New kind of warrior

CAPTURING THE CREATIVE SPIRIT: Slater (r) with a model

One of the most effective ways to influence young people is by engaging their creative spirit. This is the notion that Métis artist Jeska Slater undertook when she created the Young Artist Warriors project, which involves stunning large-scale portraits of First Nations youth who live in Montreal’s urban centre.

The paintings radiate confidence and poise, and incorporate artistic elements of each subject’s heritage. But Slater’s compositions go beyond these canvases; she also mentors the youth in their own art projects in a medium of their choice.

“We promote a combination of creative activity and traditional teachings,” she explains. “It’s proven to be a powerful means of curbing destructive behavioural patterns, a lot of which, in my opinion, stem from the transmission of cultural trauma and shame carried over from previous generations.”

Slater’s work embodies optimism and initiative; she is teaching these “young artist warriors” to stitch and dress their own wounds by strengthening their imaginations. This couldn’t be more crucial in a system that often doesn’t know a needle from a thread.

The vernissage takes place tomorrow, Friday, July 24 from 6–10 p.m., at the Native Friendship Centre (2001 St-Laurent).

by COLIN THRONESS

All killer, no filler

HAUNTED CITY: “Untitled” by Jenny Schade

Budding art collectors, and those with an interest in the next generation of Canadian artists, should make their way to Art Mûr (5826 St-Hubert) for Fresh Paint and New Construction, the gallery’s annual celebration of up-and-coming painters and sculptors, on till Aug. 8.

In past years, artists were chosen from Quebec art schools only, but as gallery administrator Mike Patten explains, “now that the project has established itself as an important venue for emerging visual artists, other Canadian universities have expressed interest in participating.” As a result, this year’s show features over 200 recent works by 39 artists from eight universities.

Working in collaboration with the participating schools, the gallery bases its selections on the quality and originality of the submitted pieces, aiming for a show that’s (so to speak) all killer, no filler. And year after year, they have managed to attain this goal.

In fact, it was during the 2008 incarnation that I first encountered the paintings of Vitaly Medvedovsky, who has since become one of my favourite artists. This year, I am most excited by the inclusion of Concordia’s Jenny Schade, whose gorgeous, haunting images truly speak to the degree of talent on display in this summer’s exhibition.

by STACEY DEWOLFE

Potty pioneers

Taking a break from its usual roster of period furniture, religious relics and old theatre costumes, the Musée des maîtres et artisans du Québec (615 Ste-Croix) is now billing itself as the premier place in the city to see receptacles that hold excrement.

Pipi-Caca, which runs until Sept. 6, takes visitors through the evolution of toilet technology over the last 200 years. But the exhibition doesn’t include only bedpans, bidets, training potties, chamber pots, outhouses and Asian squat toilets.

“We have other objects related to toilets, such as soaps and objects used to wipe,” says museum guide Mireille Lacombe. “There are examples of wooden shoes with high soles designed for easy cleaning that people would wear in the bathroom, or even in the street when people preferred to throw their waste into the road.”

Lacombe insists that the exhibit is not only for kids looking for an excuse to say bad words in public. Guests can also learn how much toilet paper the average Canadian goes through (seven kilograms per year) and how many people in the world actually use the stuff (one in 100).

Info at mmaq.qc.ca

by MATT JONES

Dance the night away

Social dance teacher Ronald Lacoste has been hosting outdoor social dance soirées for more than a decade at the Parc Jean-Drapeau. During the summer months, you’ll find him at the head of the dancing masses beside the park’s metro exit.

The open air dance class got its start during Montreal’s Expo ’67 and decades later, diehard fans of the freebie classes continue to flock from all corners of the city. At the start of each evening (Monday, Saturday and Sunday nights at 6:30 p.m.), Lacoste leads a 20-minute dance lesson. He says the dance night is so popular because “it’s a way for people who don’t have a lot of money to get out of the city.”

Lacoste’s playlist of 50 tunes includes a mix of dance styles such as cha cha, quickstep, line dancing, waltz and Lacoste’s favourite—the mambo.

You’ve got until Aug. 23 to dance under the stars. Details at symphonie-danse.com.

by MARITES CARINO

IS IT ART?

CARE PACKAGE: Gift baskets, the thorn in the side of elementary school teachers everywhere. Those giant wicker baskets overflowing with tisanes, stale crackers and mugs featuring furry animals are the perfect thing to give when you have no interest in the person you’re giving the gift to. Now Ghetto Baskets is taking that bougie-fied gift-giving convention and reclaiming it for the penny-pinching masses.

Filled with everything from beef jerky, to vapour rub, pregnancy tests to votive candles, the contents of this aluminium platter are a lot more useful than their predecessors. Calling themselves “concerned citizens,” the company’s mandate is to “provide sensible offerings to those who would not otherwise be able to afford them.”

So when is the right time to send a Ghetto Basket? When your relative’s trailer avoided the path of the tornado, when uncle Dan gets let out of prison and when you find out the baby isn’t yours.

Ghettobaskets.com

Arts hole

DAILY LIFE: Interdisciplinary artists Vincent Chevalier and David Whitten complete their month-long residency at Red Bird Gallery (135 Van Horne) with the presentation of Body Break, a mix of new and older work that explores the ideas of excess, consumption and daily routines. The vernissage takes place tonight, Thursday, July 23 at 7 p.m. • GOING DUTCH: Donald Browne Gallery (372 Ste-Catherine W., #524) presents the deceptively simple and direct work of Dutch artist Marius Lut. The exhibit continues to Aug. 22 and is on view with Patrick Bernatchez’s work “Soon.”

Artistat

The century during which Ferme Logan was turned into Parc Lafontaine, a transformation that is revisited in Hollow, a new photographic installation by Sarah Ciurysek opening this Tuesday, July 28 at 6 p.m. at the park and in conjunction with Art Neuf (3819 Calixa-Lavallée): 1800s