Artistic creation often emerges as an act of survival, a pursuit of expression intricately woven into the fabric of history, politics, and personal experience. For Nikita Seleznev, a sculptor and sound artist hailing from the industrial Ural region of Russia, art transcends mere self-expression; it is a navigation through complex, sometimes hostile, environments that have shaped both his identity and practice.

Shakespearean productions are scarce in Montreal.  To our benefit, The Shakespeare Project has emerged as a passion-driven initiative, offering a new take on classical theatre in our fair city.  A far cry from grant funded anglo theatre, this project is entirely fueled by the dedication of its creators and players.

Up a short flight of stairs, above Boulevard Saint Laurent, is one of the city’s top venues. From the outside, the only signage is plain black, but inside hides a true cabaret theatre.

With the summer now in full swing, it may feel as though perhaps the winds of change are finally sweeping through the arts in Montreal.

Back home in southwestern Ontario, it’s a twenty-minute drive to the nearest second-hand bookstore, a place which, for the longest time, I did not know the name of. It’s a long, single-story building with book-patterned posters lining the windows and pictures of the children whom the non-profit benefits placed in the entryway.

Back in February, Director and CEO of Canada Council for the Arts - a governmental entity which supports the arts and literary scene in Canada through grants, services, prizes and payments - issued a letter to the community in which it announced that the Council will be lowering its spending incrementally over three years, as part of the federal government’s Refocusing Government Spending initiative, for a grand total decrease of $9.88 million.

Held Wednesdays at the charming Notre-Dame-des-Quilles in the Mile End, the Polycule set out to provide a safe space where queer, trans and BIPOC performers would be welcomed to try out new material of any artform in a weekly open mic.

The hospital closed in 2017, bought in part by the City of Montreal with a plan to transition the site into a “shared public space”. The reinvented space, now called the Cité-des-Hospitalières, had strict guidelines when considering who would occupy the space, including preserving the spirit of the grounds, and responding to the needs of the community.

According to the Oxford dictionary, busking is defined as “the activity of playing music in the street or another public place for voluntary donations.” People have been busking for hundreds of years, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of (regardless of what your family says).

The Chemical Valley Project is a production about the Aamjiwnaang First Nation on the banks of the St. Clair River, near Sarnia, Ontario, and the physical and emotional damage done to its people by the over 60 petrochemical plants and oil refineries operating in the surrounding area.