineup this year.

Nav

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Nav is a rapper, singer, songwriter and producer born and raised in Toronto to a Punjabi Jat Sikh family. He first came onto the music scene in 2015 co-producing Drakes’ hit single “Back to Black”. In 2016, his song “Myself” went viral on Soundcloud and he was later signed to XO, a record label founded by The Weeknd. He’s no stranger to the Coachella stage, with his first-ever solo public performance being at Coachella 2017—also guest performing alongside The Weeknd and Travis Scott.

AP Dhillon

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AP Dhillon is a singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer originally from Punjab, India, he later moved to British Columbia to continue his studies while pursuing music in 2015. AP Dhillon became a significant new artist in the Punjabi-Canadian community when he was the first artist to sing a song fully in Punjabi at the 2023 Juno Awards, putting Punjabi music on the international map. He later released his first single “Fake” in 2019 under the Canadian independent record label Run-Up Records. "I moved here with two suitcases and one dream, and that was just to do something that can inspire people back home," Dhillon told CBC News at the Juno Awards. This will be his first time performing at Coachella.

Blond:ish

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Vivie-ann Bakos, known by her stage name Blond:ish, is a Montreal-based producer and DJ. Alongside being a praised house/techno artist, she is also an environmental activist and founded Bye Bye Plastics, a grassroots organization aimed towards eliminating single-use plastic from music venues and events. The artist recently released a lively single called “Sorry” featuring none other than the “Queen of Pop”, Madonna. She will be returning to the festival after making her debut in 2019. 

Grimes

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This acclaimed Montreal native is familiar with performing on big global stages. Her musical style is a blend of several genres, including electronica, synth-pop, and hip-hop. Her most recent release is the upbeat single “I Wanna Be Software”, produced by Calgary native IIIangelo who is also known for his frequent collaborations with The Weeknd. She last performed at Coachella in 2016, featuring guest appearances from Janelle Monae and Aristophanes for an eclectic performance. 

This lineup offers some of the best talent Canada has to offer, and the diverse range of music exemplifies the country’s multiculturalism. Hopefully, this growing exposure in the global music scene will leave a lasting imprint on future music stars and give Canadian artists the recognition they deserve.

Don’t burn the CD: How these two stores challenge the disappearance of physical media

Show love to physical movies, music and video games when possible to disrupt the seeming end of CDs and physical copies of your favourite shows and artists.

By Julia Lawrence

Big box stores such as Best Buy are phasing out their DVD and Blu-ray sales, and in 2020, streaming services reached over one billion subscriptions, according to Motion Picture Associations. It leaves independent stores dedicated to the art of physical media with a decision to either follow with the times or adapt and live on.

Toronto’s Bay Street Video and Iceman Video Games’ Peterborough, Ont. location are two examples of how sellers have had to adapt to the ever-changing consumer viewing habits while never losing sight of their goals to share new and nostalgic materials.

Bay Street Video - 1172 Bay Street, Toronto

Bay Street Video recently had its 30th anniversary this past August, celebrating being one of the largest physical media collections in Toronto with DVDs, Blu-rays and more available to the public.

Manager Brendan Whelton said they have almost over 40,000 titles across DVDs, Blu-rays and 4K open to rent and roughly 15,000 titles in stock for sale across those formats.

“We have the entire history of film going back to the 1890s with 10 to 50 new releases every week,” Whelton explained. “We constantly joke about where we're gonna put it all, but we make it work. We've been a fixture of the Toronto film scene for a while.”

Bay Street Video gets a range of customers — from Toronto Metropolitan University and University of Toronto students who come for the student rental discount to clientele who are resistant to adapting to streaming or want to see a title that's not available online.

“Those people who don't have the patience to adapt to streaming because it's so complicated now. You need to get eight different services to have access to everything, which isn't everything,” Whelton said.

The store saw a big influx of rental memberships in June 2020, partially due to the pandemic, but Whelton shared that it he noticed a direct impact from Mad Men’s license expiring with Netflix.

“There was a bunch of people stuck at home who got into Mad Men during the pandemic and it wasn’t there anymore,” he said. “We got a bunch of people like, ‘What is the rental membership? How does that work? What do I need to do?’”

The feeling of your favourite show being discontinued and removed from streaming sites is not a pleasant experience. Whelton says a reason people have stuck and continue to revisit physical media is the nostalgia factor.

“People remember liking something and they want to be able to have a copy, to be able to show people is a very intimate thing to show something that you care about and to know that it'll always be there is very important,” he said.

Since taking over the manager role last year, Whelton hopes to push the store to make it more community-focused.

He wants to make it a “pride of place for local people,” as the store’s clientele has supported them through thick and thin.

“When no big new movies were coming out, rentals kept us going and when rentals have been down, sales have been up, that has been a cornerstone of our success.”

Iceman Video Games - 390 George St N, Peterborough, Ont.

Iceman Video Games has been around since 1992 having their start in Toronto. They now have moved to two physical locations in Lindsay, Ont. and Peterborough, Ont. where they sell new, used and retro video games and other memorabilia.

Peterborough manager Holly Butler says there has been a mixed increase and decrease of visitors that are marked before and after COVID-19.

“We would have midnight launches…for big releases, we’d have lineups out the door type for preorder events. Now we still have quite a few people that preorder, not nearly as it was 10 years ago,” Butler said.

With that, there was also a surge of people missing physical indoor shopping.

Butler added, “Once everything was opened up, we had so many people rushing in that missed just talking to another human being [while] doing their shopping. It wasn't like going to Amazon, one-click, add to cart, very impersonal.”

Butler noted that with the lack of consumers buying physical copies, developers have to rely on fair rights and ownership of their work.

“We're already seeing issues with that (losing games) because there are certain games where all of a sudden, there'll be a rights issue, either within the game itself or from the publishers and then the game gets pulled and you can't even play it anymore.”

A recent case of this was with the video game publishing platform Unity, which was going to backdate all games and input fees for downloads. Butler mentioned that it got to a point where small indie developers could not afford to have their games that were already published still available for sale. Unity has since backtracked this announcement after developers revolted against the letter.

As online gaming culture changes depending on publishers and developers, so does physical gaming. Butler shared that the culture of video game stores has shifted over the last several years, and people are unaware of what a person can come into the store for.

“People don't know you can buy and trade games anymore. A lot of people will be like, ‘Well, what's the point of buying a physical game?’ Well, you can trade it in when you're done with it. That's like the whole culture of a game store. You trade your games.”

She also stressed that some people don’t realize they carry new games.

“Because independent game stores are kind of niche, a lot of people if they think of game stores, they think maybe like EB Games, or getting their games on Amazon, and they don't realize that we as an independent can get new release games,” Butler said. “That's a big part of our businesses carrying new release games, and people assume that we were a used store and we don't have them.”

Iceman Video Games started its online store once the first COVID-19 lockdown hit Ontario, and the store had time on its hands. Butler said that they were in a “pickle” to figure out how to continue sales, and it gave them the time to finally open an online store, which they had been dreaming about for years but put off as it’s a lot of work.

She said, “We have like 1000s of games for our website, and it was going to take a lot of work. It pretty much took the entirety of the first lockdown for us to make a product listing for every single game that we have.”

As they are an independent store, Butler manages the site, and all the work is done in-house.

She adds new games which come out every month but mentioned that while it is a lot of work to maintain, it’s been great for the store.

“Maybe a game that we have a lot of in Peterborough, there's demand for it in Montreal, and so we might have been stuck with those copies here, but now since we have the website, we can cater to a different market,” she said. “It's been able to help us branch out into markets that we weren't able to reach before.”

Iceman Video Games and Bay Street Video are two cases of how physical media will never die as long as the clientele is there and so are the dedicated staff.

Satin, Cut-Outs and Bumsters: An Interview with the Designer Who Set FAT on Fire

Kendrick Tran’s runway debut is a celebration of authenticity, inclusivity and compassion 

By Harrison Clarke

“My brand is about compassion and subverting the snobby, harsh attitude people associate with fashion,” said designer Kendrick Tran, “I do fashion ‘cause I love it.”

I came to Fashion Art Toronto (FAT) to speak with Kendrick Tran but most of what I did that day was take orders. When I went backstage that night, I stepped into a dream wrapped in white silk and pinstripe-printed cotton fabrics, safety-pinned together by Tran’s focus. A storm burned around him, assistants asked for guidance, and showrunners asked for updates, yet Tran held his ground within its center; stone-faced as he adjusted the backing of a model’s dress. Lightning struck when his first words to me were, “ Do you want to help?”I could feel the electricity in those words reverberating around the room, signalling that something magical was about to happen.

The name and concept for the beauty that ensued is “Who Am I Really?,” a collection of 16 looks ranging from silk dresses with risqué cut-outs and cropped businesswear to a series of hoodies stacked on top of each other. Despite the clothes being named after such an internal question, there was a deep sense of community surrounding me. Tran told me that his community informed the sense of self behind this collection.

“Ultimately, one day, my friend Majestic was like, ‘I see you, I see all the work you’re doing but who are you though? I don’t feel you.’” Tran said. “That spiralled into a collection. It’s years of work and self-exploration coming into one final moment. Going through years of dissatisfaction really shifted a self-realization as to who I am as a person and what I have to add to people’s lives.”

As for his team and some of the models? They were all handpicked from Tran's life — people who helped him get to where he is today.

“The collection featured my chosen family,” Tran said. “These are the people and moments that have changed my life in the past years, this is really a celebration of my life and what it’s been in 24 years.”

During Tran’s childhood, his mother was the one who first taught him to celebrate his identity through fashion. Despite coming from a lower-income household, Tran said she strove for her children to feel like they were a part of a larger community. Dressing them in big-label brands helped him to understand the power of presentation and the ways it can foster or hinder inclusivity.

“Even though we were lower-class immigrants, she was very serious about wearing GAP, Gymboree and matching sets,” Tran said. “Without even realizing it, she started an attention to detail within me.”

This detail is most apparent in the way “KENDRICK TRAN” labels are sewn on the outside of the clothing. Written in blaring white, bold Arial font, the name stands proud against a backdrop of solid black cotton. For Western European brands, logomania means exclusivity. For example, Alessandro Michele's Gucci made it a class-defining symbol by studding the printed ‘G's with Swarovski crystals on the garments. Tran’s label is instead in a format that anyone can relate to.

“My brand is about compassion and subverting the snobby, harsh attitude people associate with fashion,” Tran said. “I do fashion ‘cause I love it.”

From Kendrick Tran’s debut solo and show-closing collection exploring the Vietnamese-Canadian designer’s coming out journey (Kinza Zafar/CanCulture)

The road to creating something genuine doesn’t come without obstacles. The start of his fashion journey was filled with challenging turns as a salesperson and visual supervisor at various stores. Although sales was never at the heart of his ambitions, being able to touch and breathe the essence of the clothing was enough for a while. Through studying the pieces he was selling, he taught himself to design clothing. He applied these skills as a design intern at a sought-after Toronto luxury design label but after he was let go, he felt his fashion dreams come to a halt.

“I felt like I had just started my career and then when it was gone. It felt like an illusion,” he said.

This crushing feeling is instrumental in Tran’s conceptualizing process. In his own words, his art is about personifying dreams and trauma, and no subject is too sensitive to incorporate. Take the stacked hoodie for example; the fabric is double-lined and dense like a blanket, paired with a heavy zipper that stretches its shape the more it’s worn. This look was inspired by the feeling of languishing in bed all day during a peak of depression.

“As someone that struggles with depression and ADHD, there’s a lot of pressure,” Tran said. “So for me when I think about what it’s like to have a mental health issue, I think about your brain being smushed, your brain being stepped on. How can I physically manifest fabric twisting on the body to represent that tension?”

(Photo courtesy of @cosplay / Fashion Art Toronto)

For Tran, dreams seem to prevail over trauma. He has already started production for his next collection. This one will feature a lighter, cropped version of the hoodie perfect for summertime partying.

Tran sows his life intricately into the designs, some of which are lifted directly from specific experiences he’s had. Look two of his runway show was a white satin dress that drapes seamlessly over the body like fog rolling through a forest. A high collar stretches the fabric across the shoulders, encasing the chest in shining, silver armour. A golden seashell overflowing with pearls hangs from a chain on the backside, a centrepiece within the draping, deep ‘V’ that reaches the bum.

“My friend asked me to design their cousin’s prom dress. Right after she said that, I sketched out this dress,” Tran said. “Then this opportunity came and I figured I'll make it in white and make it a wedding dress.”

(Photo courtesy of @cosplay / Fashion Art Toronto)

While spending his whole life conceptualizing this collection, it took him over a year to put the work together. Every piece was made locally at a women-owned factory where he spent the majority of his days and nights. In a time where the creativity of the fashion industry is overshadowed by economic pursuit (think: Balenciaga x Erewhon, creative directors playing musical chairs), Tran’s focus on using his whole life as inspiration is indicative of designers trying to slow the industry down. 

I used to value fashion for the ways it created gated communities; in search of a place to belong, I figured that I feel safest behind the castle walls of cultural currency. I would spend hours looming over my laptop screen, downloading information on ways I could be one of the elites despite feeling like an outsider. On the contrary, my time spent with Tran made me feel special in my body and mind without having to change anything about myself. His clothes, his work ethic and the community he builds, which I am proud to be a part of, teach that the most luxurious gift you can own is self-love. Just like his clothes, this gift fits all colours, all sizes and all classes.

The Women Colouring Toronto with a Purpose

Women across Toronto make murals and street art to connect with and change the city 

By Rowan Flood

Jasmine Vanstone is sitting with her art for StreetARToronto's Evelyn-Wiggins cycle track near York University in June 2023. Photo taken by Gage Fletcher.

Toronto’s landscape has tall and low buildings, narrow and wide streets, houses, parks and more. Within the city's structure, there is also the opportunity for art. The art put onto the street and for the public is a way to connect, impact and change our shared spaces. The women who create street art in Toronto consider their works' potential when creating.

Connecting to those we know and those we don’t

“Community arts is a healing tool,” said Jasmine Vanstone, “To create conversations, to help with storytelling.”

Vanstone is a Jamaican-Canadian multi-disciplinary artist based in Toronto; however, that does not sum her up entirely.

“In my bio, there are like three titles,” she said with a faint giggle.

Despite talking in a soft voice that made me want to lean my ear into the speaker over a Zoom call, Vanstone's life as an artist is bold. From getting a Bachelor of Fine Arts from York University and graduating from a post-grad arts management program at Centennial College to winning countless awards and working in many positions surrounding community engagement and art education, her passion spreads far.

One of Vanstone's projects was in 2022 when she participated in the Future Without Oppression mural in Kensington Market. She described the mural as a collaborative project with Black artists who united to express their ideas and visions of a world without anti-black racism and other oppression. Vanstone worked on the ground mural, painting on the street itself.

The project allowed her to make art of her choice. Vanstone knew she did not want to paint Black bodies and explained she “didn’t want people to step on representations of Black bodies.”

Instead, she used symbols: a heart hugging the Earth with a rainbow of pink, blue and yellow spiralling throughout. She also painted a bee that was “pollinating” another artist's work.

The initiative became a space that hosted those more than surface-level exchanges, and Vanstone explained these spaces are rare. People would walk by and ask, “What does this mean to you?” allowing her to engage with fellow artists and passers-by in the area. Vanstone engaged with an entire community “to create a cohesive story.”

Creating with and for others is something familiar to Vanstone. She was a part of a mural done at the Finch TTC Station. As Vanstone talks of this mural, a smile stretches across her cheeks, and her eyes brighten. “That was so amazing,” she says warmly with an upward gaze that seems to direct the words at the world. 

The brown brick wall of the TTC’s Finch subway station she helped paint wasn’t just a wall to her. Vanstone grew up near the station. She often passes through the neighbourhood and remembers waiting for a bus across the platform. Not wanting to “accidentally stare” at people, Vanstone would stare at her surroundings: at the little shop with Korean snacks or the bus waiting area. She’s re-connected with those who’ve seen the art and reached out to her.

Her work on the subway station project allowed Vanstone to connect with neighbours and her community

“It was uplifting my community through beautifying the space,” said Vanstone.

Working with our shared city spaces

Uplifting communities and reclaiming spaces are consistent purposes of the street artists I spoke with. Even if people who see street art don’t know the artist or the exact context of the piece, it does not render the art invaluable. The possibility for a piece of street art to move someone is still there.

Vanstone explained that recognizing an art piece's beauty can make people see other beautiful aspects of their lives or environments. “It becomes more about building a sense of gratitude and gratefulness,” said Vanstone.

Changing our cities’ environment is a concept artist Monica Wickeler also thinks about.

Wickeler loves to put their art into the city's spaces. Their public work can be found in laneways, playgrounds, wading pools and, as her bio says, “anything that stays still long enough.”

Wickeler explained that street art is an opportunity to reclaim an environment. She believes that many spaces in the city are underused and brought up the “broken window effect.” For example, say a window is broken and goes unfixed, or a pile of litter goes uncleaned. , After a while, more windows will break, and more litter will accumulate. However, according to Wickeler, murals can help change this cycle.

“If you fix the window, plant some community gardens, paint some murals,” said Wickeler over a Zoom call, “Suddenly, this becomes a vibrant community space.”

They explained that a “vibrant” space can make an area more used and be a door to meeting neighbours and one's community. Wickeler acknowledged that even living in a city as populated as Toronto’s three million, people can still be isolated.

One of Wickeler's projects was a collaborative effort between artists behind the Art Gallery of Ontario in a laneway. For Wickeler's part of the mural, she painted an oversized, chunky “Shrek,” like blue hands holding a curled-up sleeping orange fox. She also added her Instagram handle to the bottom. A year after the project, they got a DM. The woman who messaged her explained that she walks by the mural almost daily with her daughter on their way to daycare. Whenever her daughter approaches the mural, she says, “Sshhhh, the fox is sleeping.”

Wickeler doesn't often get feedback on her street art. She creates murals and then leaves them for the city, but when this woman reached out, it was a connection and realization that her art was impacting people's spaces. Wickeler hopes her art makes people think, and they use bright colours to have a positive impact. She compared her street art to little “cookies,” around the city that add an extra layer of joy to people's days.

“I want them to enjoy their urban space,” they said.

Another project Wickler participated in was The Laneway Project, a way to help reclaim some laneways in local Greater Toronto Area neighbourhoods. She helped paint a healing corridor in Central Hospital Lane with artist Nyle Miigizi Johnston. They created a gateway storytelling mural at the entrance of the healing corridor.

The impact public art can have

Keitha Keeshig-Tobias Biizindam explained that her murals are “right out there in the public, and it only takes a few seconds for all the knowledge in that picture to get put in your brain.”

Biizindam is an Indigenous, Ojibwe and Delaware multidisciplinary artist based in Toronto. Right at the beginning of our conversation, she was direct about a large part of who she is.

“I do a lot of art,” she said, smiling as she spread her hands across the screen over Zoom. Art has always been a part of her life, and it was one of the fundamentals of her childhood.

When she was younger, “toys, cakes and candies” were a no, but the two things she was guaranteed to have were books and art supplies. Her passion for art allowed it to become a tool she uses to reclaim Indigenous sciences.

She recounted, with a rising voice, how her younger cousins have approached her with stories about the discriminatory things they’ve been told in school: Indigenous people don’t have science and don’t understand math. Her artwork is partly aimed at changing these outdated and stereotypical ideas. To Biizindam, murals are a way to do this.

Biizindam puts reclamation of Indigenous science into her work so everyone who passes by can think of Indigenous people in a scientific and modern framework. With little hesitation, she listed the depth of Indigenous knowledge, from topics such as animals to nature to food. She uses her work to clarify that Indigenous people are here and have contributed to our world.

In Trillium Park, Biizindam did a mural covering the four sides of a shipping container. The walls of the container are filled with pink, purple, yellow and black. However, one side is covered in white hexagons of the chemical structures of Indigenous scientific discoveries pre-contact, “so people can see something that is very scientific,” explained Biizindam.

She has left enough information in her paintings so people who witness them can research themselves. “The knowledge increases and gets bigger,” she said.

Another side of Biizindams’ mural says ‘Culture Back’. It has the silhouette of a mother and child —The mother's dark hair forms around them both like an Anishnaabe dreamcatcher, holding the mother's nightmares to be evaporated by the sunlight like dew drops.

“It talks about all those nightmares that scare Indigenous women,” she said, “It would be catching such things as birth alerts, residential school, not being able to afford your child's medical treatment.”

Biizindam creates artwork with strong messages and puts them to the public for a reason. Her artwork aims to make people reflect and learn, and she embraces creating and displaying her work in busy environments like Nuit Blanche and her Trillium Park mural.

“I’m trying to change this world,” said Biizindam firmly. “I’m trying to turn this world into a place where my children feel safe to be whatever they want to be.”

Educating people is one element of her mural work, but eliciting emotions is another. Much of Biizindam's murals feature women at the forefront, and she paints their bodies in specific postures to impact viewers. Drawing people in certain poses that indicate feelings, a head leaning downwards or arms spread far as if in flight, are potent symbols people can relate to and feel.

Colombian artist La Pupila also thinks of making people feel certain emotions. La Pupila is a visual artist based in Toronto. Despite being a tattoo artist for five years and having completed many murals and exhibited her work in a gallery, she struggles with the confidence to call herself an artist.

“Ahhh!” she laughed when I asked about her title over a Zoom call.

While she may not be able to confidently tell me she is an artist, her face and body said a lot. Her arms each have black-inked lined shapes of tattoos, and her eyes widen, animating her face as she speaks of her work.

Much of her street art is in black and white and features faces. Dark black eyebrows and intense eyes that stare at you from the wall are some characteristics of La Pupila’s mural art. She has also painted city garbage cans in bright yellow and pink, with eyes peering up from the lids. The garbage bins are a playful way of brightening a community, and the faces she paints, she hopes, make people feel a tenderness.

“You do it, and it's for the street,” said La Pupila with a smile. “Anything can happen.”

The artists' work goes out to the city and everything within it.

Celebrating young talent and community in the suburbs: The evolution of Eric’s Backyard Film Festival

Look out TIFF, there’s a new GTA film festival on the rise...

By Sarah Grishpul

A packed audience stares at the projector screen as host Eric Génier kicks off the Winter Film Festival with a hilarious short flick. (Sarah Grishpul/CanCulture)

Eric Génier is a long-time Oakville resident and recent graduate of Sheridan’s Film and Television program. He also happens to be the founder of the “coolest thing to happen in Oakville,” Eric’s Backyard Film Festival.

“I started doing a film festival in my backyard just because I wanted to show off a short film I made during that weird area of COVID where restrictions were going on and off, and there were no places to show my film,” said Génier. 

“So, I thought we could all mask up and do it in my backyard, and then I had my friends also bring in their own films as well. And once it happened, the ideas just kept coming and coming. I kept having more ideas for decorations and how we could make it better. And it's been evolving like that ever since.”

The first Eric’s Backyard Film Festival in 2021 showcased over 16 short films from Oakville youth and brought in an estimated audience of 80 people. Since then, attendance has spiked into the hundreds. Génier claims positive audience reception to be a driving factor. 

“Word of mouth is crazy,” said Génier. “If you have something that people like, build a stadium, and people will come.”

By 2022, the festival premiered over 90 minutes of short films and included a live performance from the band, CONNIE. 

In the summer of 2023, Génier says he and his team received around 22 film submissions, many from people outside of his social circle.

“I feel like when I started programming for the September one, that's when it started feeling like this isn't just something me and my friends are doing, this is on its way to becoming something bigger than all of us.”

In December, Génier announced that Eric’s Backyard Film Festival would be returning for a special, elevated fourth installment: Eric’s Winter Film Festival. 

Génier welcomes the audience to the Winter Film Festival decked out in holiday attire (Sarah Grishpul/CanCulture)

What set this festival apart from the typical Eric’s Backyard events (apart from the obvious lack of a backyard setting) was the size. According to Génier, they’re painting the same picture, just on a bigger canvas. 

The Winter Film Festival took place indoors at Sheridan College in the school’s on-campus pub, The Marquee. Upon entry, attendees were invited to peruse around vendors selling homemade goods from local, small businesses and official merchandise for Eric’s Backyard Film Festival. 

Attendees explore the vendor tables and vintage clothing racks at Eric’s Winter Film Festival (Sarah Grishpul/CanCulture)

There was even a live band performance from Moss Lawn and BROTHER, inviting people to listen and dance along before the screening. 

And, of course, you simply had to check out the bathrooms.

The bathrooms at Eric’s Winter Film Festival are covered in slightly intimidating posters of Génier covered in… blood? Oh dear (Sarah Grishpul/CanCulture)

The event premiered an eclectic selection of 13 short films from young local filmmakers, spanning from one-minute visually experimental thrillers to endearing documentaries about Oakville’s local “Bark Bus” and a dynamic music video accompanied by the first-ever live performance of SEVI EAST. Many of the directors were in attendance to address audience questions in a lively Q&A. 

A group of local filmmakers answer questions from the audience after the first half of the screenings while Génier dons a festive Santa Claus costume (Sarah Grishpul/CanCulture)

For Génier, having community-oriented events that bring people together is important to cultivate, particularly in an area where socialization is often discouraged.

“Community is really important and we don't have it here in Oakville,” he said. “One of the biggest things I learned: it's really hard to make community in the suburbs. I'm hoping this is starting something to change that. Maybe this can eventually lead to something that can benefit not just my circle, but also Oakville.”

With the continued growth in attendance, Génier and his team are on the hunt for a new venue space for next year’s festival.

“I can't do it in my backyard again, unfortunately,” he said. “There's no way we can fit everyone into my backyard and it's not the best viewing experience either cause there's trees and a pergola in the way of the screen.”

Increasing the frequency of local film screenings is another goal of his. Génier hopes to utilize local movie theatres like Film.ca to build a bigger film presence in Oakville.

The festivals usually attract applicants around the age range of 18-25, but he would like to see more submissions from younger filmmakers in high school, particularly those who don’t typically create films as a way to promote amateurism.

“I'm more in the bank of ‘anyone can make a movie,’ and we have the tools that anyone can make a movie. So, I want to just see more of that.”

Génier hopes to continue to run and develop Eric’s Backyard Film Festival well into the future, but while this idea began as a fun way to reunite with friends and neighbours, he admits he can’t keep doing this for free forever.

“Hopefully you’ll see Eric’s Backyard incorporated, and I have 500 interns,” he jokes.

International students find home through food in Toronto

Toronto Metropolitan University students take advantage of the city’s vast multicultural food community to battle homesickness

By Kyana Alvarez (with contributions from Hssena Arjmand, Olga Bergmans, Sierra Edwards, Abbie North and Vanessa Tiberio)

It is a brisk and gloomy November day, but a warm Brazilian carrot cake (from an even warmer Brazilian food vendor) melts away the cold. Despite being in the middle of downtown Toronto, the sweet treat never fails to teleport Roger Castelo back home to Brazil.

As international university students move away from their countries to pursue education, many must give up what they know as home. For some international students at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), food has become a crucial outlet for battling homesickness and exploring their culture away from home.

Castelo moved to Toronto in 2021 to study professional communications at TMU. He was drawn to Toronto’s diversity and welcoming atmosphere.

“Toronto was the perfect place because it has a lot of different cultures coming together and I'm[is] very passionate about language… Being here and learning English and French is also a great asset for me,” says Castelo.

Roger Castelo moved from Brazil to Toronto, Canada in 2021, to study at Toronto Metropolitan University (Kyana Alvarez/CanCulture)

Despite living “a dream come true” by studying in Toronto, Castelo says he misses his home, his friends, his family and his culture deeply.

Homesickness is a common and powerful emotion among international students. According to a study from the National Centre for Biotechnology Information, about 94 per cent of students experience homesickness during their undergraduate degree. 

“I have a difficult time as an international student. I don't feel like that's recognized enough, having that identity crisis,” says Sofia Villar Saucedo, a third-year RTA School of Media student.

Villar Saucedo identifies herself as a “third-culture kid” because she grew up in Mexico, moved to the U.S. for two years, and then spent a decade in China before coming to Canada to attend TMU.

However, both Castelo and Villa Saucedo have an almost fool-proof method for comforting their homesickness — eating foods from their home countries.

““Food is almost like another language. There is so much power in the dish you eat, and there’s always a story behind it. There’s a heritage, culture and history carried in the dish.””

— Roger Castelo

Because of Toronto’s extensive diversity, international students like Castelo and Villa Saucedo don’t struggle with finding authentic foods from their home countries.

However, not all international students have the means to find comfort in food. There is a growing number of students experiencing food insecurity, and international students are often overlooked, says Fleur Esteron, a TMU sociology professor.

“Food security also includes the cultural side of food and the social aspects of food [along with the financial aspects]…” she says. “International students’ prevalence of food insecurity might be higher [because of the costs of moving here], and because they’re missing that cultural and social side [of food].”

She says It is necessary to increase financial assets for international students to combat food insecurity - including cultural and social aspects.

More than 190,000 people immigrated to Toronto from 2016 to 2021, according to Statistics Canada. Like the countless other immigrants in Toronto, Castelo and Villa Saucedo enjoy finding different foods from their home in the city. 

“There's a place close to campus… It’s called Samba, and they sell a lot of Brazilian street foods. So, whenever I’m feeling very homesick or want something that brings me back home, I always go there to try their food,” said Castelo. 

Samba is a Brazilian eatery located in the World Food Market and specializes in traditional Brazilian dishes, including popular street foods and a variety of savoury pastries.

The World Food Market is located right across from TMU’s Sheldon Learning Centre and is a convenient food spot for students. It houses over 18 vendors and provides visitors with a wide selection of street food delicacies from different countries.

Vendors like Samba help boost cultural appreciation among international learners as rates for out-of-country students in Toronto are rising. 

According to Statistics Canada, international student enrolment rates in colleges and universities grew from seven per cent to 18 per cent from 2010 to 2019.

While Castelo relies on the World Food Market for a taste of home, Villa Saucedo goes to Kensington Market.

“I found a place called Juicy Dumpling… They have the best soup dumplings in the city. It really resonated with me because there is a place back home [in China] that serves the best dumplings, and they replicated that… I remember finding them and was so excited to go and eat them,” said Villa Saucedo.

Juicy Dumpling is well known for its cheap prices and authentic dumplings that reel in many customers daily. 

Kensington Market is one of Toronto’s most recognized spots to find various worldly cuisines, where the options and lineups are endless.

“I think these restaurants are well aware their demographics are here,” said Villa Saucedo, adding that people in Toronto are more open to exploring new cultures and engaging with them.

Alongside cheap and authentic meals, Kensington is a place of comfort for her as she also discovers traditional Mexican snacks and meals that are difficult to find downtown.

“Going to Kensington Market and finding all these Mexican places that provide familiarity and Mexican snacks has been so incredibly refreshing. And I can just go there and not wait until December to see my family, so it's really enjoyable,” said Villa Saucedo.

She also finds the connection between food and one’s culture through school initiatives like the TMU residence dining halls’ “Global Eats Program.” The initiative serves different cuisines from around the world each month.

“I feel that Toronto and TMU are so diverse and everyone you meet has a different background,” said Villa Saucedo. “I feel it’s really enjoyable to share meals with other people who aren't [from] your background, but you’re able to chat and get to know each other over the meal.”

As Castelo, Villa Saucedo and Esteron said, there is a deep connection between one’s cultural heritage, identity and food cravings. Although Toronto is very different from places like Brazil, Mexico, or China, it can fulfill both the academic and cultural needs of international students like Castelo and Villa Saucedo through the power of good and authentic cultural food.

What is going on with the MCU? A review of The Marvels

Marvel's latest cinematic instalment bombed at the box office, and considering the size of the franchise, there's a lot we need to talk about

By Mariana Schuetze

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) recently had a new addition, its 33rd film, The Marvels, released in November and directed by Nia DaCosta. The film stars two “Marvels,” Captain Marvel, or Carol Danvers (played by Brie Larson, Ms. Marvel, or Kamala Khan(played by Canadian superstar Iman Vellani) and Monica Rambeau, played by Teyonah Parris. In The Marvels, the superpowers of these three superheroes get jumbled together, so every time one of them uses their power, they switch places.

The premise, to me at least, was great. I was sold when I heard the idea. I’m a sucker for platonic relationships and, besides having their powers tangled, they all also have complicated emotional relationships with each other. Kamala is a super fan of Captain Marvel and Carol and Monica are family since Carol and Monica's mom, Maria Rambeau, were together in the United States Air Force.

So, yes, I was quite excited about the film. Yet, the execution of this interesting premise left a lot to to be desired. The film’s strongest moments are when the three super-powered women team up, especially the few times they take a minute to talk about their feelings. Larson continues to portray Danvers as this closed-off strong-willed woman, now with a touch of feelings when she’s forced to interact with her best friend’s daughter who she hasn’t seen in 30 years. Parris’ character adds that touch of emotion to Danvers and gives more life to the character we first saw in WandaVision. Rounding out the trio, Vellani brings an incredibly fresh take to the MCU, playing the super-fan-turned-superhero to perfection (if I had superpowers and got to save the world with my favourite superhero, I’d be acting just like her).

The bad guy in the film, Dar-Benn (played by Zawe Ashton), is going after Kamala’s bangle, so she can have enough power to save her planet. The Marvels continue to touch on the history and future of alien races, Kree and the Skrulls. They have been displaced from their planet since 1995 in Captain Marvel (2019) when Danvers promised to protect them. She is also connected to the reason why Dar-Benn's Skrull planet was destroyed, so more reason for them to be involved. 

With so much happening in the MCU by this point, the beginning of the film suffers from over-exposition. To keep the audience in the loop, they have to give context and background to all these new characters, who have all appeared in different projects of the franchise so far, including films and Disney+ shows. Once the plot starts picking up, with some training montage moments and adventures through space, we begin to get a bit more excited about what's going on. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is also present in the film and brings some funny one-liners alongside Kamala’s family (who gets stuck in a spaceship at one point). 

However, once we got to the final act, everything seemed rushed. The stakes, once again, are incredibly high and this trio of superheroes that have never worked together before, manage to save the day in probably 15 minutes. The emotional conflicts throughout the film, especially between Carol and Monica; and Kamala and her family, are quickly resolved in a way that makes you feel like you’ve missed something, even if you didn’t leave the theatre room once.

In the end, what I like the most about The Marvels and what gives it rewatch value is how the film made me feel. The three superheroes are loud, fierce and know what they want. As an anxious, insecure people-pleaser, it was so strange yet incredibly valuable to see the three of them never question their own decisions or each others’. They all knew exactly what they wanted to say and do and everyone respected their decisions, recognizing each others’ value. In a world where women a lot of the time don’t even have a space to talk, this felt pretty powerful.

But yet, since the terrible reception of Captain Marvel back in 2019 where bots and men flooded the internet with misogynistic comments and reviews, I don’t think anyone expected this film to do too well (it has three leading women, after all). And, well, guess what? It didn’t. The Marvels just became the MCU's lowest-grossing film at the box office, making a whopping 198 thousand dollars at the global box office. This is six times less than what Captain Marvel made in 2019. This time around, however, The Marvels, didn’t get review-bombed, having received a fresh rating of 61 per cent from critics and an 82 per cent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Considering all of that, I’d say we can't disregard misogyny in the calculation of the MCU's downfall. As the franchise's audience has grown, it's fair to assume so has its female audience. So, in an attempt to captivate more of this audience (and just follow the times, I guess), the MCU has given a bit more space to its female heroes with movies like Black Widow (2021), Captain Marvel, Eternals (2021), Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) and now, The Marvels, plus giving many of them their own TV shows.  Still, even though watching these films makes me feel incredibly badass, they're not the most popular with the fans; why?

Is it a lack of good writing? No, these films have had incredible filmmakers attached to them (see: Eternals, helmed by Oscar-award-winning director, Chloe Zhao)

Is it a lack of stellar performances? No, a lot of these actors are incredibly talented (see: Brie Larson, Natalie Portman, Tatiana Maslany…)

Is it a lack of funding? No, these films are all part of the MCU franchise, they get access to the same resources (see: compare budgets/spending of two MCU films, one male-centred the other female-centred)

Yet, every single female-forward project of the MCU has suffered with setbacks in one way or another. Black Widow didn’t get the theatre release it deserved, Eternals was harshly trashed by the critics, She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel got the same treatment and now, The Marvels’s disastrous box office. So, what does the future of the MCU look like? I fear that with all these female-led superhero films being so trashed by a majority of male fans, we won’t get to see these stories on screen anymore.

However, the MCU is suffering from more than just misogyny and the fear of “what’s woke”. Many of Marvel’s recent projects have been quite off, and certainly not as fiscally successful as we’ve come to expect. In some way or another, I think the MCU is just getting too big. Much like the comic books, all the stories now are deeply connected. To watch one instalment in the theatre and enjoy that collective experience we all long for, you have to come prepared with about 10-20 hours of extra bonus content (and a Disney+ subscription). That can be too much for the majority of audiences. 

By the end of 2023, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has come out with 33 films and 11 Disney+ shows, having announced another five shows 12 new movies for their end of Phase 5 and the upcoming Phase 6. But unlike Captain America: Civil War (2016) and the Infinity Saga (2018-2019), this time we’ll have to watch over 40 projects to be able to have the best experience in the theatres, instead of the 18 that were out by 2018 when Infinity War first came out. But who has the time to be up to date with all of that today? Is that even sustainable for audiences? 

In the end, I think we are all looking for that feeling of sitting down in a movie theatre on opening night surrounded by friends and fellow MCU fans, collectively experiencing the final battle of Endgame, and seeing, one by one, all the characters we’ve grown to love in the past 10 years come out of magic portals. Being there, together, all sharing an experience, all with the same level of understatement, attachment and connection to these characters (because, after all, we all had watched the same films), is something we're all longing for. And so are the studio executives, longing for the big buck these films made. I believe that experience is hard to replicate, and it’s what we’re all looking for. Anything that is that, will do greatly (see: Spider-Man: No Way Home). Anything that is not, will just feel disappointing…