Published by Leonardo Calcagno
01. Hip-Hop Playground : Battles and Beats
Location: MAKER SPACE NORTH
Link: nac-cna.ca
Info: urated by Toronto’s MANIFESTO FESTIVAL OF COMMUNITY AND CULTURE, Hip-Hop Playground: Battles and Beats is a jubilant celebration of hip-hop culture showcasing dance, music, graffiti art, spoken word, and more. Acclaimed Ottawa DJ, artist, and urbanist MEMETIC hosts.
02. Pretty Lofty and Heavy All At Once
Location: OTTAWA ART GALLERY
Link:nac-cna.ca
Info: From the camera obscura to digital capture, this mid-career survey of works from the early 2000s to 2015 underscores ANDREW WRIGHT’s interest in perception and the technologies of photography. Wright’s artistic practice is at the intersection of traditional and conceptual forms of artmaking, where explorations of form, light, and photographic phenomena come together to reveal an unexpected perspective on nature. Through an approach that is often experimental, even playful at times, Wright’s highly refined works invite us to reconsider the ways we relate to and visualize the world around us.
03. April Verch Band and Métis Fiddler Quartet
Location: LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA
Link:nac-cna.ca
Info: APRIL VERCH seamlessly blends the traditions of roots music and stepdancing with her own artistic voice and vision in a high-energy show that puts her award-winning fiddling and songwriting talents out front. Immersed in folk music and dance from her native Ottawa Valley, a melting pot of Franco-Celtic flavours, April started performing at the age of three. The APRIL VERCH BAND, with CODY WALTERS and HAYES GRIFFIN, creates an energetic, virtuosic, tradition-celebrating sound that is memorable long after the show is over.
04. Do I Have To Do Everything My Fucking Self?
Location: NAC FOURTH STAGE
Link: nac-cna.ca
Info: Do not look for sacred cows in Do I Have To Do Everything My Fucking Self?, a subversive and completely original one-woman tour de force byRegina, the drag persona of Toronto musician Gentleman Reg. Part cabaret and part true confession, Do I Have To Do Everything My Fucking Self? is sass made flesh, a funny, unpredictable, no-holds-barred ride filled with electro pop, high kicks, and irreverent send-ups of anyone or anything that gets in her way.
05. Sea Sick
Location: THE GLADSTONE
Link:nac-cna.ca
Info: In Sea Sick, acclaimed science journalist ALANNA MITCHELL shows us why we should care. Using science and her own delicate wit to recount how she put the pieces of this huge global puzzle together, Alanna delivers a powerful and often humorous solo performance, inspired by her international bestseller and award-winning book of the same name.
06. Shad with Zoo Legacy, Story Tellers, Jesse Dangerously
Location: BRONSON CENTRE
Link: nac-cna.ca
Info: Describing himself as “Redd Foxx mixed with a TED Talk,” SHAD has nurtured a broad range of interests and experiences since his formative years, including, of course, a passion for music.
His progressive, socially conscious lyrics – touching on issues like immigration policy, colonialism, oppression, and First Nations rights – are matched with deep grooves, strong hooks, and soulful arrangements. His last three albums have made the Polaris Music Prize shortlist, and he picked up the JUNO Award for Rap Album of the Year in 2011. Praised by peers and critics alike, Shad’s art and career are a reflection of his honesty, humour, and intellect.
07. Matthew Barber and Jadea Kelly
Location: ST. ALBAN’S CHURCH
Link: nac-cna.ca
Info: MATTHEW BARBER has a special gift for potent, classic melodies complemented by outstanding playing, strong instrumental hooks, and sometimes rootsy, sometimes driving rhythms. Delivered in his signature honeyed voice, his songs manage that rare balance: tunes that are pure without being simple, and lyrics that are earnest but not overworked – at once slow-burning and gratifyingly intense. Every song feels like a letter from an old friend.
08. Ontario Pick 3
Location: CENTRAL ART GARAGE
Link:nac-cna.ca
Info: Ontario Pick 3 brings together three innovative Ontario artists who are expanding on and developing themes they began in 2014.
09. North of the 45th
Location: GALLERY 101
Link: nac-cna.ca
Info: North of the 45th looks at the diversity of artistic practices and voices from Northern Ontario. From drawing to ceramics to video to performance, these works dismantle stereotypical notions of regional identity by offering complex and thoughtful expressions of the relationships that connect land, memory, and history.
10. Keeping It Beautiful
Location: NAC SOUTHAM HALL LOBBY
Link:nac-cna.ca
Info: Landscape is the perfect inspiration for artists to explore Ontario’s subtle character – constantly shifting, but always present. The province’s fluctuating identity, largely shaped by its cultural diversity, makes pinpointing distinctive qualities difficult. But Ontario is full of natural beauty, and its vast and varied terrain has long been depicted in the artwork produced by its inhabitants, cementing its geography as an important part of Canada’s unique personality.
for more info : nac-cna.ca