Get happy! 6 stories that made us smile this week

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!

We tell plenty of stories that are all about the feels, but that was especially true this week. On Friday's episode of CBC Arts: Exhibitionists, the theme was "feel-good," warm and fuzzy fare — so before we throw to the stories you might have missed, we're going to keep the posi vibes going with six arts stories that turned us into human smile emojis this week. Share our bliss.

• Way to pay it forward! Vivek Shraya announced a new grant that will support marginalized musicians in Canada.
• With all due respect to Marie Kondo, pack rat life can "spark" plenty of joy (especially if you're creative).
• Talk about sparking joy: Who heard the Maggie Rogers interview on q? Either way, you've got to see this video. Watch what happens when a UPS guy delivers her new album.
• Somehow! Someday! Some ca-a-a-a-ast! The stars of Steven Spielberg's West Side Story were revealed Tuesday, but the "feel-good" angle here is the discovery of the movie's Maria: a 17-year-old high school student named Rachel Zegler. Watch her belting Queen and Sia songs on YouTube.
• Library + Berenstain Bears treehouse = the stuff of dreams.
• And if after all of that life's still got you down, remember there's a stupidly cute Sanrio character who's got your back. Meet an extremely good boy named Big Challenges.

You've got to see this

Best friends forev-art - One of our favourite moments on this week's CBC Arts: Exhibitionists is this video about Jim Holyoak and Matt Shane. They're long-time collaborators — and also best buds. This is what #squadgoals should look like.

Kindred spirits a century apart - The world lost Mary Oliver this week, and while the American poet touched many readers, fans of CBC's Anne with an E probably don't know that her writing has been a bigger influence on the show than, say, "The Lady of Shalott." Series showrunner Moira Walley-Beckett revealed how Oliver's poetry inspired Anne's TV journey.

The stories this hair could tell... - Amanda Parris talks with Coco Framboise, a burlesque artist on a mission to celebrate Black women's beauty and lives. (She performed at the Art Gallery of Ontario this past Friday.)

Follow this artist

David Krovblit (@krovblit1) - "The idea behind art for me is that it's provocative enough that it stops you and you want to look." — David Krovblit

(Clearly, this guy is going to kill it on Instagram.)

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Until next time!

XOXO, CBC Arts