Move over, Marvel.
A group of teenage girls from Winnipeg has
created a set of trading cards starring a squad of superheroes dubbed
The Craftastics: Agents for Social Change. Their mission? To combat the
everyday evils that lurk in the halls of high school.
These young
ladies are part of the Valley Gardens Grrlz Club, a River East
Transcona School Division after-school program. It's a safe, supportive
space to relax, make crafts and talk about anything, including sexism,
stereotyping, body-issues, depression, anxiety, gossip, peer pressure
and bullying.
Through Winnipeg Arts Council's Community WITH ART Program, which
connects professional artists with community groups to further
discussions of community identity, issues and growth through the
creation of a public art project, the Grrlz Club was partnered with
Jennie O, a local visual artist, who acted as mentor, collaborator and
sympathetic ear. Every week, they met in the multi-purpose room at
Valley Gardens School.
Underground film is independent, experimental and edgy. The
first-ever Winnipeg Underground Film Festival runs this weekend, and it
feels like a natural fit for a city that produces its fair share of
avant-garde filmmakers. Organized by Open City Cinema, the three-day
fest offers some beautiful, boundary-busting, what-the-hell-was-that
work. (All programs run at Frame Arts Warehouse, 318 ½ Ross St.)
The young musicians of the Sistema Winnipeg program capped off the
season with a concert at the Shaw Performing Arts Centre at The Forks on
June 12.
At the event, 80 children from Elwick Community School
and King Edward Community School got to display their talents for
family and friends.
Despite helming something of a downtown food empire that includes a
restaurant, university cafeteria and catering business, chef Ben Kramer
really wishes he had a food truck.
So once the daily traffic at
the university slowed down for the summer, Kramer and his staff came up
with the next best thing - Back Door Lunch.
The Polaris Music Prize announced its Long List today, and one Manitoban
act is in the running for the annual award, worth $30,000. Winnipeg metal/hardcore heroes KEN mode made the list for their latest album, Entrench. The band has been on the road since the album came out at the beginning of March. Reached in Providence, RI, singer Jesse Matthewson was happy to hear about the nomination, but not too optimistic.
"John K Samson of The Weakerthans was performing with his wife Christine Fellows ... finally Christine walks over to the mike and BOOM booted it, and the sound clicked back in."—Wab Kinew
"I can remember back in the seventies when we produced Marat/Sade the musical in the sculpture court"—Jeff Herd, Executive Director, Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet
"Every year we come and see my brother's art in the exhibition" —Sarah, Grade 5
"I think that [the WAG's Winnipeg Shows] were powerful contributors to the evolution of the visual arts in Canada"—Don Reichert, artist
"I've been a volunteer at the WAG for 60 years plus. It's my second home"—Shirley Diner, volunteer