C/O Hamilton Arts Council
Hamilton Arts Council celebrates diversity in local talent through BIPOC hART Music Series
The second annual Black, Indigenous and People of Colour hArt Music Series presented by the Hamilton Arts Council took place on March 22 at Bridgeworks on a pay-what-you-can ticketing basis. Supported by the Ontario Arts Council and funded by the Royal Bank of Canada, the music series showcased diverse emerging artists from the Greater Hamilton Area and Six Nations of the Grand River.
The concert featured Lil’ America, a Salvadoran-Canadian songwriter and singer; Luckystickz, a songwriter, steelpan aficionado and Berklee College of Music alumni; Nezqwik, a band inspired by a variety of genres and artists and Keith Silvers, a singer-songwriter.
DeShaun Jones, a music industry consultant, Artists and Repertoire and producer, returned to curate and host the second annual BIPOC hArt Music Series. He has been in the music industry for around 20 years, working with record labels, radio stations and distribution companies in various capacities from grant writing to artist consultation.
Throughout his work, his primary goal has always been helping emerging artists. The music series perfectly aligned with this vision and he looked forward to introducing folks the wide range of artists in their community.
“The main focus has always been with helping independent artists with artist development or building their music packages,”
DeShaun Jones
Jones describes the BIPOC hArt Music Series as not only a platform to showcase local, up-and-coming talent, but also a place to share diverse culture within the community. This year, through sound, dance, performance and costumes, more emphasis was placed on cultural appreciation and education compared to last year.
“[The artists will] be able to give the audience a little bit more education and entertainment in regard to the background of that artist . . . It’s really exciting to see more than just an artist coming up there and playing their instrument and singing a song,” explained Jones.
Being able to hold the concert in-person was another significant advantage in contrast to last year’s music series, which ran from Aug. 19 to Aug. 22, and occurred virtually due to COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines. The physical and live artist-audience connection is much stronger and fulfilling when facilitated in a physical space. However, the live connection was a crucial factor missing in most music and concert events during the past 3 years.
“We are now able to allow people to come in and experience the music and artists live and interact with them, which is really important for the artists in their development,” said Jones.
For those who could not attend the music series in-person, the event was pre-recorded and will be broadcasted during Hamilton Arts Week occurring from June 9 to 17.
The continuous support from the community and organizations is what allowed the BIPOC hArt Music Series to return for its second run. As the demand for more diverse representation continues to increase, the music series will evolve to find better ways of showcasing BIPOC talents and stories.
For any student musicians or artists, Jones shares advice to remain determined, persistent and most importantly, true to who they are.
“Stay true to your narrative. I always say music is the by-product of an artist’s story or even the art overall because an artist, let’s say a painter, when they paint, they are being inspired as well as being a conduit for things they have gone through in their life,” said Jones.
Efforts are being made by community leaders and organizations, like the Hamilton Arts Council, to make opportunities for self-development and collaboration more accessible for artists and performers. The BIPOC hArt Music Series, and other opportunities and events alike, will hopefully continue driving change and increasing representation in the music industry in Hamilton and beyond.
C/O @mmoma_hamont
Take art, leave art, love art at Hamilton’s newest art gallery, the MMOMA
Matt Coleman is an artist, musician, art teacher, photographer and innovation coach for the Halton District School Board. The latest addition to his list of titles is founder and curator of Mapleside Museum of Miniature Art. The small art gallery is filled with tiny art and located on the front lawn of his home on Mapleside Drive.
Coleman was inspired to open MMOMA after learning about Stacy Milran’s miniature art gallery on the front lawn of her Seattle home. It is based on the concept of the Little Free Library in which people can take or leave an art piece or simply view and appreciate the art and talent being shared.
With some help from his neighbours and friends, Coleman built a small popup box on a stand for the gallery and exhibited his first set of art works around New Years of this year. Despite it having been open for only about a month, MMOMA has already garnered great love, interest and support from the local community.
“[MMOMA] is generating a little socially distant community hub for artists and makers. There are makers who specialize in miniature art and others who just want to participate,” explained Coleman.
"[MMOMA] is generating a little socially distant community hub for artists and makers. There are makers who specialize in miniature art and others who just want to participate."
Matt Coleman, Founder and Curator of MMOMA
The gallery is a center for all art lovers and anyone, including young children, are welcome to contribute. Inside the gallery, there is also a maker's kit in the shelf underneath the gallery floor.
The art itself can be two dimensional and three dimensional as long as it is miniature enough to fit inside the gallery. MMOMA has showcased sculptures on pedestals and hung some from the ceiling. Any 2D artwork is usually lined up against the railings inside the gallery.
With contributions from community members frequently pouring in, Coleman rotates the art around with new submissions. There is always a series of fresh new art to admire at the gallery.
Previews of what the gallery looks like can be found on MMOMA’s Instagram page where current and previous displays are posted. The social media page has also served as a place of connection and appreciating art for community members and artists who have left their pieces at the gallery.
MMOMA is not the only tiny art gallery in the city. Inspired by MMOMA, another gallery popped up on Beulah Avenue called Studio Beulah. It occupied its current location as a Little Free Library since last year, however, it recently transformed into an art gallery in the beginning of this year.
MMOMA will remain as a permanent exhibition and it has many exciting announcements coming up. It will be hosting artists for Hamilton’s Winterfest in February and with more petite street art galleries being introduced around the city such as Studio Beulah, Coleman hopes to one day run a tiny art crawl.
“I could see it being the start of a whole network of tiny art galleries and there being a truly tiny art crawl through the city of Hamilton which would be really cool,” said Coleman.
A miniature group art show is another idea Coleman hopes to turn into reality in the future. It will showcase miniature art of all the same size.
The opening of MMOMA was a delightful addition to city that fulfilled the local community’s craving for connections, the arts and positive change.
“I think maybe in a time of dreary news, [MMOMA] generated a little bit of positive buzz,” said Coleman.
“I think maybe in a time of dreary news, [MMOMA] generated a little bit of positive buzz."
Matt Coleman, Founder and Curator of MMOMA
As we all head back to campus for in-person classes in February, consider visiting MOMMA and sharing your art. The COVID-19 pandemic may have interfered with new experiences we were looking forward to and made community-building more difficult during the past two years; however, this tiny gallery is reminding all of us of the wonderful things that continue to surround us during pandemic.
Hamilton’s sole hip-hop dance studio takes strong precautions to ensure the safety of its patrons.
Before 2009, not many studios in Hamilton focused on hip-hop and street dance; it was not until Josh Taylor co-founded Defining Movement Dance in 2009 and opened the studio in 2010.
“The point of it was to offer something different than other studios were offering at the time, with a focus on hip-hop and street dance, alongside Latin dancing,” said Taylor.
As of now, DMD has shifted its focus from Latin dancing to hip-hop and street dance.
[/media-credit] Youth technique class led by Josh Taylor in February 2018.
“The point of it was to offer something different than other studios were offering at the time, with a focus on hip-hop and street dance, alongside Latin dancing,” said Taylor.
The studio has a varying number of programs for all individuals. Dance programs for the children consist of: breaking classes where they learn how to “breakdance”, funk styles classes where they learn the technique “popping and locking”, hip-hop classes where they learn basic hip-hop dance moves and all styles class, where students are introduced to various street dance styles and eventually freestyle and participate in dance battles with fellow students.
[/media-credit] Mini dance battle in March 2019.
For the younger members, there is also a competitive team, Megacrew, in which the students would usually compete against other dance studios. The students learn multiple dance styles and undergo training and conditioning, while under the guidance of the artistic director.
“This year is a little different given the COVID-19 situation,” said Taylor on the cancellation of competitions this year.
For adults, they have both drop-in classes and registered programs. The drop-in classes consist of choreography and contemporary classes, where the former takes a focus on incorporating a variety of dance styles while the latter looks at personal expression within dance.
The registered programs consist of a heels class, where individuals exhibit beauty within their techniques, and street dance training classes, where street dance, popping and locking and hip-hop dance styles are all incorporated. On an occasional evening, the studio offers salsa dancing pop-up classes.
Now with the COVID-19 pandemic, DMD’s functions have taken quite a hit, just like many other small businesses. Before the pandemic arrived in March, classes were up to 30 children, running for two hours straight where they underwent training, conditioning and participated in small freestyles and dance battles.
“That was one of the largest classes at the time, where we could operate classes without worrying about numbers, in terms of how many people are in a room,” said Taylor.
Once the pandemic hit, classes immediately went online — utilizing platforms such as Zoom, YouTube Live and Instagram Live — to keep people moving while stuck indoors. The length of the programs was also limited to about an hour to adjust for the online transition and learning curve.
“That was one of the largest classes at the time, where we could operate classes without worrying about numbers, in terms of how many people are in a room,” said Taylor.
When the government allowed the studio to re-open in September, the studio created a comprehensive plan to keep all of its patrons safe. The first item on the list was to create a 4.5 square-foot taped box on the floor, each three meters apart.
There is an “x” placed in the middle to give the students a visual of where they need to be stepping. Due to these wide boxes, the class sizes had to be reduced in order to keep up with current government regulations.
“From a dance educator perspective, what really is exciting is working with six students in that class and really just focusing on each student’s needs. From a business standpoint, [the reduction in students is] not as great; we want to have more numbers in the studio. But it is where we are,” said Taylor.
“From a dance educator perspective, what really is exciting is working with six students in that class and really just focusing on each student’s needs. From a business standpoint, [the reduction in students is] not as great; we want to have more numbers in the studio. But it is where we are,” said Taylor.
The studio has also taken a variety of steps with regard to cleaning. They implemented a fogger which takes a disinfectant and makes it into a mist to disinfect the entire studio. There is a 15-minute gap at the end of each class to allow the disinfectant to spread over the studio before beginning the next class. Aside from this, wipes and hand sanitizers have been also placed around the studio.
To ensure comfort for the dancers, they are allowed to take a break from wearing their masks as doors are open to allow for greater air ventilation and quick breaks.
“It's really important for everyone's mental, emotional and social health with dance, but it's really important as our responsibility to ensure they do it safely. A business is not worth more than anyone’s health,” said Taylor.
“It's really important for everyone's mental, emotional and social health with dance, but it's really important as our responsibility to ensure they do it safely. A business is not worth more than anyone’s health,” said Taylor.
Screenings and temperature checks have also been implemented in order to minimize the amount of risk for students and staff to contract coronavirus. While these listed precautions are not ideal for any business when they are trying to carry out their daily operations, they are a necessary step to ensure everyone’s safety. For Taylor, he is unsure as to how the studio will continue to operate in the current pandemic climate.
[/media-credit] Dress rehearsal for the year-end show in June 2019.
“It's hard to say, I think what we will do is follow the advice of the experts and continue to do that. If it gets to a point where businesses are asked to lockdown, then we will lockdown. We have to play it by ear and go from there. I think that's all we can do. We can hope that we make it to the other side. Small businesses are what make up communities. The corner store, then dance studios, the small gyms, the bookstores — all of those places are so important. We hope we continue to offer our services and be a part of the community and eventually, people feel safe to continue coming out,” said Taylor.
“It's hard to say, I think what we will do is follow the advice of the experts and continue to do that. If it gets to a point where businesses are asked to lockdown, then we will lockdown. We have to play it by ear and go from there. I think that's all we can do. We can hope that we make it to the other side. Small businesses are what make up communities. The corner store, then dance studios, the small gyms, the bookstores — all of those places are so important. We hope we continue to offer our services and be a part of the community and eventually, people feel safe to continue coming out,” said Taylor.
By Adrian Salopek, Staff Writer
As kids, watching puppets on TV was a surreal experience. Wonderfully wacky creatures helping you learn your ABCs, your 123s and ultimately becoming a friend in the process. Local puppeteer Benton Lowe has made a name for himself in Hamilton and has allowed puppeteering to flourish as an art form in the city.
By putting on shows at the Hamilton Public Library and appearing on local channels such as CHCH, Lowe is working to ensure that puppeteering is brought to the mainstream.
Originally from Carleton Place, a town outside of Ottawa, Lowe was inspired to practice puppeteering from a young age. Being exposed to shows like Sesame Street and growing up a short drive away from renowned Canadian producer and puppeteer Noreen Young, Lowe was very interested in what it takes to craft these characters from an early age.
Benton Lowe and his puppets. Photo C/O Benton Lowe.
“Noreen Young was my puppet grandma,” said Lowe. “She is an amazing puppeteer who did a lot of TV stuff. I really appreciated what she did.”
Although he loved puppets, it wasn’t until December of 2016 that Lowe began pursuing his current career. It was then that Jordan Lockhart, a friend and fellow puppeteer, helped Lowe realize what he wanted to do in life. As Lowe spoke with him, learning more about Lockhart's puppetry, he discovered a special interest in television puppetry. This prompted Lowe to buy a camera and a monitor to kickstart his own career as a puppeteer.
In order to make puppet shows believable, television monitors are used to allow each puppeteer to view what the audience would be seeing from home. This in turn allows them to get each shot right in order to make a more immersive connection between the viewer and the character.
“That’s how [puppets are] able to look into the camera and look at you, kind of like they’re looking at you through the screen. That’s the way we connect with people,” explained Lowe.
Lowe then moved to Nunavut in 2017 for a job where he was able to isolate qualities that he wanted to mimic in his own characters and practice puppeteering. He then participated in workshops in Texas with puppeteers like Noel MacNeal, who appeared on Sesame Street and was one of the people who originally inspired Lowe to pursue puppeteering.
Benton Lowe's puppet at Gage Park. Photo C/O Benton Lowe.
“It was really cool kind of going full circle to be trained by them, because now I want to do what they inspired me to do,” said Lowe.
Puppetry is much more difficult than many might think, but Lowe has worked tirelessly to master the art form. A lot of energy has gone into making his puppetry style so seamless and his characters so relatable.
“I’ve definitely tried to master the art of bringing characters to life and studying human behaviour, an example of that is breathing,” said Lowe, “This can really make a character stand out and come to life.”
Lowe then moved to Hamilton and found there to be little puppeteering around upon arriving. He has since worked hard to change this. He turned the Hamilton Public Library’s mascot, Scout the Fox, into a recognizable puppet. He has also appeared in TV commercials on CHCH for the city as part of its “Spend it Here” holiday shopping campaign and has been featured on the channel’s morning segment. The city has embraced what Lowe is doing and his puppets are recognized by many, particularly children. During the Santa Claus parade of 2019, onlookers recognized his puppets when he was featured on the BookMobile.
“I could see the excitement of the kids . . . That’s when it really hit me — the impact of the character. I didn’t fully know, like now, that I had brought this character to life,” said Lowe.
Lowe has big plans for the future of Hamilton. He wants the city’s puppeteers to become a source of pride for Hamiltonians. He is now thinking of collaborating with different people within the community to explore possibilities of shooting a local show using puppetry right here in the city, reminiscent of the Hamilton-shot puppet show “Hilarious House of Frightenstein”, which aired in the 70s. He hopes to put Hamilton on the map for its talented puppeteers and artists.
“Hamilton really has the potential to create shows and entertainment locally in the city,” said Lowe. “[S]o I’m really collaborating with different people for a television series done locally in Hamilton and also not just shot locally and created locally, but done by local producers and even picked up by local broadcasters.”
You can see more of Lowe’s puppets and video content via his Facebook and Instagram.
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