GROUP THERAPY: “Familiar Spirit” by Amber Albrecht

The collective spirit has long fuelled creativity, with Montreal’s indie music scene and the Automatistes painters of the ’40s being two of many testaments to the power of a collective vision.

The brand new Division Gallery (372 Ste-Catherine W., # 311) opens their second show, Team Studio, tomorrow night, Friday, May 30. The five-person exhibit celebrates the power of one such collective—a group of young local artists who have shared work and studio space while pushing each other creatively and intellectually.

Featuring screenprints, embroidery, painting, photography and sculpture, by artists Amber Albrecht, Katie Dutton, Allison Freeman, David Laquerre and Rosemary Scanlon, the show invites viewers to observe this group dynamic at work, even though each artist’s work is purely individual.

“It’s a bit like the peer-review process,” says gallery director and exhibit curator Benjamin Klein, comparing collective art-making to the scientific community’s insistence that any new work holds up to scrutiny.

“I mean, we don’t think we’re replicating what they do in science, but as an artist, when you exclude yourself, you don’t necessarily go as far as you could. With a group, you can really push and challenge each other, and that’s often how the best art happens.”

Until June 28, info@galeriedivision.com.

by LORNE ROBERTS

Women celebrate women

LADIES UP TO BAT: WAWA participants

Tonight, Thursday, May 29, marks the fourth installment of The WAWA Show at la Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent)—a celebration of all things women and art.

Hosted by burlesque entertainer extraordinaire, Miss Sugarpuss, this cabaret of delights features the work of Montreal writers, artists, musicians, comediennes and performers of all ilks.

Created and curated by Amanda Mabro, the WAWA (We Are Women Artists) Show is produced by a collective of women brought together by a shared desire to “foster community among female artists” in the city and celebrate their work.

The multimedia event kicks off at 8:30 p.m. with a showcase of film, photography and art, followed by live performances at 9:30 p.m., and the musical stylings of DJ Amyl Nitrate. Tickets are $10 at the door.

Tomorrow night, Friday, May 30 sees the first ever WAWA Fashion Show at Mile-End gallery Black Sheep Betty (4816b Parc), highlighting the latest collection of local designers Amy Arnott and Celine Vautour. The event gets underway at 8:30 p.m., tickets are $5 at the door.

For more information and to see a full list of participating artists, check out www.thewawashow.com

by STACEY DEWOLFE

Cold dark city

“Facebook? I call it Façadebook,” says Zïlon, going on about what he calls the “overdose of Warhol’s celebrity world.” 

Zïlon has been at war with narcissistic consumer culture for almost 30 years. In the early ’80s, he made his name as a graffiti artist with a healthy influence of punk rock and comic book art. His work, often sullen faces drawn with a few quick black strokes, can still occasionally be spotted in alleyways around the city. 

GOING DOWN: “L’Ascenseur”

Zïlon’s tried his hand at painting, graphic novels, nightclub design and theatre sets and he personally provides an ambient soundtrack to many of his art shows. 

His latest work, Ville Froide, opens Wednesday, June 4 at the Yves Laroche Gallery (4 St-Paul E.) and is among his darkest works, featuring barely outlined, alienated figures scratched onto black backdrops, surrounded by urban decay. 

He describes the show as “different frames of an imaginary post-apocalyptic society,” but it’s also a comment on life in the Age of MySpace. “Everyone’s watching everyone else. We’re all part of Big Brother,” he says.

Until June 14. For details, visit www.zilonvillefroide.com.

by MATT JONES

 

Left of FTA

If you’ve been hanging out at the Festival TransAmériques, you’ve no doubt caught wind of OFF.T.A. After its unexpected, jam-packed opening night that ran until sunrise last weekend, co-dance programmer Katya Montaignac describes the fest that runs alongside the FTA as “creative, audacious and avant-garde.”

HI-YAH! Katie Ward’s Hawks & Doves

Montaignac says the fest, which is mostly run by volunteers, “showcases emerging Québécois works in a festive setting” and features more than 20 theatre, dance and performance works.

According to Montaignac, some of the dance highlights of the left-of-centre fest include Pixel Projects, which showcases short works with a punk rock aesthetic, and the second edition of Short and Sweet, an evening of micro-choreographies in a cabaret setting. Both take place at the Théâtre d’Aujourd’Hui (3900 St-Denis).

The best part is that an OFF.T.A. tickets will only set you back as little as $12. To get the scoop on the diverse dance and theatre events around the city, call (514) 282-3900, or visit www.offta.com.

by MARITES CARINO

Is it art?

POWER UP: Caffeinated snacks—it was bound to happen. The “brainiacs” behind Engobi: Energy Go Bites have married the junk food we crave with the caffeine we need.

According to Bill, the company’s dude-ish copywriter, he used to guzzle energy drinks before he stole a bag of ENGOBI the first day on the job. “I got so juiced up,” he writes on the About page. “I mean it was intense. Then I found out that ENGOBI has 70 per cent more caffeine than those little energy drinks. Dude, that was all I needed to know.”

The average energy drink, like Guru, has 125 mg of caffeine per can. At a 70 per cent increase, this means a bag of Engobi’s Cinnamon Surge or Lemmon Lift would give you roughly 212.5 mg of caffeine, over half of your daily allowance, according to Health Canada. But that’s unlikely to stop people from trying the new snack, especially considering their promoting the product with their “Girls, Guitars and Geeks City Tour” luring people to events with the promise of ladies, Wii and caffeine.

www.engobi.com

Arts hole

BOLD TYPE: Articule (262 Fairmount W.) presents The Black Market Type and Print Shop. Curated by Joseph Del Pesco, the show invited 15 international artists to create text-only posters by reappropriating typography made famous by artists such as David Shrigley, Raymond Pettibon, Thomas Hirschhorn and Julie Doucet. The vernissage takes place Saturday, May 31 at 5 p.m.
• TWEEN DREAM: Painter Mary Hays celebrates the opening of her latest exhibit Brats, a series of portraits of pre-teens at the McClure Gallery (350 Victoria) in Westmount. The vernissage takes place tonight, Thursday, May 29 at 6 p.m. and the show runs until June 21.

Artistat

The number of francophone and Hispanic poets who are participating in the ninth edition of Marché de la poésie de Montréal, which kicks off today, Thursday, May 29 and runs until June 1, with lectures, readings and discussions taking place on this year’s theme, Poésie des trois Amériques: 100