A residential school survivor reunites with her painting and more arts stories you might have missed

Here at CBC Arts, you won't just find our original content — we also bring you the best art posts from across the entire CBC network.

These are the week's can't-miss stories:

'It was a shock': Residential school survivor sees her painting more than 50 years later (CBC British Columbia)

For residential school survivor Gina Laing, some of her only moments of relief at school were made possible by art classes. While the institute she attended — the Port Alberni Indian Residential School — was one of the era's most notoriously brutal schools, Laing calls those classes "lifesaving," saying she doubts she would have survived without having a creative outlet. And now, more than 50 years later, she's been reunited with one of the paintings she made in those classes: The Beach, a reminder of her childhood's happier moments — and a small piece of light from a dark time.

Why does Riverdale's Archie have so many Canadian band posters? (q)

Who knew Archie was such a huge fan of Canadian indie music? Our friends at q noticed an interesting pattern while watching new Netflix series Riverdale: all of the posters in Archie Andrews' room belong to Canadian bands on Vancouver indie label Mint Records. And how do members of bands like Tough Age and Heaven For Real feel about inspiring Archie's music, which is, well, pretty mediocre? "It just made my night," says Jarrett Samson of Tough Age. "All I know is that in the world, there is an idea that Archie Andrews likes my band. Even if it's fake, I don't care."

'I was blown away,' says N.L. woman behind praying polar bear picture (CBC Newfoundland and Labrador)

The photo went viral last week — and a Canadian was behind the lens. Newfoundlander Jessica Andrews captured the image of a curious polar bear looking up at a cross in a pose that looks remarkably similar to one of prayer. And while our Facebook followers met the picture with a healthy dose of skepticism, we figure if anything could make you see God, it's gotta be art, right?

Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis wins Canada Reads 2017 (CBC Books)

2017's Battle of the Books came to a close on Thursday with a riveting final round where writer and rapper Humble The Poet, defending André Alexis' Fifteen Dogs, faced off against opera star Measha Brueggergosman, defending Madeline Ashby's Company Town, in the concluding debate. In the days leading up to the finale, only one vote had been cast against Fifteen Dogs — so it was no surprise when Humble's spirited and poetic defence of the novel earned him the crowning title. "I didn't pick a book that looks like me, sounds like me, represents any type of minority that I might check off the box," Humble told the audience on Day Two. "I picked the book that represents me to my core." And now that book will resonate with the rest of the country as this year's official Canada Reads.

Canadians shine at the World Photography Awards (Canada 2017)

As our Canada 2017 colleagues put it: "Prepare your eyeballs for beauty." The 2017 Sony World Photography Awards revealed their winners and runner-ups last week, and a number of Canadian photographers were included in the honours. Everything from mesmerizing feats of light to stunning shots of the Canadian wilderness made the list — check out the roundup on the 2017 site and get ready to lose yourself in the breathtaking images.

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