Arts & Culture

A feathery mental health exercise for weary times

Birding, also colloquially known as birdwatching, is a fun activity that can easily be taken on by the most novice of enthusiasts. In fact, it can be done from the comfort of a dorm room, so long as there is a window and a bit of greenery to look at.


The courage it takes to change worlds

Music has been always been a part of Raine Hamilton’s life. They began violin at a young age and were inspired by an early appearance by Yo-Yo Ma on Sesame Street to make music their lifelong pursuit.


Ruby Singh, ‘Vox.Infold’ — 4/5 stars

Ruby Singh’s new album, Vox.Infold, is a truly immersive, exciting experience. With lofty ideas, wildly experimental composition, intricate mixing and unexpected digital processing, Singh has crafted something fresh and vital.


Mother of all ‘Tongues’

Art is, of itself, an intersection. Lyrics of poetry come from songs past, evoking powerful imaginings of stories told. One of the current artists who understands this deep connection intersecting art, life, myth and tradition is award-winning Inuk artist Tanya Tagaq. An emotional powerhouse of womanhood, motherhood, community, reclamation and embracing your roots, Tongues may be Tagaq’s best album to date.



Laurie Fischer — ‘Musings on a Life Well Lived’

Since the release of his first collection, Fischer’s continued writing practice is now another way he hopes to give back to others while processing his own experiences simultaneously. He hopes that Musings on a Life Well Lived will “inspire, encourage, uplift and motivate” his readers.


Prolific local historian on Winnipeg’s musical past

Winnipegger John Einarson has had an illustrious career documenting the careers of rock and folk legends like Neil Young, the Flying Burrito Brothers and Buffy Sainte-Marie. Beyond chronicling these legends, his work has maintained a focus on Winnipeg’s unique music scene — one that he was a part of in the ’60s and ’70s, performing with giants like Randy Bachman and Frank Zappa’s band the Mothers of Invention. Einarson’s book Shakin’ All Over: The Winnipeg Sixties Rock Scene saw some success in detailing the scene that produced breakout stars like the Guess Who and Neil Young.


One man’s quest for clean oceans

The equivalent of one truckload of garbage is dumped into the ocean every minute. Currently, plastic can be found in 80 per cent of seabirds and it is estimated by the year 2050 plastic will be found in 99 per cent of them. With statistics this staggering, the award-winning documentary Hell or Clean Water is a much-needed alarm bell for the future of the planet’s health.



Have yourself a merry little Victorian Christmas

To say the Victorians invented how Christmas is celebrated as we know it is not hyperbole. The Christmas tree was popularized as a tradition when Victorian periodicals published images of Queen Victoria and her family gathered around their decorated tree, carolling became an institution of Victorian Christmas and Charles Dickens wrote arguably the most famous Christmas tale of all time. Winnipeg is lucky enough to be home to a Victorian-era house, the Dalnavert, and once again the house-turned-museum is hosting Victorian Christmas festivities all month long.