It's all too much! (Camp, that is.) In the newsletter, notes on the Met Gala

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!

What are we reading?

The Met Gala is Monday night, and as a responsible consumer of Rihanna's Instagram feed, I damned well do my homework. For the first time in recent memory, cultural theory is going to be a bigger red carpet essential than double-sided tape — and that's because Susan Sontag's 1964 essay, "Notes on 'Camp,'" is serving as this year's conceptual dress code. First item on the reading list: the actual essay, obviously. Study it. Bookmark it. Guesstimate how many celebrity stylists will literally dress their clients in "a dress made of three million feathers." Then, see how Vanity Fair and The Guardian's Sontag-inspired predictions match up to your reading of the text. As a bonus visual aid, Vogue compiled examples of celebrity looks that have previously hit the campy mark — from Cardi B in vintage Mugler to Björk's swan dress (all of which will appear inside The Met's new fashion exhibition, Camp: Notes on Fashion).

For those of us who aren't Zendaya (and after double-checking the list of subscribers, that makes all of us), the chances of being immortalized by a celebrity photographer are zilch, but this article will teach you how to shoot portraits like one of those pros.

And from camp to kitsch, did you know there's a Bob Ross museum show? Apparently, tracking down a Bob Ross original is a billion times harder than painting happy little clouds.

What are we watching?

By now, you've probably read about that high school production of Ridley Scott's Alien. Watch a home video of the production before it's scrubbed off of YouTube. (Who thinks they should try Rushmore next year?) Also, Google had us at "AR tracing paper."

And because we promised you eye candy

OCAD U's annual graduate exhibition is the biggest (free!) art show in Toronto, and even if you can't make it down this weekend, you can explore work by all of this year's grads online. Pictured: work by Amanda Arlotta. (FYI: For any Vancouver readers out there, Emily Carr's class of 2019 exhibition is on this weekend, too. It runs to May 19.)

More illustration! More! MOAR! The World Illustration Awards announced its shortlist this week, so lose the next hour discovering the 200 nominees.

So this is why hoarders love National Geographic.

There's more to analog photography than snapping pictures. Just check out this image, "A Long Metaphor for Insomnia," by Toronto artist Isabel M. Martínez. Angell Gallery hosts a solo exhibition of her work to June 1.

I wonder if Björk ever shops on Etsy. (Wearable art by Rasa Vilcinskaite.)

You've got to see this

Dare to imagine a green future - Kelly Richardson is doing just that. We explored Vancouver Island's rainforests with the renowned video installation artist as she shared the story behind her latest IMAX project, Embers and the Giants.

Dance magic! - That's Esie Mensah in the GIF. She's danced with Rihanna and Drake, but right now, she's starring in this episode of The Move (which The Globe and Mail just called a "jewel of a series." Just saying). Click to watch her electrifying performance.

Before you watch Take Me to Prom - The short's now streaming on CBC Gem, but before you press play, get to know the folks who took part in the project — queer Canadians ranging from 17 to 88 who shared their prom night memories.

Follow this artist

Rachel Wada (@rachelwada) - Rachel designed this splashy version of the CBC Arts logo, which may or may not have been inspired by Vancouver's infamous koi vs. otter saga.

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Until next week!

XOXO, CBC Arts