WAG-Qaumajuq names first Indigenous director, CEO

John Mahli Lawa’ Hampton has been selected to take the helm of Canada’s oldest civic art gallery, WAG-Qaumajuq announced Thursday.

Most Canadian actors earn less than $20K per year from screen work, survey finds

TORONTO - Most Canadian actors can't pay the bills through onscreen work alone, according to a survey from the Canada Media Fund that found seven in 10 respondents earned less than $20,000 a year from their work on film and TV.

The poll of nearly a thousand screen performers also found only six per cent of respondents earned more than $75,000 per year, and just 13 per cent earned all their income from performing.

Two-thirds of respondents made less than half their money through acting, the Canada Media Fund said. The survey was conducted at the end of 2025 by Abacus Data, and asked performers to reflect on their earnings the year prior.

"People have to find other jobs, and really make ends meet in different ways ... to make their careers sustainable," said Diego Briceño, senior manager of data equity at the Canada Media Fund, who presented the report on Tuesday at the Reelworld Summit in downtown Toronto.

Oseredok's centrepiece mosaic is a testament to Ukrainian heritage

With impressionism, things can look messy when you’re eyeing the brush strokes up close. Stand back, voila, the piece comes into focus.

But with photomosaics, an image made up of hundreds of smaller photos, it’s the opposite. The closer you stand, the more images you see.

In the era of AI art, it’s all too easy to fire off a kitschy digital photomosaic. The internet is littered with mindless renderings showing, say, an image of the Statue of Liberty made up of a thousand Big Macs.

It’s another and rare thing to build a photomosaic by hand, with a genuine artist’s grasp of the form’s strange double life. This is what, for the past eight years or so, a collaborative team — in particular Edmonton-based creator and curator Larisa Sembaliuk Cheladyn, sculptor Royden Mills, Theodora Harasymiw and a group of volunteers — did for Ukrainian Voice: A Legacy Mosaic, one of four new exhibitions at the Oseredok: Ukrainian Cultural and Education Centre.

Winnipeg Jewish Theatre play The Cut ponders realities of interfaith marriages

Jordi Mand isn’t scared to talk about circumcision — she doesn’t bristle at the mention of a bris.

Women’s hockey tale charms in Prairie Theatre Exchange production despite challenges

Before the stars come out to shine in Tracey Power’s national power play Glory, all that there is to see is an old barn, its wooden foundation exposed, with a sun-dappled expanse beneath it waiting to be transformed from earth to frozen playground.

Phoneless concert a beautiful chance to bask in moment

Outside the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, digital billboards flashed fans their singular photo op for the night: “I took this photo before I saw Phoebe Bridgers: The Lost Tour 2026.”

It is, as it is for so many other people, my only documentation of a concert by one of my favourite artists. The American singer-songwriter — who I discovered at the Winnipeg Folk Festival in 2018 — has had a meteoric rise in the past few years, winning three Grammys in 2024 as one third of Boygenius, the indie-rock supergroup rounded out by Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, and opening for Taylor Swift on select dates of her titanic Eras Tour.

Now, Bridgers is touring in support of Lost Weekend, her third album and first since 2020’s Punisher. It’s a feat of a record, a richly textured meditation on loss and grief, written in the aftermath of the death of her dad, with whom she had a complicated relationship.

So she is in a position to not only play multiple sold-out arena shows, but also insist that those shows be phone-free.

Royal Winnipeg Ballet workers unionize with MGEU

Workers at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet have unionized.

The RWB workers’ application to join the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union as a single bargaining unit was approved by the Manitoba Labour Board Thursday.

The new Local 466 will include employees of both the RWB and the RWB School, including teaching staff, student boarding staff and accompanists as well as those working in marketing, development, facilities and security, data services, finance, food services and administration.

Physiotherapists, students of the RWB School and employees represented by another bargaining unit will not be members of Local 466.

2 Renoir paintings stolen from a French museum have been found, 6 arrested

PARIS (AP) — Two Renoir paintings stolen from a museum in southern France last month have been found, and six people arrested, local authorities said Friday.

The mayor of the town housing the Renoir Museum, Bryan Masson, issued a statement praising investigators who tracked down the paintings and suspects. The statement did not elaborate on how they did so.

The regional prosecutor's office and police did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The mayor announced a news conference for later Friday.

The two missing paintings were “Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano” and “Young Woman at the Well.”

RMTC finds charm behind Cyrano’s prominent proboscis

There are more flattering places to have your body described than in a book called Les Grotesques, but it was in that 1844 work that French readers such as playwright Edmond Rostand were reintroduced to a 17th-century firebrand named Cyrano de Bergerac, the subject of Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre’s season-opening production.

Band keeps plight of MMIWG close to heart on new track

Gabrielle Fontaine won’t stop talking about them and neither will her bandmates.

Modern myths: RWB updates classic Slavic folk tales as part of Stravinsky-based double bill

Two stories, two choreographers, one composer: the Royal Winnipeg Ballet opens its 2026/27 season with a double bill that celebrates the influential works of Igor Stravinsky.

Stravinsky Stories, which runs Thursday to Sunday at the Centennial Concert Hall, pairs veteran Russian-Ukrainian choreographer (and former RWB principal dancer) Alexei Ratmansky’s The Fairy’s Kiss with the world première of emerging Chicago-born choreographer Houston Thomas’s Firebird.

Much like Tchaikovsky before him, Stravinsky was a composer who took commissions for ballets, but there are actually no definitive versions of either of these works, says RWB artistic director Christopher Stowell.

“Unlike Swan Lake or Sleeping Beauty, where there’s sort of a blueprint of a classical production that most people follow, there have been famous productions of both The Fairy’s Kiss and Firebird, but there isn’t one that everyone’s following at all,” he says.

Moving drama at MTYP gives voice to boy who changed law

The heroic true tale of Norway House Cree Nation-born Jordan River Anderson came home Friday night, as Manitoba Theatre for Young People presented Yvette Nolan’s Jordan.

The touring production, a collaboration with Geordie Theatre, runs weekends through Oct. 11, with additional stops in Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa’s National Arts Centre.

Having several of Anderson’s family members witness the local première underscored the evening with poignancy. Elder and Pine Creek First Nation member Barbara Nepinak added her own dignified presence and prayers following MTYP artistic director Pablo Felices-Luna’s welcoming remarks.

The season-opener also marks the Winnipeg-raised playwright’s homecoming; the Algonquin playwright, director, dramaturg, actor and educator was a fixture in our local theatre community for many years before going on to serve as artistic director for Native Earth Performing Arts from 2003 to ‘11, among other contributions.

A day on the campaign trail: Winnipeg's mayor, seeking a second term, does double duty

In the weeks leading up to the civic election, Scott Gillingham has been performing a juggling act: he’s running to be Winnipeg’s 45th mayor, while still serving as its 44th.

“If someone asks me about the campaign, I’m going to answer them. But I think for most people, I’m the mayor of Winnipeg, even if I’m showing up as a candidate,” Gillingham, 58, says. “I try to do all I can to maintain that distinction.”

The Free Press joined Gillingham on a recent rainy September Saturday on the campaign trail, where he served in both roles during an event-laden day. City council’s final meeting before the Oct. 28 election was days earlier.

In Winnipeg, it’s rare for an incumbent to be defeated. But Gillingham knows his win in 2022 wasn’t exactly a landslide — he won with 27.5 per cent of the vote — and he’s been thinking about his second term ever since.

Work aims to share Jordan River Anderson’s heroic legacy with young audiences

It isn’t often that Yvette Nolan is brought to tears by her own work.

But at the Montreal premiere of Jordan, the playwright found herself weeping in the aisles.

“I was a mess,” she recalls.

But all around her, the audience of children at Montreal’s Geordie Theatre were cheering at the conclusion of Nolan’s latest work, a fable centred on the heroic influence of Jordan River Anderson, a Norway House boy who spent two years living in hospital because the federal and provincial governments couldn’t agree on which level of elected office should pay for his at-home care.

Cuba’s cherished ballet tradition endures through daily blackouts and shortages

HAVANA (AP) — For months, two-thirds of Cuba had no electricity at night. Some neighborhoods in the capital of Havana have been without running water for more than two weeks. Transportation is scarce and eggs, bread and cooking oil are hard to find.

Yet every morning, about 178 young students gather for classes at the National Ballet School in the capital. Housed in an imposing Art Nouveau building in the heart of Old Havana, the school combines rigorous dance training with academic classes in math, Spanish, history and science.

Training to become a top-tier classical dancer demands discipline and sacrifice anywhere. In Cuba today, where blackouts and shortages of fuel, water and food complicate daily life, those demands extend far beyond the dance studio.

For 14-year-old Roxana Pérez de La Mora, that means waking up before dawn and traveling about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from her home to the school.

WSO kicks off season pairing Beethoven, Tchaikovsky

French fries and milkshake, watermelon and feta cheese … Beethoven’s Fifth and Tchaikovsky’s Fifth?

Few events mark the beginning of the classical concert season like the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s season-opener and this year they kick things off with an unusual but satisfying pairing.

“I think that for me, the combination of these two pieces is, first of all, a celebration of great masterworks that have withstood 100 years of being probed by time for their relevancy,” says conductor Daniel Raiskin, the WSO’s music director. “It’s the quality of music, it’s the quality of narrative that attracts us to these masterworks again and again.”

Both symphonies are so hefty and canonical, one might have expected half of the concert would be devoted to a concerto, tone poem or something smaller or lesser known.

An aim to bring everyone together

Imagine a world where people work together to celebrate differences, learn from each other, build empathy and understanding.

A world where connection replaces division and gives every person a place to discover their gifts and strengths, so they can thrive.

That’s exactly what AIM 4 ALL is doing, giving individuals with and without disabilities a space to collaborate and create art as equals on the stage.

The goal of the new musical theatre company is to produce fully inclusive productions and give performance opportunities to their ensemble throughout the training season. By fostering a safe, creative, and diverse environment, AIM 4 ALL empowers participants of all abilities to share their talents and flourish together.

U of W marks gallery’s anniversary with group alumni exhibition

Lux et veritas floreant, or Let light and truth flourish, is the University of Winnipeg’s motto.

It’s also a fitting title — and guiding theme — for a group exhibition celebrating the 40th anniversary of Gallery 1C03, the university’s campus art gallery.

Curated by Gallery 1C03 director and curator Jennifer Gibson and independent curator Jenny Western — both university alumni themselves — Lux et Veritas Floreant features works by U of W alumni artists KC Adams, Dee Barsy, Scott Benesiinaabandan, Jaimie Isaac, Judah Iyunade, Kegan McFadden, Shivanya Ra, Paul Robles and Melanie Zurba.

There is also a film component. A 7 p.m. screening tonight at Dave Barber Cinematheque features 10 films by alumni artists, including Steve Bates, Ian Bawa, Mahlet Cuff, Christina Hajjar, Mike Maryniuk, Kevin Settee, Leslie Supnet and Ted Turner. Isaac and Iyunade also have films in the program.

Austrian yodelers take their voices underground, turning a parking garage into the Alps

GRAZ, Austria (AP) — No mountains to practice on? No problem. Yodeling fans in Austria have moved their practice sessions to an underground parking garage, since it produces echoes like those they can get in the landscapes of the Alps.

“It’s not too dissimilar to the high mountains," said yodeling teacher Anna Maria Gutschi as she led a group of 30 through an empty parking garage earlier this week. "You have wide hallways; you have walls that reflect a lot.”

Gutschi works for the Styrian Volksliedwerk, a cultural organization promoting traditional folk music in the southeastern Austrian city of Graz — which is not in the high mountains, but sits in a flat basin surrounded by hills and low mountain ranges at the edge of the Alps.

The group has been holding a series of courses on yodeling in unusual places to keep the tradition alive in modern times. Whether it is an underground car park, a canal or a gas station — as long as the acoustics work, up to 30 people are allowed to join each time for a unique experience.

Seven Oaks tour blends ghastly theatrics and local history

History buffs and ghostbusters will be exploring one of Winnipeg’s oldest homes and grounds by candlelight this weekend.

“Spirits of Seven Oaks brings together two things already woven into the place: history and haunting. You’re not just going to hear history, you get to walk through it,” says Tracey Turner, curator and manager of Seven Oaks House Museum.

For more than a decade the national historic site has hosted similar events during the early autumn lead up to Halloween. In the past, the first half, which takes place in rooms throughout Seven Oaks House — the oldest standing home in Winnipeg — were led by a museum interpreter, while the outside portion is led by Matthew Komus, author of Haunted Winnipeg and Haunted Manitoba.

“With ghost stories, I’ve always been interested in tying it to the place,” says Komus, whose book Haunted Winnipeg is now in its ninth printing. “It’s part of who we are. That’s something that we really focus on. Most of the stories we talk about, it’s about a rural settlement. We’re on the estate, though a lot of it is a neighbour.”

RWB’s Studio Series offers up-close ballet experience

If you’ve ever been curious about checking out the ballet, but have also felt like spending two or more hours at the concert hall is too big a commitment or too intimidating, Christopher Stowell gets it.

That’s just one of several reasons the artistic director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet wanted to introduce the Studio Series, a black-box theatre series that offers a more intimate and approachable way to experience the art form.

The inaugural edition, which runs Thursday through Saturday at the RWB Founders Studio and Sunday at Desautels Concert Hall, features a performance of George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, set to George Gershwin’s songs as performed by a jazz musicians from the University of Manitoba’s Desautels faculty of music.

Audiences will be able to ask questions, meet the dancers and get an up-close look at their craft.

Winnipeg artist’s solo exhibition invites viewers on a disorienting, rewarding journey

Ryan Smoluk’s Maze City, on now at WAG-Qaumajuq, is a full circle moment.

Happily guiding others through city’s art world

The last Saturday in September is fast approaching and Ed Benjamin, 69, is gearing up for his regular volunteer stint at Nuit Blanche.

While he hasn’t grabbed this year’s T-shirt yet — he’ll only be able to pick it up during Friday’s orientation — he’s more than prepared for his 5:30-9:30 p.m. shift on Sept. 26.

This will be Benjamin’s sixth year volunteering at the annual contemporary art festival, now in its 16th year.

“I think it’s the best night of the year in Winnipeg, just a fantastic night. And having done it once, I just want to keep going back. It’s very intense but it’s not a significant commitment, it’s just one night, so it’s easy to commit to it,” he says.

‘La Bola Negra’ wins TIFF’s People Choice Award, putting it on Oscar path

“La Bola Negra,” the Spanish queer epic about the intertwined lives of three gay men, won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, confirming its status as a major Oscar contender.

TIFF's top award is voted on by festivalgoers, and it's become known as one of the most iron-clad Academy Awards predictors. Since 2012, all but one winner of the People's Choice Award has gone on to score a best-picture nomination at the Oscars. The lone exception was in 2024, when Mike Flanagan's Stephen King adaptation “The Life of Chuck” won the award. Last year, “Hamnet” won it and later landed eight Oscar nominations.

“La Bola Negra” is directed by the duo known as Los Javis — Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo. It was already a hit at the Cannes Film Festival, where “La Bola Negra” split the best director award with Paweł Pawlikowski for “Fatherland.”

Netflix acquired “La Bola Negra” out of Cannes and has launched a full awards campaign for the film. Netflix is also giving the film its longest theatrical release yet for the streamer. “La Bola Negra” opens in theaters Oct. 16 and begins streaming Dec. 2.