Tributes to 'Canada's everyman rock poet' Gord Downie and more arts stories you might have missed
In this week's Art Post Outpost, we mourn a man who pushed us to be better as a nation
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:
Gord Downie, Canada's everyman rock poet, dead at 53 (CBC News)
"Gord Downie, the Tragically Hip frontman who united a diverse array of music lovers with his commanding stage presence and Canadiana-laced lyrics, has died. Downie contained similar complexities: he was an everyman poet, seeming both aloof and down to earth, writing lyrics that rhymed 'catharsis' with 'my arse is.' He sang about Canada, but disavowed nationalism, his songs exploring heavy topics like David Milgaard's wrongful conviction ('Wheat Kings') or Canada's treatment of First Nations ('Now the Struggle Has a Name'). Downie spent his final months speaking out in support of Indigenous people, declaring: 'Canada is not Canada. We are not the country we think we are.'"
Calling all artists! Parks Canada wants you to spend 6 weeks in Cape Breton Highlands (CBC Nova Scotia)
"Autumn is arguably the most beautiful time of year in Cape Breton Highlands National Park. The perfect inspiration, perhaps, for an artist? Parks Canada hopes its national park can provide just that, and is now seeking an artist-in-residence for up to six weeks this fall. 'They get to be part of the park,' said Lori Burke, the general manager of the Cape Breton Centre for Craft and Design, which is partnering on the pilot project. 'They can go and explore and spend some meaningful time with their creativity.'"
By questioning Canada's past, Gord Downie fought for a better future (CBC Music)
"'Enjoy those one-night moments,' Downie once said of performing to a crowd, a comment that was given extra poignancy considering the ephemeral nature of that tour. 'We'll only be here tonight, this bunch of us in this room. Let's try and find some point of transcendence and leap together.' And transcend he did, something that seemed to come naturally. In fact, no other musician has done more for Canada's mythology than Downie, who was inspired by headlines, history books, personal experiences and even a hockey card to paint a picture of a country that was equally fascinating and flawed. Downie's Canada was anything but perfect, but in his attempt to honestly capture it over a 30-year career, he taught a nation how to confront its darkest moments and dare to not repeat them."
When powerful men run the show, can Hollywood really stamp out abuse? (CBC News)
"The toppling of once-mighty movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has been swift and unprecedented, but is this truly a watershed moment for Hollywood? 'There's kind of a wink and acceptance of [sexual harassment],' Canadian actor, writer and producer Seth Rogen stated during a panel assembled by the Hollywood Reporter days after the Weinstein scandal initially made headlines. 'A lot of Hollywood people also like the fact that we work in a business that doesn't have the same rules as other businesses...I think that ultimately also allows people to excuse a lot of horribly inappropriate behaviour that shouldn't be acceptable.'"
'Keep this awakening alive': Gord Downie's brothers remember his legacy and look to what's next (q)
"Downie was, in many ways, the music version of Canada's poet laureate, and everyone from the prime minister to the band's millions of fans took to social media to express not just their grief, but also how the late musician inspired them in his final months. But none more so than Gord's brothers, Mike and Patrick Downie, who are determined to continue what Gord started that night two summers ago in Kingston, when he challenged the country to do something about the conditions Indigenous people face in Canada. The minute that final Tragically Hip concert ended, Gord's mission was to make progress on the long road to reconciliation, which is something he'd still want to be front and centre as people mourn."
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