While in Montreal last weekend, I skipped out on watching the Habs game for an equally hot ticket: the twenty-year retrospective of Belgian dancer and choreographer Wim Vandekeybus’

While in Montreal last weekend, I skipped out on watching the Habs game for an equally hot ticket: the twenty-year retrospective of Belgian dancer and choreographer Wim Vandekeybus’ Ultima Vez (Spanish for “The Last Time”). Judging by the generous turn out and hearty applause, the show was anything but a swan song. Rather, it had the power, speed, and fervor of another spectacle being played out on TV screens across the city.

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Like most kids worth their fluorescent slap bracelet and Air Jordan kicks, I can break out The Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song on command. So the day Vivian Banks inexplicably morphed into another woman was a strange one indeed. (Unbeknownst to impressionable ten-year-old fans such as myself, the original Aunt Viv was too busy suing NBC for breach of contract to attend Will and Carlton’s graduation. Her double silently stepped in a few episodes later.) This wasn’t a case of a bad perm job; it was identity theft. And yet, the Banks residence didn’t seem to notice. I was spooked. (more…)

To celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary, Winnipeg’s Video Pool media art centre made a poster detailing its history. But the twenty-five year history of an artist-run centre is as harried as they come. Rather than a straight timeline, Video Pool’s history looks more like a brainstorming session gone wrong. In the aptly titled The Incomplete, Contested, Anecdotal, Unedited, Messy, Nostalgic, Faulty, Controversial History of Video Pool So Far…,bubbles of people, places, moments in time, and minor scandals are connected with AV cables. (more…)

If, like me, you’d never guess this shimmery post title is also the name of a soon-to-be released album from Minneapolis hip hop artists Atmosphere, your indie music radar needs amplifying.

Help is out there. The Indie Music Filter, put together by tireless music promoter Chris Budd, is a great start. Budd keeps his entries mercifully short letting the tracks and videos do the work. His discerning taste points virgins and doyens alike to the choicest indie gigs, artists and tracks.

This week he’ll follow the axis of indie to Austin, Texas for South by Southwest. Guided by his geeked-out Excel spreadsheet of must-sees, his picks should be on point.

*check out Road to Riches on Atmopshere’s myspace for a taste of the hip hop duo’s styles

When I get a hold of Toronto artist Mitch Robertson at Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery in Halifax, he’s just returned from dropping off his son. The father and son team had been getting the gallery ready for Robertson’s show 5,6,7: Economies of Good & Evil. But being three years old, Robertson’s son was having more fun dirtying the Plexiglas containers than cleaning them.

Robertson’s son was a big influence on 5,6,7, which was exhibited in Oakville and Winnipeg last year. Most of the work in the show was made at a time when Robertson was struggling with how to raise a family. In Winners and Losers (2005-07) and From Good to Bad (2006) Robertson plays with our concepts of good and evil. By colouring one cowboy’s hat black and another’s white he exposes how subjective our morals can be. The concept is explored further in photos of groups of men, where their shirts are coloured in grey scale from black and white. (more…)

TORONTO—As I write this, Prince Edward Island’s Cyclone roller coaster is deep into winter hibernation, and the hordes of Japanese tourists that flood the island in summer to see the birthplace of Anne have just finished lunch back on their own island. Cows Ice Cream in Charlottetown is one of the few summer-time hot spots to stay open in defiance of winter. The Confederation Centre for the Arts is another bastion of island culture open year-round. Lucky for Atlantic Canadian hipsters.

Tomorrow (February 29) the centre is hosting Cute As A…, a button exhibity and trading event featuring unique designs by fifty Canadian artists—all on one-inch pins. The show is curated by Siobhan Wiggins, the Centre’s education and outreach officer. (more…)

TORONTO—Trudging through the snow as wind whipped my face during last Tuesday’s snowstorm, I had to ask whether any gallery opening was worth the trouble. But I’m going to assume that anyone reading this wasn’t as hearty as me, and missed the opening reception of Art Metropole’s current show ABC…With Love (Too Cool For School).

The show’s focus is the twenty-six paperback novel-sized gorgeous letterpress prints (in orange-yellow, steely-blue, and warm grey) pinned on the wall as you enter. Thirteen artists from around the world contributed to the prints, each drawing two letters of the alphabet. The works have a kindergarten-esque feel. Jill Henderson, who curated the exhibition and drew two of the letters, calls the show “curating-by-numbers.�? (more…)