An art show that'll make you want to catch a movie — a Canadian movie

Hello! You're reading the CBC Arts newsletter, and if you like what you see, stick around! Sign up here, and every Sunday we'll send you a fresh email packed with art, culture and a metric truckload of eye candy, hand-picked by our small and mighty team. Here's what we've been talking about this week.

Hi, art lovers!

To everyone who didn't spend the last 10 days on a "popcorn cleanse," no, this isn't another email about TIFF. But still, we just thought we'd ask: caught any good movies lately? And any chance they were Canadian?

A couple days ago we stumbled on something called The Canadian Cinema Art Show, a group exhibition that asked 22 artists to make a brand new piece inspired by their favourite bit of CanCon.

It landed on our radar after working with Salini Perera this week. She's the local illustrator we sent to TIFF's Share Her Journey rally last Saturday — and if you haven't had a look at her visual diary of the scene, do yourself a favour and click.

(OK, that was totally a TIFF reference. We'll only mention it one more time, honest.) 

The show wrapped Sunday at Toronto's Hashtag Gallery, but curator Jono Doiron shared a few images from the exhibition with us which will live on forever...so long as you don't move this newsletter to your trash folder.

We were emailing with Jono earlier this week, and he told us that he organized the project because he thinks Canadian movies never get their due. There are plenty of pop culture group exhibitions, but they never stan for stories that come out of this country.

"[I] feel our films are underrated," he told us over email. "Having an art show felt like a really dedicated way to attract more interest in Canada's film history — and simultaneously show people how diverse it is."

So here are a few items from the show. Planning to watch (or re-watch) any of these?

Dance Me Outside (1994)
Artist: Salini Perera

Rock & Rule (1983)
Artist: Jono Doiron

Heavy Metal (1981)
Artist: Ryan Poser

Laurence Anyways (2012)
Artist: Alice dans la Lune

Videodrome (1983)
Artist: Jason Wasserman

Anne of Green Gables (1985)
Artist: Lisa Vanin

Scanners (1981)
Artist: Jessica Fortner

You've got to see this

'Live action could never have created these worlds' - It's a tale of magic and resistance based on the poems and stories of Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. We check in with Amanda Strong, whose latest animated film, Biidaaban, premiered at TIFF last week. (That's two TIFF references! OK, we're done!)

'Little' hungry? - They're too tiny to smash your hunger, but hey, we never met a plate of perogies we didn't like. Hang out in "The Miniature Kitchen" with Calgary's Tom Brown, and find out why this performance art project is so much more than "totes adorbs."

A studio visit with Aurélie Guillaume takes a very emotional turn - We've been following Aurélie's work for a while, and not just because the jewelry artist made an incredible, wearable version of our logo — so we were thrilled to finally get the chance to visit her in Montreal. Watching her process is pretty mesmerizing on its own, but as you'll see, this doc is unexpectedly personal, and she opens up about the events that led to her becoming an artist — including losing her dad when she was just a little girl.

Follow this artist

birdO (@jerryrugg) - How far to Sudbury as the birdO flies? We followed Toronto street artist birdO to the Up Here Festival, where we captured him bringing a new mural to life. (That's it above, BTW!) And he shared his philosophy for painting in cities around the world: leave every place even better than you found it.

Got story ideas? Typo catches? One-line movie reviews?

Or just need a movie to write a one-line movie review about? Our series The Filmmakers wraps Saturday with Jean of the Joneses, and every episode from this summer (and last!) is streaming online. Just saying.

Have a look, and anytime you want to get in touch, we're always around. Hit us up over email, and we'll do our best to get back to you.

And if someone forwarded you this message and you like what you've read, here's where to subscribe for more.

Until then!

XOXO, CBC Arts

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