General Arts and Culture News

[Rainrider22]

Awesome, thanks Acitta. I really think this is a gem of an area that has so much potential still...

[westwardloo]

Belmont is a great little strip, with some amazing restaurants. I could see future mid-rise development taking place closer to Glasgow to continue the retail stretch.  would love to see move density in this neighborhood while keeping the village charm. It has a commercial drive (Vancouver)  feel to it.

[panamaniac]

Have the restaurants been putting heaters into their extended patio spaces? I'm wondering how long they'll be able to extend the season (mid-November?). After that, I don't want to think about what's going to happen ...

[tomh009]

Have the restaurants been putting heaters into their extended patio spaces?  I'm wondering how long they'll be able to extend the season (mid-November?).  After that, I don't want to think about what's going to happen ...

It'll be (almost) the same takeaway-only scenario as earlier on in the pandemic. With some tables inside but not many ...

[Acitta]

I moved to Kitchener 19 years ago. I began to attend the weekly jams led by John Mckinley Thursdays in the Kent Room at the Huether and Tuesdays at Failte. This went on for years. That was when I actually had a social life. That was a good time in my life. Well, John is starting up the jam night again, (though I have some trepidation about attending during the present pandemic.)


From John McKinley Band on Facebook:

ANNOUNCING..."JAM Night at the Jazz Room"! Hosted by the John McKinley Band starting Tuesday September 29! Come join us in this spacious music venue with safety top of mind. Both the stage & the room comply with ALL COVID safety measures.
This is for musicians & music lovers alike to come together in a supportive, safe, fun place where you can play and enjoy LIVE improvisational music! 7-10pm

[ac3r]

Tomorrow, the BRIDGE Centre for Architecture + Design in Cambridge should be live streaming the closing ceremony of the art project they had running called LAND MARKS. The artworks have since been installed in the UW Architecture building in Galt in case you missed them on display at the BRIDGE Gallery just up the street.

Post-pandemic, I urge everyone to check out BRIDGE if you've never heard of it! It's run by students at University of Waterloo School of Architecture in a space provided by Perimeter Developments, where they run architecture/art exhibits, workshops, lectures, discussions etc.

[panamaniac]

Check out "Afternoon Tea Party at Home", a fundraiser in support of the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, in Waterloo.

https://www.theclayandglass.ca/programs-...tea-party/

[panamaniac]

The Region of Waterloo Arts Fund has announced 48 grants to local organizations, theatres, festivals, and artists.

https://www.kitchenertoday.com/local-new...aign=Email

[panamaniac]

Manfred and Penny Conrad have donated the Conrad Centre for the Performing Arts to the City of Kitchener.

https://www.kitchenertoday.com/local-new...aign=Email

[Brenden]

Opening up the Conrad Centre is great news for the local performing arts community! There is a real need for affordable performance space in this community.

[Brenden]

KW Musical Productions has received funding from the KW Community Foundation, which will allow them to reopen their rehearsal hall and provide a pay-what-you-can pricing model for local arts groups.

https://www.kitchenertoday.com/local-new...el-3445021

[Brenden]

Local arts groups get $2.7M to survive pandemic

The Stratford Festival got one of the largest grants, receiving $1,818,592. Other local arts organizations getting grants are: $128,855 for the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery; $380,291 to the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra; $27,450 to Wilfrid Laurier University Press; $71,598 to the Art Gallery of Guelph; $73,193 for Guelph’s Hillside Festival; $153,388 for the Blyth Festival; and $42,883 to Stratford Summer Music.

I am surprised to see that Drayton Entertainment is not on this list.

[Chris]

Local arts groups get $2.7M to survive pandemic

The Stratford Festival got one of the largest grants, receiving $1,818,592. Other local arts organizations getting grants are: $128,855 for the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery; $380,291 to the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra; $27,450 to Wilfrid Laurier University Press; $71,598 to the Art Gallery of Guelph; $73,193 for Guelph’s Hillside Festival; $153,388 for the Blyth Festival; and $42,883 to Stratford Summer Music.

I am surprised to see that Drayton Entertainment is not on this list.

I found this: https://www.draytonentertainment.com/Onl...context_id=

Drayton Entertainment does not receive funding from any level of government for its annual operations – it is a model of sustainability studied throughout North America.

[ac3r]

This doesn't specifically relate to Waterloo Region, but I thought I'd share this since it relates to art, architecture, Canada and because we've filmed quite a few things locally.

The 17th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia has opened in Venice, Italy and the Canadian exhibition this year touches on the topic of "imposter cities", that is, Canadian cities are often used as settings for other cities around the world (primarily those in the USA). The exhibit - curated by Montreal architecture firm TBA and professor David Theodore of McGill University - has catalogued over 3000 films of different sorts that are all shot in Canada but are not actually set in Canada, offering some of the films/clips for viewing as well as interviews available online on the website linked below. It is being hosted in the newly renovated Canadian Pavilion (which NFB has produced a wonderful free short documentary covering its history, architecture and renovation). The entire pavillion has been, charmingly, wrapped in green screen as a tongue-in-cheek reference to how much they're used in our film industry so producers can mimic other locales.

Impostor Cities is an international exhibition that seeks to repatriate our architecture and celebrate the legacy of over a half-century of Canada’s most renowned architectural doubles. Impostor Cities also introduces a playful yet pointed counter-proposition to the popular image of our national identity by investigating why Canada’s buildings are so good at doubling as elsewhere. How do we think about authenticity and identity in an age where artifice in media becomes indistinguishable from reality? Impostor Cities digs deep to examine how this artifice has shaped our buildings and spaces as it has our culture and politics; our understanding of the past, the design of our present and how we imagine our future environments.

...

Impostor Cities is about architectural identity and it’s about faking it. It explores the ways Canada’s buildings and cities double as other places in film and television. From our streets to your screens, Canada provides the architecture for the fictional worlds we all love. Canada’s cities frame the action heroes of X-Men and Pacific Rim, the dramas of The Handmaid’s Tale and Brokeback Mountain, and even the cosmic exodus in Battlestar Galactica. A playful critique of cultural self-presentation, Impostor Cities examines movies as powerful sites of architectural experience, expression, and authenticity.

You can view the official website and Instagram here: https://impostorcities.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/impostorcities/
Designboom has a good article on the exhibition here: https://www.designboom.com/architecture/...5-26-2020/

[ac3r]

K-W art gallery 'really surprised,' joins other calls to reopen by Step 2: https://www.cbc.ca/arts/ontario-public-g...-1.6070762

I'm very disappointed that our local galleries will be forced to keep their doors closed. As this article points out, it makes no sense whatsoever. Case numbers are incredibly low provincially- and locally, when compared to previous waves. And even then, our galleries were able to open up at certain points. I've worked with many of our local galleries in the past. Talking to friends and colleagues I have who work in this field, they are really suffering. The galleries are going to survive, yes, but the employees and the artists who have exhibits planned are suffering financially. There is no reason they should continue to stay locked up. Control how many people can come in, have an attendant ensure masks are worn and it would be perfectly safe to have 5-6 people inside most of our local galleries.