Artificial art a threat to human creativity

Thinking of Drew Struzan’s art — magic, really — in hand-drawn film posters, it’s hard not to think that this particular form will be another casualty of artificial intelligence, another art form reduced to cheap slop.

Forum Art Centre and the art of neighbourhood life

Most mornings when I step outside my door at Philips Square, I look across the street and see something that makes me quietly grateful to live where I do. It isn’t just the park or skyline view — it’s the steady rhythm of people coming and going through the doors of the Forum Art Centre at the corner of Eugenie Street and Taché Avenue.

Introduction to Michif — one word at a time

Before the wolf can howl, Norman Fleury says a Michif word: Ooyoowuk.

“Ooyoowuk,” Fleury repeats. Or, in English, “howl.”

Ooyoowuk is one of 70 words articulated by Fleury with an animation and English translation to match — all bundled into digital flashcards.

A group of Métis entrepreneurs unveiled their Michif flashcards this week. They join a swelling movement to revitalize the Métis language, which combines languages such as Cree and French.

Artists, performers open their doors, and their souls, for Culture Days

Culture Days, a national celebration of local arts and culture, kicks off today and runs through Oct. 12.

There are hundreds of free public events taking place across Manitoba over the next three weeks, including in Winnipeg, Morden, Gimli, Flin Flon and beyond. Nuit Blanche Winnipeg, the city’s annual late-night art party, also falls under the Culture Days umbrella and takes place Sept. 27.

Find a sample of the fun below and visit culturedays.ca for more information.

Central Park Moves: Weekend BeatsCentral Park, 367 Ellice Ave.

Discovering public art by chance

A few weeks ago, on a bike ride through St. Boniface with my wife, we veered off the familiar path and stumbled upon something unexpected.

Researchers solve decades-old color mystery in iconic Jackson Pollock painting

NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists have identified the origins of the blue color in one of Jackson Pollock's paintings with a little help from chemistry, confirming for the first time that the abstract expressionist used a vibrant, synthetic pigment known as manganese blue.

“Number 1A, 1948,” showcases Pollock's classic style: paint has been dripped and splattered across the canvas, creating a vivid, multicolored work. Pollock even gave the piece a personal touch, adding his handprints near the top.

The painting, currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, is almost 9 feet (2.7 meters) wide. Scientists had previously characterized the reds and yellows splattered across the canvas, but the source of the rich turquoise blue proved elusive.

In a new study, researchers took scrapings of the blue paint and used lasers to scatter light and measure how the paint's molecules vibrated. That gave them a unique chemical fingerprint for the color, which they pinpointed as manganese blue.

Ryan Reynolds suggests swapping phones with a MAGA supporter, checking out their algorithm

TORONTO - Ryan Reynolds says mounting tensions between Canada and the U.S. haven't changed anything for him as a Canuck in Hollywood.

The "Deadpool" star preached unity during an onstage conversation at the Toronto International Film Festival, when chief programming officer Anita Lee asked him what it was like being a Canadian in Los Angeles during this "elbows up" era of increased nationalism.

In a nearly five-minute answer to the question, Reynolds said he's always held Canadian values, including conflict resolution, and he seeks "to learn, rather than win."

Reynolds is at TIFF to promote the new documentary "John Candy: I Like Me," which he produced.

‘You’re planting your brand flag’: The power of brand building in the women’s sports boom

On a cold day in the beginning of 2024, Alastair Merry and Mary Lou Bunn had a few questions for a public librarian in Ottawa, Ontario.

“If you could describe Ottawa and what it means to you in a couple words, how would you do it?” they asked. “What do you think of the spirit of the city?”

Merry and Bunn, along with the design firm Flower Shop that they co-founded, were hired by the then newly minted Professional Women’s Hockey League to create the nicknames and logos for the league’s inaugural six teams. They were traveling around North America to figure out what made those six cities tick.

As the ever-growing crop of new women’s leagues — at least eight have launched in the past three years — all aim for longevity, one of the cornerstones of any sustainable foundation is team branding. It encompasses everything from the nicknames to the color schemes and logos, and the PWHL has set a high bar there that other up-and-comers would love to emulate.

Graphic novelist to lead free workshop for aspiring artists

Jonathan Dyck’s most monumental piece of advice? Start small.

Mass tourism a modern ill

When I went to Paris in 2012, I skipped the Louvre. Sacré bleu!

‘She’s all of us’: mural illustrates ties between Winnipeg and grateful Ukrainian newcomers

Blue and yellow ribbons wrapping around the city’s skyline show the deep connection between Ukraine and Manitoba in a new mural.

Take Pride Winnipeg, a downtown non-profit that seeks to clean up and inspire civic pride, unveiled its newest mural, titled “Pray for Ukraine” in the Exchange District on Monday.

It pictures a Ukrainian woman in traditional clothing stoically gazing into the distance as butterflies and a dove — which symbolize hope, peace and rebirth — flutter around the Esplanade Riel and Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

The installation at Exchange District BIZ at 492 Main St. was painted by Jennifer Mosienko, who’s worked on more than 40 murals across the city.

In Marseille, a shadow becomes art in Banksy’s latest street mural

MARSEILLE, France (AP) — The lighthouse appeared overnight. Painted on a wall tucked away in a quiet Marseille street, its beam aligned perfectly with the real-life shadow of a metal post on the pavement. At its center, stenciled in crisp white, are the words: “I want to be what you saw in me.”

Banksy had struck again.

On Friday, the elusive British street artist confirmed the work by posting two images on his official Instagram account — without caption or coordinates. Fans quickly identified the location as 1 Rue Félix Frégier, in the Catalans district of Marseille’s 7th arrondissement, near the sea.

Since then, crowds have gathered at the site. Tourists snap photos. Children point. Locals who usually walk past the building stop to take a closer look.

Dive-bombed or not, Vancouverites are still pro-crow, researchers say

VANCOUVER - Along her journey towards understanding Vancouver's crows, psychology professor Suzanne MacDonald says she made a friend.

It's a crow that brings her gifts after she set up a bird feeder at her home in the neighbourhood of Kitsilano.

Once, it was a barnacle-covered shell, which MacDonald treasures. Other times, it was "bits of garbage" that MacDonald doesn't fancy much, though she "appreciates the sentiment."

"I think he definitely recognizes me. When other people go out on my patio, he doesn't come to them. He knows me," said MacDonald.

First solo show in WAG-Qaumajuq’s flagship Qilak gallery

Since his last gallery show in Winnipeg, Abraham Anghik Ruben’s focus has shifted from introspection to cross-cultural exploration.

That personal and artistic arc is currently on display at WAG-Qaumajuq in a sprawling retrospective of the master Inuit sculptor’s 50-year career.

It’s a fitting full-circle reunion.

The Winnipeg Art Gallery hosted Ruben’s first solo show at a major institution in 2001 and now, nearly 25 years later, the artist’s work is featured in the first solo exhibit in Qaumajuq’s main Qilak gallery.

Échos croisés: le projet des sœurs Rezaei

L’exposition Échos croisés, proposée par Mancy et Farzaneh Rezaei a pris place, le 27 mars dernier, dans la galerie contemporaine de la maison des artistes visuels francophones.

Dans l’art comme dans la vie, Farzaneh et Mancy sont sœurs. Basées aujourd’hui à Montréal, les deux artistes sont originaires d’Iran. “Nous nous sommes installées au Canada il y a 11 ans,” explique Farzaneh, tout en précisant que ce choix fut motivé par l’envie de découvrir d’autres arts et d’avoir de nouvelles inspirations. C’est la quatrième fois que les deux artistes exposent en duo. Un tandem artistique qui existe depuis toujours, et qui a commencé à présenter leurs œuvres ensemble en 2018.

À travers “Échos croisés,” les sœurs offrent des propositions aussi différentes que complémentaires. C’est la première fois que les deux artistes, en parallèle de leur métier de médiatrices au Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, exposent en dehors du Québec. Dans cette exposition, elles explorent le féminisme et la migration, des thématiques auxquelles elles ont pu être confrontées dans leurs parcours personnels. L’exposition composée d’une trentaine d’œuvres est ouverte aux visiteurs jusqu’au 10 mai.

Corps féminin

Runway show focuses on treasures, not trash

Some of Manitoba’s best-known public figures — including radio host Ace Burpee, activist Mitch Bourbonniere and politician Nahanni Fontaine — walk the catwalk in a fashion show at 109 Higgins Ave. tonight.

New Jenna Rae cookbook focuses on bakers’ favourite home recipes

There’s a sweet new edition on the way.

Sisters Jenna Hutchinson and Ashley Kosowan are expanding their successful local bakery business with a new cookbook venture. Jenna Rae Cakes at Home: Our Favourite Recipes to Enjoy with Family and Friends hits bookstores Oct. 8 and features more than 100 colourful, family-friendly recipes.

The cookbook is a followup to their first release, Jenna Rae Cakes and Sweet Treats, and is a labour of love that brings together the twins’ individual interests.

“Ash was meant to make cookbooks,” says Hutchinson, whose passion for cake design prompted the entrepreneurial siblings to open their first Jenna Rae Cakes shop in 2014.

Riel, le lien entre les francos d’Amérique

Pour Jocelyn Jalette, bédéiste de Joliette, au Québec, pas besoin d’être métis, ou manitobain, ou encore francophone en milieu minoritaire pour apprécier le combat, le triomphe et la tragédie de Louis Riel. Et voici pourquoi.

Dans La République assassinée des Métis, la bande dessinée de Jocelyn Jalette qui vient tout juste d’être publiée aux Éditions du Phoenix (www.editionsduphoenix.com), des personnages fictifs côtoient Louis Riel et Gabriel Dumont, mais aussi les politiciens Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, Louis-Joseph Papineau et Honoré Mercier.

Une palette de personnages pour mieux placer la résistance des Métis dans un contexte francophone plus large, comme le souligne l’auteur de 47 ans :

“Les liens sont étroits entre la résistance des Métis, Louis Riel et les francophones du Québec. Surtout quand on se rappelle que la lutte pour assurer un statut d’égalité entre le français, l’anglais, et les cultures francophone et anglophone, c’est l’affaire de tous les francophones.”

$54.7M sale of Frida Kahlo self-portrait breaks auction record for female artists

A haunting 1940 self-portrait by famed Mexican artist Frida Kahlo sold Thursday for $54.7 million and became the top-selling work by any female artist at an auction.

The painting of Kahlo asleep in a bed — titled “El sueño (La cama)” or in English, “The Dream (The Bed)” — surpassed the record held by Georgia O’Keeffe’s “Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1," which sold for $44.4 million in 2014.

The sale at Sotheby's in New York also topped Kahlo's own auction record for a work by a Latin American artist. The 1949 painting “Diego and I,” depicting the artist and her husband, muralist Diego Rivera, went for $34.9 million in 2021. Her paintings are reported to have sold privately for even more.

The self-portrait is among the few Kahlo pieces that have remained in private hands outside Mexico, where her body of work has been declared an artistic monument. Her works in both public and private collections within the country cannot be sold abroad or destroyed.

Travelling sign painter finds his groove on the move

For someone whose writing appears all over the city, Joseph Pilapil’s penmanship isn’t the best.

You’ve probably seen his meticulously formed letters above store entrances, on shop windows and decorating sandwich boards all across the city.

But when it comes to writing on paper, well, the less said the better.

“My handwriting is terrible. When I am writing out my day-to-day stuff, it’s absolutely really bad,” he says, with a laugh.

La créativité franco-manitobaine rayonne: Anna Binta Diallo expose à travers le pays

En 2025, l’artiste visuelle franco-manitobaine Anna Binta Diallo connaît une année charnière. De Vancouver à Toronto, en passant par Edmonton et Winnipeg, ses expositions se succèdent, confirmant la place qu’elle occupe désormais parmi les figures majeures de la scène artistique canadienne contemporaine.

Née à Dakar, Sénégal, en 1983 et élevée à Saint-Boniface, Anna Binta Diallo tisse depuis toujours des liens entre les continents et les mémoires. Ses œuvres explorent les intersections entre identité, nostalgie et nature, dans un langage visuel qui conjugue collage, vidéo, graphisme et sculpture.

“Le collage est depuis longtemps au cœur de ma démarche,” confie-t-elle. “J’aime réagencer des images anciennes, des sons, des fragments d’archives pour construire de nouveaux récits.”

L’artiste collecte cartes, livres et photos qu’elle transforme en compositions hybrides, à la croisée du passé et du futur.

Rosa Parks and Helen Keller statues unveiled at the Alabama Capitol

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Statues of Rosa Parks and Helen Keller, pivotal figures who fought for justice and inspired change across the world, were unveiled Friday on the grounds of the Alabama Capitol.

The monuments honoring the Alabama natives whose advocacy helped dismantle racial segregation and promoted the rights of people with disabilities are the first statues of women to be installed on the lawn of the Alabama Capitol, broadening the history reflected on the grounds that also include tributes to the Confederacy, which was formed at the site in 1861.

Gov. Kay Ivey, currently the nation's longest serving female governor, said Parks and Keller “rose to shape history through quiet strength and unwavering conviction.”

“Courage changes the course of history, and today, these statutes stand as symbols of that courage — testaments to what one person, especially one determined one, can do to make the world a better place,” Ivey said.