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Progressive Bloggers // Blogues progressistes

Author: Rob Maguire

October 23, 2015 Rob Maguire

Rob Maguire: What does the Canadian election mean for art and cultural policy?

When it comes to Canadian electoral politics, this autumn was about as intense and intriguing as it gets. Being the political wonk that I am, I was very grateful that Canadian Art commissioned two feature articles from me to discuss the election from the perspective of cultural policy. In the

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September 2, 2015 Rob Maguire

Art Threat: Artist says Nope to Stephen Harper (again)

Four years ago, Bob Preston found himself in the same position as millions of Canadians: he desperately wanted to see prime minsiter Stephen Harper turfed from office. Influenced by Shepard Fairey’s iconic

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April 14, 2015 Rob Maguire

Art Threat: Filmmakers pull out of Istanbul festival in government censorship protest

Nearly two dozen filmmakers have yanked their films from the 34th Istanbul Film Festival in response to the last-minute cancellation of documentary screening about the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The growing censorship protest, which now involves a majority of the filmmakers participating in the event, has led organizers to cancel

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April 7, 2015 Rob Maguire

Rob Maguire: Touring Turkey with 18 litres of luxury

I’m sitting in Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, waiting for my connecting flight to Istanbul with my carry-on bag resting on my lap. When I arrive at the Ataturk airport later today, I’ll pass through customs, stroll past the baggage area, and jump onto the metro. That carry-on bag — the Boreas

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February 2, 2015 Rob Maguire

Rob Maguire: I’m teaching copywriting at UBC

This week I begin teaching a UBC Continuing Studies course on copywriting. While I’ve given plenty of workshops and conference presentations, I’m very much looking forward to working with the same group of students for a full two months. After all, the enjoyment I get from teaching communications skills is

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November 12, 2014 Rob Maguire

Rob Maguire: Hugs With Arms: art for folks who give a damn

After a little more than a year quietly toiling away between client projects, I’ve finally unveiled my own pet project, Hugs With Arms. Spurred by stories of socially-engaged artists who struggle to make ends meet — the sort of creatives we feature in Art Threat – I wanted to do something

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May 9, 2014 Rob Maguire

Art Threat: Hugs With Arms will put affordable art on your walls

After seven years of putting political art on your computer screen, I’m now hoping to put some art on your walls. We started Art Threat in 2007 because we felt that artists creating socially-engaged work weren’t getting the attention they deserved. After 1200+ posts over the years (and many more

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April 25, 2014 Rob Maguire

Art Threat: Hot Docs 2014 preview: politically punchy program, diversity festival gap still needs work

It’s springtime in Toronto and that means Canada’s premiere documentary showcase is back for another jam-packed ten day event that will deliver the world of doc to eager local audiences and international festivalgoers. This is Hot Docs‘s first year with new Executive Director Brett Hendrie steering the ship (Chris McDonald

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April 11, 2014 Rob Maguire

Art Threat: Should artists be able to pay taxes with artwork?

As income tax filing deadlines approach across North America, many Mexican artists will be counting canvases instead of pay stubs. In Mexico, a country that has lost over $870 billion to tax evasion and money laundering, hundreds of artists aren’t required to pay a dime in tax. Instead, they pay

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March 17, 2014 Rob Maguire

Art Threat: Revolutionary singer banned from Egyptian arts festival

Mohamed Mohsen, an Egyptian musician who became popular during the country’s 2011 uprising, was prevented from performing at the Cairo Opera House during an arts festival this past week. Known for his political songwriting, Mohsen says he was given the boot by representatives of the Egyptian president’s office who escorted

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March 15, 2014 Rob Maguire

Rob Maguire: What it means to bring home the bacon and schtupp the schoolteacher

Copywriting can lead you down some strange rabbit holes. While hacking together some draft web copy this morning, I typed out “bring home the bacon” as a reference to earning income. I then paused to wonder about the phrase’s origin. Pomodoro be damned; a quick Google search brought me to

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March 13, 2014 Rob Maguire

Art Threat: Banksy video asks that we stand #WithSyria on third anniversary of conflict

This week marks the third anniversary of the crisis in Syria, and a new campaign involving Banksy asks that we stand in solidarity with Syrians. #WithSyria asks the public to place pressure on political leaders to “do everything they can to make this the last anniversary marked by bloodshed.” The

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March 9, 2014 Rob Maguire

Art Threat: Michelangelo’s David takes up arms in American gun ad

An American weapons manufacturer is the subject of outrage in Italy — but this international offensive lies strictly within the cultural realm. ArmaLite, an Illinois-based small arms engineering firm, has bestowed indignity upon Michelangelo’s David by using the classical sculpture as a prop in a rifle advertisement. The tacky advert

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February 14, 2014 Rob Maguire

Art Threat: Contest: Win swag from Rhymes for Young Ghouls!

Rhymes for Young Ghouls, the debut feature film by Canadian director Jeff Barnaby that garnered well-deserved praise on the film festival circuit this year, including a top ten film nod from TIFF, is opening this month at theatres in Canada’s three largest cities. The movie is currently screening in Toronto

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February 13, 2014 Rob Maguire

Art Threat: Feminist Art editing marathon creates 100 new Wikipedia entries

Less than 13 percent of Wikipedia contributors are female, an uncomfortable imbalance that skews the content that is found on the tremendously popular resource. Last week nearly 600 volunteers around the planet stormed Wikipedia in a marathon effort to put a dent in this disparity by adding 100 new pages

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February 12, 2014 Rob Maguire

Art Threat: Pinko cyclists rejoice: Rob Ford film on the way

It was inevitable: a Rob Ford movie is coming soon to a theatre near you. Just one week after the book release of Crazy Town: The Rob Ford Story, by Toronto Star journalist Robyn Doolittle, Canadian production company Blue Ice Pictures have snapped up the film and television rights to

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February 6, 2014 Rob Maguire

Art Threat: Skinny Puppy bills US military for music use in torture

The U.S. military is using a Vancouver band’s music to torture prisoners at Guantanamo Bay — and the artists are working to make sure they pay for it. Electro-industrial act Skinny Puppy has learned through a former guard at Gitmo that inmates would be drowned in their unsettling sounds for

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December 12, 2013 Rob Maguire

Art Threat: Pussy Riot to be released from jail, leaked amnesty bill suggests

Rumblings out of Russia point to a possible imminent release of jailed Pussy Riot members Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova. According to Russian media reports, the Kremlin is planning to release 1,300 people from prison as part of an amnesty dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution. A

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November 1, 2013 Rob Maguire

Art Threat: Video: Max Haiven on The Debt of Creativity

Activist and art professor Max Haiven recently delivered a TED talk at TEDxNovaScotia titled “>The Debt of Creativity, in which he elaborates on the ideas he discussed in his essay Privatizing Creativity. It’s worth 15 minutes of your time to tune in. Image: A Debtors’ Prison — William Hogarth.

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October 31, 2013 Rob Maguire

Art Threat: The Zombie Index explores the space between individuals and the collective

Artist George Pfau believes zombies are an irresistible cultural force. But while most of us limit our interest to binging on Walking Dead episodes, or perhaps taking part in a Zombie Walk, for Pfau the study of zombies makes up a huge part of his art practice. His most recent

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