Happy birthday, Samuel Beckett!
Samuel Beckett, line drawing by Guillermo Contreras The brilliant Irish playwright, novelist and poet would have been 106, today. Known widely for his absurdist plays and novels, Beckett received the…
Et Cetera
Call for participation – Resistance Strategies – Digital book looking for proposals on Mayan resistance
The Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics is calling for contributions for a “digital book” to focus on historical and contemporary Mayan strategies of resistance and their impact on the…
Montreal First Peoples Festival call for submissions – Submission deadline extended to April 13
The 22nd Montreal First Peoples Festival has extended its entry deadline to Friday the 13th of April 2012. The Festival is looking for audiovisual works for this years’ showcase, taking…
Ai Wei Wei installs live webcams in home – Artists winks at Chinese authorities with a Big Brother flourish
Artist Ai Wei Wei has installed live webcams in his home so that authorities – and worried supporters – can keep track of his day-to-day whereabouts and welfare. Feeling hemmed…
News Remix: Mar 23 – April1, 2012 – A bricolage of (some of) last weeks news stories
Nairobi graffiti by artists Uhuru B, Swift, Smokilah and Bankslave Kenyan graffiti artists are painting the walls of Nairobi with reminders of government corruption. Executions are up in the Middle…
News Remix: March 15-22, 2012 – Bricolage of (some of) last week’s headlines
This is the first in a new (ir)regular installment summing up last week’s news headlines using a ‘remix’ style — a quirky restless glance into the wreckless feckless immediate past.…
Le 22, on ferme! – Artist-run centres across Québec support the student movement
Over the last month and a half, students across Québec have been mobilising against the dramatic tuition hikes being imposed by the Charest government and education minister Line Beauchamp. Emerging…
Big Bang Big Boom: Animated graffiti – An endlessly fascinating warning against the temptation of war
BIG BANG BIG BOOM – the new wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo. For those who haven’t seen it, Big Bang Big Boom (2010) is yet another fabulous…
Support WWOZ community radio in New Orleans – Fundraisng drive for the voice of New Orleans cultural renaissance
Tune in, turn on and give a few bucks to one the most fabulous radio stations anywhere. WWOZ New Orleans community radio is having their annual membership fundraising drive, and…
I’m moving to Vancouver
My time in Saskatoon has come to an end. My partner and I will be moving to Vancouver on April 1 — no joke! Since arriving from Montreal three and…
Portraits of a young girl influenced by the mainstream – Photographs by Jessica Manley
Currently a senior at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, Jessica Manleybegan the project “Melissa” six years ago while still a high school student. She began working…
WikiLeaks dump reveals Dow Chemical spies read Art Threat
Today WikiLeaks began releasing a collection of emails obtained from the servers of Stratfor, an American private espionage firm with a client list that boasts such warm and fuzzy companies…
Cinema re-opens in divided East Jerusalem – After 25 years, a welcome revival of Palestinian arts & culture
After 25 years in shuttered silence, the Al Quds cinema has reopened its doors in East Jerusalem. And it’s opening schedule was no blockbuster wasteland. Under the banner of “Freedom…
Inspiring new album from performer Rodney DeCroo – Vancouver-based roots rocker releases new album of poetry and jazz
A new recording from one of my favourite performers Rodney DeCroo is always a treasure, especially coming as this one does in the midst of Winter’s least cheery days. DeCroo’s…
Occupy Montreal wants your art! – City-wide callout for artists
Occupy Montreal has announced the formation of a city-wide art committee, and they are calling for artists to get involved. A first meeting has been scheduled for Friday, Feb 17,…
Postcolonial politics threatens integrity of Documenta 13 art exhibition – Indigenous group protests artists’ use of sacred meteorite
It is a tale of postcolonial politics, cyber-archeology and art. Two Argentinian artists are being challenged by a growing international campaign to stop their plan to ship a 37 ton…
Activating the Olfactory: Tasty Happenings in Spaces of Restraint – Diego Rivera and the aesthetics of appetite at the MoMa
"Untitled (free)" by Rikrit Tiravanija, at the MoMA We have had decades of criticisms of the museum and the gallery as institutions that, to put it kindly, are politically reticent…
100 political artists profiled – New book from Gestalten
Gestalten has published a new book about art and politics — Art & Agenda: Political Art and Activism, edited by R. Klanten, M. Hübner, A. Bieber, P. Alonzo, G. Jansenby.…
23 political art stories from 2011
Washed Up by Alejandro Durán The New Year is officially upon us, but we want to take one last opportunity to look in the rear view mirror. Here are 23…
Looking for the Political at Art Basel
The politics at Art Basel, one of the largest contemporary art exhibitions in the US, may be hard to find, but they’re there for those who know where to look.…