The Supercrawl cancellation is another disappointment in the year of COVID-19 cancellations
Community events are an important part of fostering a sense of belonging and inclusion in cities big or small. These events bring together people from all walks of life. Community events are often where many beloved traditions and treasured memories are created.
In Hamilton, one of the largest community events is Supercrawl. However, on June 17, Supercrawl announced that due to COVID-19 it would be cancelling the festival which had been scheduled to happen in early September.
On social media, many have also expressed relief that Supercrawl is willing to do their part to keep the community safe. However, it is still disappointing as the multi-arts festival is near and dear to the hearts of many Hamiltonians.
And I guess this should be Supercrawl weekend☹️.
I ❤️ Hamilton.— Marie Zilik (@MarieZilik) September 12, 2020
For many first-year students, Supercrawl is their introduction to Hamilton and its art community, and an opportunity for them to connect with their peers.
“I went to Supercrawl last year, so in my first year at McMaster . . . I found it to be a really great opportunity to get to know the Hamilton community and the art community. I feel like I got to see a lot of really, really cool performances and art pieces. It was just a really great opportunity to experience Hamilton culture . . . I think a lot of people in the McMaster community actually really love Supercrawl. I remember in my first year when it was coming up, a bunch of professors and a bunch of upper-years were really encouraging us to go,” said Andrea Chang, a second-year arts & science student.
I think a lot of people in the McMaster community actually really love Supercrawl. Like I remember in my first-year when it was coming up, a bunch of professors and a bunch of upper-years were really encouraging us to go,” said Andrea Chang, a second-year arts & science student.
Supercrawl’s organizers have opted to run a series of alternate events beginning Sept. 24, 2020 and continuing through to March 2021. When these events are scheduled to take place in person, there will be a cap on the number of attendees, who will all be screened prior to entry, expected to wear masks and instructed to respect physical distancing protocols.
The first of these events, running from Sept. 24–27, is a ticketed concert series featuring Tim Hicks, Jessica Mitchell, Lee Harvey Osmond, Choir! Choir! Choir! and Skratch Bastid, among others. Supercrawl organizers will be setting up a temporary open-air venue for the event, at the top of the York Boulevard Parkade in downtown Hamilton. Both the concert performers and concert-goers are grateful and excited to still experience a little bit of Supercrawl.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBigIWvF2ga/
However, due to the academic year being entirely online, many McMaster students are not in Hamilton and will likely not be able to attend any of the alternate events. For students, the cancellation of Supercrawl reflects the much larger sense of community that the pandemic has deprived them of.
“[I]t's disappointing to not have community events in Hamilton the same way anymore. But I also think that that kind of just translates to everything else that the McMaster community is facing. We're stripped of in-person community in a whole host of ways and this is just one of them,” said Chang.
“[I]t's disappointing to not have community events in Hamilton the same way anymore. But I also think that that kind of just translates to everything else that the McMaster community is facing. We're stripped of in-person community in a whole host of ways and this is just one of them,” said Chang.
Community is an essential component to wellbeing and has typically been formed through in-person interactions. In larger cities, community-wide events like Supercrawl, often play a key role in facilitating these interactions and connections. However, by causing events like these to be put on hold, the pandemic continues to isolate students from their communities.
Local artists collaborate on a mural in support of Black Lives Matter
Art is able to articulate ideas and emotions in a way that words cannot, capturing the essence of the subjects in question. This is especially true in the case of issues such as racism and discrimination because art can give voice to experiences and feelings that are otherwise difficult to communicate. A group of Hamilton artists is using their art to do exactly this.
The protests that followed the killing of George Floyd in police custody got muralist Kayla Whitney thinking about how she as a white person and an artist could be a good ally to the Black community. Deciding to play to her strengths, she began to look into finding a space for a mural in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. By mid-July, she had found a wall in downtown Hamilton. While she had the space ready to go, she wanted the project to be led by Black artists.
“I opted not to be an artist on this wall because I am white and this mural isn’t about me. My role in this project is to be helpful whenever I am needed, to answer questions on painting techniques and to deal with all the annoying background paperwork, funding and organizing,” explained Whitney.
Whitney put out a call on her Instagram page for Black artists in Hamilton interested in joining the project and this is how she came to meet graphic designer and illustrator Tandeka Tremblay and artist and designer Aichoucha Haidara.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CC8wXyPHFBf/
Tremblay’s parents immigrated from the Caribbean and while she was born in Montreal, she spent most of her adolescence in Florida. In high school, she founded an art club, which gave her a community, a sense of belonging and later drove her to pursue art school. She now works for a design agency in Hamilton, creating promotional print pieces and murals.
Haidara is originally from Mali but moved around a lot within Africa growing up. Though she has been drawing all her life, it wasn’t until moving to Canada that she got into painting. Now based in Hamilton, she used her time during the pandemic to develop her art and design skills.
While the mural itself is still in the early stages, it has officially gone from just an idea to an actuality. Currently, Whitney is finalizing the administrative work regarding the landlord’s approval of the design and funding. Meanwhile, Tremblay and Haidara have spent two weeks brainstorming and finalizing the design for the mural’s design.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CErV_i8hqIE/
Murals are a unique form of art as they are typically more accessible than traditional gallery pieces, as they are often in public spaces. Additionally, murals tend to be up for a very long time; people walk by them regularly for years following their installation. For these reasons, it was important to Tremblay and Haidara to include as much as possible in the mural, so that every time people visit it, they will see something new.
The artists have been very deliberate in choosing which images to depict in the mural to ensure many aspects of the Black experience are represented as well as key pieces from Black Canadian history.
The artists have been very deliberate in choosing which images to depict in the mural to ensure many aspects of the Black experience are represented as well as key pieces from Black Canadian history.
“I found that we went back and forth with ideas to include and how best to depict them in a unified way because we wanted both of our styles to really come together and to merge on this piece. We wanted it to depict a Black woman since Aicha and I both are Black women so obviously it's an experience that we both lived in. We wanted to illustrate our main hero, the Black woman, to be a representation of African, Black American and Caribbean cultures, all embodied into the same person to show unity of all of our different cultures together, which we don't often get to see . . . We also wanted to highlight different areas of innovation in history throughout the artwork and wanted to play with scale [to] show the dramatic size [of] our contributions, in music for instance . . . We just wanted to jam-pack it with as much information and knowledge and history that we could, but also in a beautiful package,” said Tandeka.
Both artists hope that the mural can serve as a celebration of the Black community and their history but also a reminder of the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CErUVWzBzdD/
“The Black Lives Matter movement has always faced backlash and pushback, unfortunately. I've always been a supporter of the movement and its core message. I often defend it online and in person. But I feel like no human being should have to defend their life's worth, or their right to live or their life mattering. So it can be frustrating having to keep explaining and defending a movement that at its core is just our right to live and to survive normal interactions. So, this mural can be interpreted as a response to why Black lives matter, I think, because it proudly displays a small portion, like a fraction, of our contributions, to society worldwide,” explained Tandeka.
"So, this mural can be interpreted as a response to why Black lives matter, I think, because it proudly displays a small portion, like a fraction, of our contributions, to society worldwide.”
“I hope that [the audience] will walk away feeling happy and if they're Black, I really hope that they'll walk away feeling proud and really inspired to appreciate their own culture and just fall in love with it because not everybody is truly able to accept or enjoy their Blackness so I hope that if that person does come across it, they can be like, “Wow, Black artists did that,” or “it's really afro-centric work, I feel represented”,” continued Haidara.
The mural is very much a labour of love. All those involved in the project are passionate, full of enthusiasm and dedication. They are eager to move into the next stage of their work and to continue to use their art and their skills to raise awareness and to support Hamilton’s Black community.
New initiative creates space for the mixed race community to connect and share their stories
There is something incredibly valuable about being seen. More than just being in someone’s field of view, being seen involves a recognition of all facets of your identity as well as the acknowledgment that you are not alone. Being seen is something that most people struggle with at some point, but for many individuals of mixed race, this experience of being unseen is due in part to the lack of spaces where they feel they belong.
This lack of space is something that Sarah Barnhart — a mindful movement teacher at Hamilton’s Goodbodyfeel studio — has been increasingly aware of. As a white-presenting, biracial woman, Barnhart often struggled to feel that she belonged. Growing up in Burlington, she faced many questions about her identity, making her feel like she had to constantly explain herself to others.
Prior to the pandemic, Goodbodyfeel organized a workshop for the BIPOC community. It was here that Barnhart connected with other mixed folks and began to seriously consider that a local space for the mixed community might be of interest to others. Around this time, she also discovered other mixed community pages on Instagram, which she found to be very supportive. Encouraged by close friends, she created a space for Hamilton’s mixed community to come together and share their stories. The initiative was launched as an Instagram page this past July.
“I've been thinking about it for a long time . . . I thought ‘what is actually stopping me from creating this?’ and the answer was my own fear. And then I just had to step past it,” Barnhart said, smiling warmly as she recalled the moment when she committed to creating her initiative.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDMN3JDDFXe/
While Mixed in Hamilton features beautiful artwork and encouraging words, its main focus is to share the stories and experiences of mixed communities. These stories are presented through a series of posts entitled “Mixed Stories.” For Barnhart, sharing these stories is incredibly important and was something she had hoped from the beginning that Mixed in Hamilton could facilitate so that people could feel seen and have their experiences heard.
“It is incredibly honouring to have people trust [me] and the space enough to send their stories and have them featured so that they have a space for their voice to be heard and for them to be seen as all of who they are in their mixedness, not all of who they are in their separate part . . . or for me, not being seen at all as anything,” Barnhart said.
It’s clear from the comments on her Instagram page that Barnhart wasn’t the only one who noticed the need for a space like this in Hamilton. The comments are overwhelmingly positive, filled with words of support and gratitude. Her followers seem happy to have a place where they can see themselves.
“[I want people to come away] knowing that the middle is enough. Knowing that you're enough, that you're not alone, that you have community and that you are welcome. And yes, just a space for people to be and to just feel held,” explained Barnhart.
“[I want people to come away] knowing that the middle is enough. Knowing that you're enough, that you're not alone, that you have community and that you are welcome. And yes, just a space for people to be and to just feel held,” explained Barnhart.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDi7Or-HzvX/
Barnhart also had some kind words for mixed students, inviting them to come check out her page. She wants students to know that they are not alone.
“If you've been sort of floating through your life thinking you're the only person having this experience of mixedness, of not fitting in, of being on the edge of a group, of bridging or floating in two different spaces . . . knowing that you're not alone, that you do belong as you are, as who you are and that who you are as you are is enough — is perfect . . . the space is a reminder of that for folks who may be floating,” Barnhart added.
Taking inspiration from this idea of floating between two spaces, Barnhart is hosting a virtual workshop entitled “The Middle” on Sept. 15, 2020. The workshop is an opportunity for the mixed community to come together and share stories and experiences. The workshop will begin with some guided movement, similar to yoga, led by Barnhart, followed by the opportunity for participants to introduce themselves and share some of their story. The rest of the workshop will be guided by prompts to facilitate sharing.
This is only the beginning for Barnhart and Mixed in Hamilton. She has big plans for her initiative moving forward, including potentially expanding to other social media platforms and running more workshops, including some about parenting mixed children. No matter what direction her initiative takes in the future, Barnhart wants to ensure that the mixed community has the space they need to feel seen and supported.
By Nisha Gill, Staff Writer
“My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get to be so late so soon?” wrote Dr. Seuss.
Over the last year, there has been increasing awareness and action on a number of important issues: including accountability, accessibility, climate change, diversity and 2SLGBTQIA+ rights. The arts and culture community in Hamilton, including the Arts & Culture section here at the Silhouette, have been working to raise awareness and to spur action on the aforementioned issues. Here are a few memorable events from the past year.
Early in September 2019, A&C Editor Andrew Mrozowski had a chance to sit down with the Right Honourable David Johnston, former Governor General of Canada, and chat about a variety of topics. Their conversation covered everything from his career within politics to his advice for students as well as his new book Trust: 20 Ways to Build a Better Country. This was a great way to kick off the year, with an emphasis on collaboration, trust and the power of storytelling; all of which are going to be very important for the year ahead.
Next up was Supercrawl, Hamilton’s annual weekend-long street festival. As always, there were a number of spectacular events and exhibitions, but two in particular stood out for the way that they addressed important issues. First, McMaster professor Adrienne Crossman’s installation art “Flags” addressed what it means to be a queer person in the 21st century as well as the oppression faced by the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
“It’s just the continuation of a conversation. So the text reads ‘subvert’, ‘deviate’ and ‘resist’ as forms of resisting oppression but on the back where it says resist it more speaks to the fact that existing as a queer person, a visibly queer person or anybody that doesn’t suit the way that people might perceive as normal — just existing itself is a form of resistance which I think can be a very radical sentiment,” Crossman said, when interviewed for the original article.
Second from Supercrawl was McMaster alumnus Christopher McLeod’s “EMERGENCY Pt. 2: Structures of Actions” installation exhibition. This was a follow up to a previous piece that the artist set up for Supercrawl in 2018. This year’s installation had taken the key issues people had highlighted last year — safe streets, health and the environment — and put the focus on what individuals can do about them, by asking attendees to commit to a level of action on those issues.
“Are we all just going to sit around and sort of watch what’s happening, or are we going to step up and try to make a difference?” asked McLeod, when interviewed for the initial article.
In early October 2019, the membership trade association of local brewers, Ontario Craft Brewers, promoted a meeting with Sam Oosterhoff on social media. Oosterhoff is a Progressive Conservative member of provincial parliament from the Niagara-West riding, who had previously claimed he wants abortion rights removed and that he opposes the use of more gender-neutral terms. MERIT Brewing Company believed that the OCB’s post with Oosterhoff cast an unfavourable light on the industry that did not reflect MERIT’s values. They saw it as their responsibility to hold the association accountable for their actions, and to push the conversation surrounding corporate accountability.
When interviewed for the initial article, Tej Sandu, co-owner of MERIT Brewing Company, explained: “Conversation is not enough; action needs to follow a conversation . . . You still need to have conversations to get to action . . . We’re trying to do our part. It’s inherent and embedded in what MERIT’s about, from why we are called ‘MERIT’ to what we strive to do here and has been our experience. This is something that we feel is not only our responsibility, it’s our privilege to be able to speak out on these things and it’s something that we are doing because we’re passionate about it.”
Later in the month, on Oct. 7, 2019, The Pale Blue Dot, a sustainable, environmentally conscious store in downtown Hamilton, ran their second clothing swap in partnership with Grain and Grit brewery. A great proponent of environmental consciousness, not only through their shop but also through events and workshops, the Pale Blue Dot contributed to a more sustainable Halloween with a dedicated costume section at the swap.
Nov. 9 - 10, 2019 brought a special performance by the Kronos String Quartet, as part of The Socrates Project. The group’s performance included a rendition of “Sun Rings”, composed by their friend Tyler Riley, accompanied by recordings from NASA missions. The performance was meant to foster hope and encourage solidarity and connection during difficult times.
When interviewed, prior to the publication of the article, David Harrington, founder and violinist of the group said, “I think that by allowing ‘Sun Rings’ to enter your life, I think a person will find a larger sense of appreciation for what we have right here, right now. Music is very mysterious, we never know when we will connect with another listener . . . it just gives more of a sense of wonder and wonder is such a beautiful thing.”
We often forget that to move forward we need to first confront our past. Deanna Bowen’s exhibit A Harlem Nocturne, which debuted at the McMaster Museum of Art in January 2020, is a reminder of Canada’s long history of systemic racism and injustice in Canada. Taking its name from the nightclub that her family operated in Vancouver decades before, Bowen’s work blended personal and public history to create an intimate and powerful exhibit that explored race, migration, historical writing and authorship.
“I would encourage people to see themselves in what I’m doing. There’s so much rich history in our own family histories. And I think it’s important to emphasize that everybody’s family story has some impact on the making of a nation . . . You know, it’s about recognizing that the power to create our history and our personal and our national narrative really does kind of boil down to people like you and I,” said Bowen when interviewed for the initial article.
February 2020 was an eventful month, coinciding with the release of our annual sex positive Sex and the Steel City issue on Valentine’s day. Full of a variety of excellent articles, including opinion pieces, artist and business profiles, this year’s issue had a special focus on identity and explored topics from queerness to body positivity, from romance to sex.
February also saw the chance to catch up with McMaster professor Henry Giroux in a two-part article series after the publication of his newest book The Terror of the Unforeseen, which featured a forward by Julian Casablancas, the lead singer of The Strokes and Giroux's good friend. The Terror of the Unforeseen was inspired by a sense of urgency following the rise of right-winged movements across the globe and focuses on how the rise of this kind of ideology affects universities, media and culture.
“I tried to take seriously the notion that politics follows culture, meaning that, you can’t really talk about politics unless you talk about the way in which people are experiencing their everyday lives and the problems that confront them,” Giroux explained when he was interviewed for the original article.
March 2020 turned the spotlight to sustainability initiatives once again, with pieces on Humble Bee, Hamilton’s own urban beekeeping company who has set up apiaries on campus, as well as the fabric store Needleworks. Needlework is more than just a fabric store, providing sewing lessons and workshops, which encourage their customers to express their creativity while also practicing sustainability.
In response to escalating concerns with COVID-19, many events and exhibitions have been cancelled, and many businesses and restaurants have had to close. However, we are still committed to supporting the McMaster community as well as the arts and culture scene, by highlighting key initiatives such as community donations by restaurants and food banks, author readings on social media and festivals that have adapted to the need for physical distancing.
Awareness and action on important issues has been a central component of the arts & culture community this past year, and hopefully it is a trend that continues. Afterall, as Dr. Seuss wrote, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
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I never actually applied to be the Arts and Culture Reporter, I got here mostly by accident. I applied to a few other positions on staff, but when I got a phone call from our Editor-in-Chief on a windy summer day to offer me a job, it was for A&C Reporter. I didn’t even know it was a paid position for another month.
McMaster isn’t my first school, I went to Western for two and a half years before coming here. In my first year at Mac I didn’t know very much about the school, and to be honest I still don’t know where Thode is — and at this point I’m too afraid to ask. But the Silhouette gave me a home on campus (our little office in the dungeons of the MUSC basement, untouched by natural light), and a group of friends that I didn’t have before. It made me feel like I was a part of a family, and a part of campus.
As Uncle Ben says, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
One of the best parts of working at the Silhouette is being able to give a platform to community events and organizations that matter to me. I’ve had the privilege to write about sustainable fashion, body positivity, local businesses and charitable organizations in addition to exciting arts initiatives. I was gone from Hamilton for a few years, and the Sil helped me to see my hometown in a fresh light. My magnum opus is my article on a local meme page The Hammer Memer. Don’t let your memes be dreams, folks. If there’s something happening in the arts community in Hamilton, don’t hesitate to contribute something to the Sil. It’s worth it.
I’ve also had the opportunity to write for other sections of the Silhouette. Being able to give voice to my thoughts about the Yellow Vests outside of City Hall was something vitally important to me, and the Sil let me do that. If I hadn’t been a part of the team I probably wouldn’t have had the courage to submit something, but I’m so glad I did.
As I sit at my desk at home, I feel a deep sense of loss. This is my final year at Mac, and I don’t think I’ve entirely processed that it’s over now. I can’t chill on the couches in the office and ask Hannah when the desks for the reporters are going to be built (spoiler alert folks: it didn’t happen). I can’t warm up my lunch in the microwave that can’t be used at the same time as the kettle without blowing a fuse. I can’t chat with my friends about the latest tea while munching on the chicken strips from La Piazza. It feels like just as I was settling in — everything ended.
In grade 12 English I read the book Stone Angel, which ends mid-way through a sentence. That’s how these past few weeks have felt for me; like an unfinished ending. It’s unsettling and unsatisfying, and I think we’re all feeling that way. Zoom calls are fine, but they’re not the same as sitting in your final few lectures and talking to your friends over coffee.
It feels wrong to mourn for this when there are people who have it much worse than me right now, but undergrad has been a long and complicated process for me, and I can’t help but feel sad that our end of year festivities have been postponed or cancelled. This is it, this is our last issue for the year, and we can’t have a last hurrah. Oh jeez, I’m crying a bit just thinking about it.
So here it is, my love letter to the Sil. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for this wild ride. Maybe this isn’t an ending, but a beginning. At least I can use the Oxford Comma again, thank the lord. Thank you to everyone on the team for being so kind, and thank you to everyone reading this for getting through to the end of my sentimental ramble. This isn’t a goodbye, just an until next time.
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Due to COVID-19 being declared a pandemic, The Good Foot has decided to postpone their first in-person event. They plan to hold an Instagram live-stream on Saturday March 21 at 8 p.m. instead, in order to lift people’s spirits up during this time. Stay tuned to their social media for updates.
Ring of Fire, You Can’t Hurry Love and Hard Day’s Night; you may not be able to name a 60s song off of the top of your head, but you definitely know the words to one. Starting soon, The Good Foot will be bringing the songs of the 60s to a dance floor near you, complete with prizes for best outfit and a songlist perfect for boogying down.
The Good Foot was created by a group of local DJs, dancers and vintage fashion lovers looking to liven up the Hamilton dance scene with 60s tunes. They include owner of Girl on the Wing Whitney McMeekin, illustrator and dancer Jacqui Oakley, DJ Spaceman a.k.a Stacey Case, DJ Donna Lovejoy a.k.a Rachael Henderson and Jen Anisef of Weft projects. Anisef says that Weft projects’ aim is to create collaborative opportunities for local creators and makers.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9CR8ArpSAJ/
“[I]t's like the weft are the threads that bind everything together. So the idea is to serve the community through facilitating creative collaboration. So this project, it's brought together a lot of different folks that all have different areas of interest and expertise, to throw a really fun party that is hopefully intergenerational and is just unpretentious and to celebrate dance and fashion, and have a good time,” said Anisef.
Henderson, also known as DJ Donna Lovejoy, describes herself as a Jill of all Genres, and she definitely lives up to her name. Thanks to collaborators like her, The Good Foot is set to cover songs from every nook and cranny of the 60s.
“It’s gonna be Soul, Motown, Early Funk [and a] bit of Rocksteady, Britpop, Mod, just a bit of everything,” said Henderson.
Social distancing is making it more difficult than ever to connect with other people. The Instagram live stream that The Good Foot will be running will hopefully help bring people from all walks of life together that might never have met otherwise. Anisef and Henderson say that they are hoping that their future parties can create a sense of intergenerational bonding and community.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9xryXrHvft/
“I think the beauty of 60s music is that most of us kind of know it deep in our soul, even as kids it was around and the music has endured so much. Plus, it's really nostalgic for older folks like the music of their youth. And I think it also really is like, it touches a lot of different cultural communities as well. So our hope is that it draws people together,” said Anisef.
Henderson says that in all of the events that she DJs, whether they be corporate events, weddings or club nights, 60s music appeals to everyone.
“I do find that 60s music crosses generations and does actually speak to a younger crowd. I'm always impressed when the younger people know all the lyrics and they get really excited,” said Henderson.
When Anisef lived in Glasgow, Vancouver and Toronto, she says that there used to be regular 60s and soul dance nights, with attendees dressing to the nines and dancing their cares away. There will be a contest for the best 60s outfit at the event, but Anisef says that everyone is welcome to come as they are.
“Some of those nights, people would really like to make an effort to dress up. And so I'm hoping that we can also build that we're trying to build that culture in the event. You don't have to, by all means come in your sweatpants and just have a great time. But if you're inspired, we'd love for people to play around and dress up,” said Anisef.
The Good Foot may not be shimmying to a dance floor near you just yet, but once everyone is safer they hope to bring the 60s back to Hamilton. In the meantime, having a 60s dance party in your very own home might just be a great way to add some spark to your day.
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This is part one of a three part series. Throwback Thursday looks to explore the past, present and future of Hamilton’s music scene through the eyes of those within.
The Hamilton music scene is ever-changing. The rise of Supercrawl over the past decade has given local bands a public platform that they might not have had access to otherwise. Through this Throwback Thursday series, I seek to uncover the recent history of Hamilton’s music scene, and how the city has developed the unique musical identity that it’s known for today. This will take the form of three profile-based articles focusing on interactions with the past, present and future of Hamilton’s music scene.
We will begin with a snapshot of Hamilton’s music scene in the 1990s. Our guide is a former Silhouette Arts & Culture Editor, and co-author of Canadian alt-rock music book "Have Not Been The Same".
Ian A.D. Jack began studying Kinesiology at McMaster in 1992. Although his studies were heavily focused on physiology and physical movement, Jack had a passion for music that stemmed from his childhood.
Jack recalled living in Thunder Bay as a child in the 80s, going to the local library and borrowing vinyl records which exposed him to a wide range of music. When Jack’s parents divorced, he turned to music as a comforting mechanism.
Photo C/O Ian A.D. Jack
“Music has been my saviour all along,” said Jack.
With the late 80s came the surge of bands such as U2, The Smiths and New Order, creating a new wave of music. Music was getting louder, heavier, but strangely more melodic as well. Jack was captivated by this style. He tried to emulate their sounds, find out as much as he could about the bands and build his music collection.
While Jack was at McMaster, he would spend all of his extra money at Cheapies Records and Tapes (67 King St. East), a staple record store in Hamilton’s music scene that is still around today. Cheapies does not confine itself to one type of music, allowing anybody to find their own interests in their vinyl record bins. After his first year of university he began writing for the Sil, after realizing that he would be sent new music for free so long as he wrote something about it.
“It was a great way of funding my habits and became a gateway for me to meet a lot of artists and my heroes,” said Jack.
In the past, the Sil used to have a dedicated pull-out section called Hamilton Entertainment Arts Directory, or HEAD. This section featured movie and album reviews, but also had a heavy focus on reviewing and interviewing local Hamilton-based bands. Jack wrote his first article for HEAD about alternative rock band, Rhymes with Orange. He continued writing for HEAD in his third year and became co-Arts Editor in his final year of school. HEAD was an important way for students to understand the music scene in Hamilton.
In addition to profiling Hamilton music, Jack’s section also featured interviews with bands such as Oasis and Blur. HEAD also ran interviews with notable people in the movie industry such as actor/director Kevin Smith, actor Don McKellar and director Noah Bombock.
In the 90s, there were two pubs on campus that hosted live music. The Rathskeller, now Bridges Café, typically housed Hamilton-based bands, and the Downstairs John, which has since been demolished to make room for L.R. Wilson Hall, typically hosted more well known Canadian bands. Jack described the city’s music scene as being rougher than it is today due to the minimal amount of exposure artists received as well as the undeveloped, underground scene they were playing in.
“Now, you have some more prominent artists like The Arkelles and White Horse, and you have Supercrawl. That festival didn’t exist [before],” said Jack.
Jack also recalls off-campus venues that would host live music. The largest of these clubs was called X-Club, housed on the second floor of a building at King William Street and John Street North downtown. Up and coming indie bands such as Jale, Doughboys and Pure would perform. Jack remembers tall posts extending from the floors to the ceiling, obstructing audience sightlines. Nevertheless, it was a great place to catch an indie show.
La Luna (306 King St. West), was another spot that would host smaller bands or acoustic sets. While primarily functioning as a Lebanese restaurant, it had a small space for live performances, hosting the likes of Dave Rave, Jale and Jacob Moon. This venue is still open today.
Jack noted that The Corktown (175 Young St.) sometimes felt dilapidated, but it hosted a number of punk and alt-rock bands. For that reason, it remained one of his favourite places to watch live music in Hamilton. One notable band who performed at Corktown was Junkhouse, a rock band helmed by Tom Wilson. This venue is still open today and frequently hosts live music.
While not primarily a place for live music, Fever, now Absinthe (38 King William St.), was a dance club playing alt-rock music. This style of music started to gain traction with more and more people throughout the city.
Throughout Jack’s university years in Hamilton, a few major genres dominated the Steel City’s music scene. Punk rock was made prominent in part to Teenage Head; rock n’ roll was from Junkhouse; folk rock came from groups like Crash Vegas; and power pop from bands like The Killjoys.
“Hamilton is like the Brooklyn to Toronto’s New York,” said Jack when describing the 90s music scene.
In Jack’s earlier years, many Toronto-based artists moved to Hamilton as rent was more affordable west of the city. The same is true of New York-based artists who move to Brooklyn.
“It’s financially logical and you also have a collective of creative people that can afford to be creative,” added Jack.
Jack graduated from McMaster in 1996 and went on to teach music in the elementary sector; however, his writing endeavours didn’t stop with the Sil. He co-wrote a book in 2001 called "Have Not Been The Same" that focused on the development of alternative rock in Canada from 1985 to 1995. Through this project, Jack had the chance to interview local Hamilton-based bands from his university days, such as Doughboys and Jale, in a process that came full circle for him.
On a more personal note, I had the pleasure of being taught by ‘Mr. Jack’ from grade four to six. Since my graduation from elementary school, we’ve kept in contact over the years. By coincidence, I also found my way to McMaster for my post-secondary education. When I told him I had accepted my offer, he told me to look into writing for the Sil. My first year was really about finding my own footing at the school, as is the case for many other students, which is why I wasn’t able to pursue his advice. At the start of my second year, he told me to reconsider writing for the Sil. I took him up on his advice and the rest, as they say, is history.
An inspiration not only to my music, but also to my personal morals and values and seemingly to my journalism career, thank you, Ian.
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Courtney Downman is a glass artist operating out of the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga. Her work will be showcased at The Cotton Factory as part of the upcoming Work In Progress art exhibit. The exhibit will feature unfinished pieces from 13 artists. Downman says that much of her inspiration comes from the process of creation, which works well for an exhibit of partially finished work.
“A lot of the time I’m inspired through the actual making process, which gives me new ideas as I’m creating,” said Downman.
Downman’s work predominantly focuses on glass that has been carved down with a saw, meaning that the beginning of the piece looks drastically different from the end result.
“My first thought was to bring a piece that’s 60 per cent finished, because they look so different from when it starts as a complete bubble to where I cut it open and it becomes very jagged and you see the white from the saw lines, and then as I finish the last step it brings it all together. So, I was thinking of putting a piece out that’s just about halfway there to show the start to finish,” said Downman.
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Glass art is experiencing a rise in popularity at the moment. This is in part thanks to the hit Netflix competition show Blown Away, where glass artists compete to create pieces that match a given theme in a short period of time. Due to the difficulty of working with glass quickly, each competitor was assigned assistants from Sheridan College. Downman was one of the assistants, and she says she’s noticed a positive impact from the show.
“I think overall the community was really happy with the way that it brought exposure; [for] a lot of local studios the show has generated searches for handmade glass. People have been reaching out in local ways, which is kind of neat,” said Downman. “It was really neat as well to work behind the scenes without actually having to compete in the contest.” While glass art has always been popular, having a Netflix show has given it a wider platform than ever before.
The Work In Progress exhibit is being held at The Cotton Factory, a place dedicated to creating a sense of community amongst artists. Downman says that this community is why participating in art exhibits is one of her favourite parts of being an artist.
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“We spend so long working quietly, usually alone in our own studio, so it’s rare that we get a chance to show what we do in a way where we also get to socialize with other people that are like-minded. I love meeting the other artists at the shows because I find there’s always common ground to start with. I’ve had a lot of really cool friendships blossom out of doing different shows,” said Downman.
With 13 artists who are all specialized in different art mediums, there is sure to be something that interests you, whether that be glass, leather, paint or something else entirely. Artists will be standing by their work, so if you have any questions about their process, you can ask them right on the spot. If you find art that you love, they will also have completed works available for sale that you can take home with you.
Work In Progress will take place on Sunday Nov. 17 at 1 p.m. at the Cotton Factory (270 Sherman Ave. N.). Admission is free.
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Space, the final frontier — these are the words uttered by television’s space captain Jean-Luc Picard aboard the starship Enterprise-D. Star Trek nurtured the world’s passion for space exploration, inspiring awe and wonder about the dark abyss that surrounds us. We exist in this unknown under the twinkling lights of the stars, in the midst of the slow harmonious orbit of planets dancing to the music of outer space.
Back on Earth, Kronos String Quartet is playing along to this music. For David Harrington, founder and violinist of the group, music is as mysterious as space.
“To me music is a very personal, it’s almost human substance that we create for each other. We get to share it with each other. As a musician, all it means is that from a very early age, that’s what you wanted to have around you all the time, but it’s a mystery. How it works? I cannot tell you. I do not know. I’m in awe of music,” said Harrington.
Growing up in Seattle, Washington, Harrington started forming string quartets — a group of four musicians comprising of violin, viola, cello and bass — when he was 12 years old. When he turned 14, something did not make sense to him. He looked at the globe that sat in his family home and realized that all of the music he played and listened to were by the same people out of Vienna: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert.
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“The globe has more cities and religions. I needed to explore the world of music. That started me on a voyage that I continue to this very day of wanting to know more of music, more about cultures, languages, religions, traditions and forms of music,” said Harrington.
“The globe has more cities and religions. I needed to explore the world of music. That started me on a voyage that I continue to this very day of wanting to know more of music, more about cultures, languages, religions, traditions and forms of music,” said Harrington.
Growing up towards the end of the 1960s, the U.S.-Vietnam war shook American values and left a long lasting impression on Harrington. He and his wife left the United States in 1972 in fear that he would be drafted for the war. Signing a one-year contract with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, Harrington played in British Columbia until returning to his home one year later.
“[The war] influences all of us a great deal . . . I feel like Kronos was created in 1973 in the shadow of that war . . . The idea that music can be an essential aspect of life and even a counterbalance to events and can actually become a way of responding and even countering directions that things are moving in. That’s right at the heart of why we started this group,” said Harrington.
Kronos String Quartet is based out of San Francisco, California. Harrington has been at the helm of the group as a violin player ever since its inception in November of 1973. The group’s other members are John Sherba (violin), Hank Dutt (viola) and Sunny Yang (cello), who play together to form a dynamic mix of stringed voices.
The quartet will be performing “Sun Rings” composed by Terry Riley, a friend of the group. The idea for the piece came in 2000 when Harrington’s manager received a phone call from NASA. NASA asked if the group would be interested in using recordings from the Voyager space probes, which were launched to conduct close-up studies of Jupiter and Saturn. While space itself does not emit noise, plasma waves can be recorded via a receptor and transposed into sound waves, producing audible noise.
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After hearing the recording, Harrington quickly called Riley to ask him to compose a piece that complimented the music of space. However when disaster struck on Sept. 11, 2001, Riley stopped composing and reconsidered the entire piece. He rewrote “Sun Rings” as a musical response to 9/11, finishing the piece in 2002.
The composer knew that somehow he wanted to integrate the pain he was feeling into the music. In the performance’s final song entitled “One Earth, One People, One Love”, Riley used voice recordings of poet Alice Walker as she chants “One Earth, one people, one love”. Riley recorded Walker during a demonstration following the 9/11 terror attack the day before.
The composer knew that somehow he wanted to integrate the pain he was feeling into the music. In the performance’s final song entitled “One Earth, One People, One Love”, Riley used voice recordings of poet Alice Walker as she chants “One Earth, one people, one love”.
Riley also used audio recordings of Gene Cernan, the most recent astronaut to walk on the moon. Cenran’s voice can be heard at the opening of the piece as he says, “You have to literally just pinch yourself and ask yourself the question, silently, 'Do you really know where you are at this point in time in space and in reality and in existence, when you look out the window, and you're looking back at the most beautiful star in the heavens?’” This was Cernan’s testament to the beauty of Earth.
“We hope that “Sun Rings” as an experience will radiate out into the community, through the audience, through the choir that joins us, through all of us,” said Harrington.
Kronos String Quartet brings a unique performance to McMaster, not only through the music involved, but also through the message that they convey. The piece was created to instill hope and bring the world together during a time where many felt isolated. Combining these ideas with the vast unknown that is outer space, the piece emphasizes the unity of humankind.
“I think that my allowing Sun Rings to enter your life, I think a person will find a larger sense of appreciation for what we have right here, right now,” said Harrington. “Music is very mysterious, we never know when we will connect with another listener . . . it just gives more of a sense of wonder and wonder is such a beautiful thing.”
Kronos String Quartet will be playing “Sun Rings” (T. Riley) accompanied by the McMaster University and Women’s Choirs on Nov. 9 at 8 p.m. and on Nov. 10 at 2 p.m. in L.R. Wilson Concert Hall as a part of The Socrates Project.
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A trove of paintings is held on McMaster’s campus. Monet, Matisse and Van Gogh are just some of the artists in the collection. Staples in galleries around the world, immortalized in art prints or socks, these artists have reached the pinnacle of the art world, but also having a place in Hamilton.
The collection of European masterpieces comes from Herman Levy, a Hamilton businessman and art lover who once took art history classes at McMaster. Levy was a jeweler by trade and in his spare time an engaged member of the McMaster and Hamilton art communities. His interest in European art prompted him to collect famous works from the canon throughout his lifetime, including German expressionists and French painters.
Levy donated his private collection to the McMaster Museum of Art in 1984, and upon his death in 1990 left a bequest so the collection could be expanded. The accumulated art works now belong to McMaster and have toured the world, a testament to the collection’s prestige.
The Levy collection’s return from a cross-Canada tour brings 185 European and American art works back to their Hamilton home. But first the works had to be curated into an exhibit that would resonate with viewers nearly 30 years after Levy’s death. Faced with this challenge, Pamela Edmonds, the senior curator at the MMA, interpreted the pieces to provoke new ideas and interpretations in the homecoming exhibition.
French masters Monet and Matisse now hang on the white walls of the MMA. Monet’s painting of Waterloo bridge shows an industrial scene against a hazy sky, not unlike the real scenes of Hamilton’s shores. Except this image is worth millions. Another work by the impressionist sold for $110.7 Million in May 2019.
But cost doesn’t necessarily equal value.
“The Monet is something I’ve been told is in demand all the time for people to see, but is it more about the cachet or whatever around the artist, or is it the actual object. And so I was trying to play with the hierarchy — of why something if it’s worth $50 million makes it more important? Does it really? . . . For me, I could be just as connected to something if I don’t know the artist,” said Edmonds.
Levy’s donations reflected his art interests: artists are predominantly European, and almost exclusively white. Edmonds, throughout her career as a curator, has questioned why galleries and exhibits didn’t seem to reflect perspectives beyond the western canon. Without curation, dominant voices within the art canon remain unchallenged, despite representing very few experiences captured in the visual form. This prompted the curator to consider how to include more works from the long history of non-western visual arts in the newest presentation of the Levy collection.
The latest exhibition of the collection, it is from here that the world unfolds, which opened Aug. 24 and will run through Dec. 14 2019, prompts viewers to reconsider the familiar art works.
In this exhibition, the big names in the Levy collection are accompanied by artworks that speak to the gaps of a history without much diversity. Contemporary, modern and historical works come together to create an aesthetic experience that contradicts the elitism of the art world. It doesn’t pretend to represent all of art history, but nods to what is missing.
Reflecting on her curatorial practice, Edmonds says, “it was a great opportunity for me to bring together a show . . . from a lens that critiques that canon but still does so respectfully — these are amazing artists — but trying to put a spin on it that’s questioning the way that art has been presented in that linear, universal, humanist way.”
The exhibit, titled it is from here that the world unfolds goes against curatorial convention by avoiding linearity. It doesn’t present a history. Instead, it presents moments in time, space and aesthetic perspectives that speak to one another and to the viewer. That’s what Edmonds thinks that art spaces should be about — a conversation between the art, creator and the person experiencing it.
“The museum, the library, those are kind of the few spaces left that you can congregate to talk about ideas, or to engage in ideas. And I think that specifically within the university, we should be having an engaging conversation around art and ideas … I wanted to take a collection that was maybe more historic but bring it into the 21st century.”
The MMA holds a unique position compared to other galleries and museums in Hamilton. Situated on McMaster’s campus, the MMA has a responsibility to the students, staff and community members who live, work and study here. Edmonds wants students to feel comfortable coming through the front doors. The rules and etiquette of galleries-past do not need to deter visitors. No longer should art spaces exist as stuffy and exclusive places, they should exist for everyone, equally. At the MMA, the quiet is welcome, but not mandatory. As long as you don’t touch it, the art is yours to engage with however you like.
As the world moves faster and public spaces are closed, the museum is one of the last few spaces that exist for the public good. It is one of the few places that are quiet, free of charge and open for all.
Museum goers can expect to see historic works alongside yarn-like sculptures and red squares. If the viewer finds themselves frustrated, then Edmonds says: good. She wants to set up questions without answers and evoke feelings from viewers. Even negative emotional reactions are good, because it means the art is speaking to someone.
For students, the MMA could be a space to decompress or learn something new — but it’s up to you. Edmonds encourages on-lookers to take what they want from the exhibit, even if there isn’t any further engagement beyond viewership.
Visiting it is from here that the world unfolds, time periods and emotions collide. Looking at the giant canvas of Wailing Women (1990) by Ken Currie along with Sun Ra’s chaotic jazz accompaniment, there is a confrontation of eras and aesthetics. The interplay is jarring, and be advised, so is Currie’s painting of a mob of dismembered women. But it is also a reminder of the non-linearity of the exhibit.
Just around the corner from Currie’s work is a set of 16th century religious icons beside a mid-dentury mixed-media piece that is almost erotic and references a variety of eras. The exhibit is jarringly ahistorical, but purposefully so.
Museums are places for the free flow of ideas and dialogue around art and the world in which it is created. The MMA is a place to see important works from the European art canon, but it also gives students, staff and community the opportunity to think about dominant narratives in the art world. Levy’s legacy is held in trust for present and future generations, and will continue to spur creativity and criticism for years to come.
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