For the past decade, Max Francis and his local clothing brand True Hamiltonian have offered the community quality apparel to help showcase their love for the steel city

True Hamiltonian returns to Supercrawl, this time showcasing the designs from their newly launched “Hamilton is rock, Hamilton is metal” line in their Rock N’ Roll runway show on Sep. 8.

Max Francis, the founder of True Hamiltonian, was born in Florida but he grew up in Hamilton. Before launching True Hamiltonian 10 years ago, Francis worked for an engineering company in Burlington while also working part-time as an actor. 

The idea for brand came to Francis because he was tired of hearing people making fun of Hamilton. So, he came up with his own t-shirt design, with words “Hamilton is Home,” to proclaim his love for his hometown. People started asking him where he'd gotten his shirt from, so he decided to turn it into a business, allowing every proud Hamiltonian to share their hometown pride with others. 

“Whenever I [went] to auditions in other cities, they would ask me where I'm from. I'd say "I live in Hamilton," and they would always make fun of Hamilton. So, I remember thinking at the time, “screw you, I love this city,”” said Francis. 

Francis has a lot of pride, passion and love for the steel city and thoroughly enjoys working on True Hamiltonian. He believes this is what makes his business stand out compared to others. 

“People always ask me, "Why do you like Hamilton so much?” And I tell them, “I don't like Hamilton. I'm in love with Hamilton,” said Francis. 

For their fashion show at the Supercrawl, most of their models were from the Hamilton community. Some of the models in the lineup this year include a real estate agent, a hockey player, a member of a local band, tattoo artists and local artists. Francis wanted to have people from all walks of life to represent their clothing, so it resonates more with the community. 

By having local Hamiltonians modelling their clothes, the show felt more representative of the Hamilton community and the diversity of the people here.  

“I've got a lot of people from the community [in the show]. . . I have people that are from every walk of life, I just tried to find people from the community that I [felt] would fit in with what we're trying to do that year. I also find they’re way more excited about doing it than, say, a model would be,” said Francis. 

Overall, Francis and True Hamiltonian wanted to show how far the brand has come over the past decade. In this time, the brand has reached many new milestones, including being the first fashion designer to showcase at the Tim Hortons Field before Labour Day. 

True Hamiltonian had a booth at Supercrawl as well where they sold their apparel. Their items can also be found at their online store. 

Local slow fashion business aims to promote sustainable fashion through their simple, timeless pieces 

Menta Clothing Co. is an up-and-coming local Hamilton business that was founded two years ago by Luke Guevara. They participated in their first Supercrawl fashion show on Sept. 8. 

Guevara grew up in Hamilton and has attended Supercrawl many times in the past, though this was his first year as a vendor. 

“I've been going to Supercrawl pretty much my whole life, on and off. [It]’s really exciting to be able to set up a booth and have my own little business, my own little space,” said Guevara. 

I've been going to Supercrawl pretty much my whole life, on and off. [It]’s really exciting to be able to set up a booth and have my own little business, my own little space.

Luke Guevara, founder, Menta Clothing Co.

When he was casting for models for their fashion show, Guevara looked for models with an energy that glowed and had vibes that matched his. 

“I was really looking at energy and the vibe that they had, that kind of radiates off them and it kind of glows. It's something I really find important and for the people I surround myself with,” explained Guevara. 

Guevara takes pride in being very rooted as a Hamiltonian, especially since Hamilton has many up-and-coming small businesses. 

“There [are] a lot of great entrepreneurs in Hamilton. Hamilton's been known for being a hardworking place,” said Guevara. 

While Menta Clothing Co. has gone through some ups and downs over the past two years, they have been featured in several events, including Art Crawl, and have received great reception from the community.

“They all love the idea of what Menta is: staying local [and] using premium quality fabric. . .[The] majority of people that buy a shirt come back for a second one because they love it so much and that's because it's different,” said Guevara. 

They all love the idea of what Menta is: staying local [and] using premium quality fabric. . .[The] majority of people that buy a shirt come back for a second one because they love it so much and that's because it's different.

Luke Guevara, founder, Menta Clothing Co.

However, despite being connected to the local community, Guevara sources his fabric from Austria. The fabric that he uses, TENCEL^TM Modal, comes from the Beechwood tree, whose fibers are extracted via an environmentally friendly pulp-to-fiber process. As a result, this material is biodegradable under industrial, soil and marine conditions.  

Guevara is passionate about leaving a low carbon footprint and keeping Menta Clothing Co. as ethical, sustainable and green as possible, which is why most of his third-party suppliers are local, either in Hamilton or the GTA. 

“I think what makes me unique is I'm very rooted and being Canadian and being a Hamiltonian. Everything I do is pretty tight knit. Meaning that all my third parties I work with, they're all Canadian and they're all local,” explained Guevara. 

Guevara hopes that customers will be encouraged to support local businesses or Canadian businesses after they see Menta Clothing Co.’s fashion show and visit their booth. During the rest of the year, their items can be purchased from their website. 

Kick off back to school season with some fun adventures

September is the perfect time to explore Hamilton. The weather is pleasant, school isn’t too busy and there’s lots to do! Here are some events that are coming up in the next few weeks that are not to be missed. 

Supercrawl  

For art connoisseurs: Hamilton’s annual music and arts festival, Supercrawl, is back this year from Sep. 7 to 9 on James St N. The festival showcases and celebrates the community’s creative work, featuring local and emerging artists as well as established artists. It will also feature artisanal craft, fashion, art installations, literature, live music and theatrical performances.  

Country Music Crawl 

For country music lovers: the Country Music Crawl  hosted by the Canadian Country Music Association is running from Aug. 24 to Sep. 16 at various locations throughout Hamilton, including Gore Park, Collective Arts Brewing, Mills Hardware, Art Gallery of Hamilton and Leander Boat Club. It features new and established artists, including Kyle McKearney, a Métis Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter nominated for four CCMA awards this year. 

Hamilton Comic Con 

For comic enthusiasts: Hamilton Comic Con will be returning to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum on Sep. 23-24. This event will feature exhibitors, comic books, movie cars, an arcade, cosplay contests, celebrity autographs, photo-ops and much more. Some of the special attractions that are worth checking out this weekend, include the Mystery Machine and the Supernatural Impala. 

Witches Night In 

For mystical witches: the Witches Night In hosted by the Creative Market will take place on Sep. 23 at The Scottish Rite. This mystic convention will feature over 40 vendors, swag bags, photo booth, tooth gems, spooky art and tarot readings. There will also be prizes, drinks—including mocktails and butterbeer—piercings and tattoos. This event could be a great way to end off the month, sure to get you in the mood for Halloween. 

Enjoy yourself at these events and be sure to let us know your favourite part of them in the comments! 

Downtown Hamilton will be lively with music, visual art, fashion, literature and more as Supercrawl returns for another year

A nonprofit organization founded in 2009, Supercrawl spotlights Hamilton’s vibrant arts and culture community. Taking place every year in September, the event is a weekend of artistic events and performances.  

This year’s Supercrawl features three music stages, a theatre-dance stage, a fashion tent, a family zone, a visual art zone and an author tent. Beyond all of this, Supercrawl also hosts numerous local vendors, making it a great occasion for shopping as well.  

Those interested in attending Supercrawl can see CFMU’s own Jamie Tennant moderate authors panels and discuss his own writing or they can check out the Ark Collective for local BIPOC-owned fashion businesses. Events begin in the daytime and continue into the late night. A full schedule can be found here.  

Supercrawl is a well-loved community tradition in Hamilton, but it also draws in crowds from outside the city. According to the Supercrawl website, over 200,000 people attended the event last year. The website also highlights the economic benefits of this, stating that last year’s Supercrawl had an economic impact of approximately thirty million dollars.  

For McMaster University students looking to become more involved in the Hamilton community, Supercrawl is a great starting point. Students can explore local art, music, literature, and fashion, all within a two-kilometer radius.  

C/O Stephanie Montani

Supercrawl may look a bit different this year, but the important pieces remain the same.

Since it began in 2009, Supercrawl has become an integral part of not only Hamilton’s arts and culture community, but the city’s larger community as well. The festival showcases local talent in a range of areas from music and theatre to visual art and fashion, and also offers space to vendors and food trucks. One of Hamilton’s signature events, the multi-arts festival truly offers something for everyone, bringing together people from across the city and featuring the treasured memories and traditions of many.

“[Supercrawl] started as a small grassroots experiment on James Street North, putting local people together—artists, vendors and businesses—and seeing if we could potentially draw some more people than were at the time coming to the local area. And from there it grew,” explained Tim Potocic, the festival director, in an interview with CFMU. 

For many students, Supercrawl’s mid-September timing lends itself to being the perfect introduction to the Hamilton arts and culture community.

“[T]he timing of Supercrawl has always worked out really nicely with new students . . .  it ends up being an amazing time for new students moving in and we've seen them come to the event. It's like their first weekend in Hamilton and this huge thing is going on and there's a massive circus in the middle of downtown,” said Lisa La Rocca, the festival’s vendor coordinator.

Typically, Supercrawl takes place during the second weekend of September. Planning for each weekend is a year-long affair, with the team starting to think about the next year almost immediately after the festival wraps up. 

However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced Potocic, La Rocca and their team to pivot quickly and search for new ways to continue to present and promote local artists—not only for those in the music industry, but also for those in visual arts, fashion and theatre.

“We are ones to try to push through anything,” said La Rocca.

With the available funding, they launched several virtual events while keeping a close eye on the latest developments and changes to provincial regulations. They have offered livestream events, including a fashion and drag showcase, talk conferences, theatre and music concerts, and their murals have also continued to be displayed on James Street North. 

"We've been utilizing the options that are available to us and have shifted to livestreams when we couldn't do shows in-person, and when we could do in-person, we're doing socially distanced hybrid performances with a livestream component—it's been challenging with lots of cancellations, rebookings and attempts at execution, but we're still going strong!” explained Potocic in a statement.

When small outdoor gatherings were finally possible in Sept. 2020, Supercrawl launched its Skytop Live Concert Series with a cap of 100 physically distanced attendees. Visitors were provided a face mask and screened for COVID-19 symptoms and exposure upon entry to the venue. La Rocca noted all the protocols worked well and the events ran smoothly.

“I’m really proud of how [the Skytop Live Concert Series] was managed and done. I think that people that came felt safe and felt like it was appropriately managed for the situation we were in. The bands felt great to have a performance opportunity in front of an audience,” said La Rocca.

The organizers of Supercrawl have also opened a venue of their own, Bridgeworks, on Caroline and Barton Street, to continue hosting small live concerts. Their latest free live concert series kicked off this year’s Supercrawl and lasted from Aug. 20 to Sept. 26. It ran both in-person, for up to 50 attendees at Bridgeworks, and as a livestream online. The 50 live audience members were chosen through a lottery from a list of those who had signed up to see the show. 

So far, the reception to the Bridgeworks concert series has been filled with excitement and positivity. The artists were also overjoyed to see the live reactions of audience members. To cater to everyone’s comfort levels, Supercrawl will continue to offer opportunities for both on-site and online viewing of the events, public health guidelines permitting.

“We're going to continue also offering live streams, even when we can have more audience, to make sure that everybody who wants to see it, with their different comfort levels, that our programming is available to them. We're going to do that for as long as we can still offer it. And we did see, offering the audience tickets [for our events these past few weeks], some people were more comfortable still watching it at home. And that's totally fine,” said La Rocca.

Part of Supercrawl’s success in maintaining its large presence during the past year can be attributed to its mature and rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic. From their online events to smaller in-person concerts, none of it would have been possible without timely decision making and attentiveness to public health guidelines. 

In a continuous effort to protect the health and safety of the artists, staff, volunteers and audience members, this year, following its announcement that as of Sept. 1, Supercrawl and Sonic Unyon mandated a proof of full COVID-19 vaccination with Government of Canada approved vaccines or an official documentation of a negative COVID-19 test conducted within 48 hours prior to entry to the event. 

The vaccination mandate came into effect after much deliberation with other arts organizations about how to best approach the coming months as restrictions continue to be lifted in Ontario. They examined other businesses' responses to changing guidelines and worked closely to develop new policies. Shortly after Supercrawl’s vaccine policy update, the Government of Ontario also released its statement on COVID-19 vaccination mandates. 

“There's been a lot of really good examples of the community, the artistic community and music community working together to figure out what's going on to make sure everybody is informed and on the same side,” explained La Rocca.

While there has been a great deal of change in the format of Supercrawl and how the festival operates over the last two years, the most important pieces have remained the same. The festival continues to showcase a range of remarkable local talent, while offering the community a number of opportunities to come together and connect, whether it’s in person or virtually.

Another core piece of the festival, and part of its particular appeal to students in the past, is the opportunities it offers for exploration and discovery and those opportunities are something the festival organizers have also strived to carry forward.

“We really just want everybody to feel like they can be involved and are involved in and can enjoy Supercrawl programming. I think that is the most important thing; we try to find something for everyone. That's in music genres, but also in representing as many different artistic genres as we can . . . we really want everybody to feel like there's something for them to see and something for them to do,” said La Rocca.

Supercrawl has become an important part of the Hamilton community and the student experience over the years and even throughout the pandemic they have continued to offer opportunities for people to come together, explore and enjoy themselves. Moving forward, the festival will continue to showcase local talent and offer these crucial community events in any way they can and in the upcoming months Supercrawl fans still have much to look forward to, including more music series, two new murals and an exciting outdoor event to be revealed in the upcoming weeks.

The Supercrawl cancellation is another disappointment in the year of COVID-19 cancellations

Community events are an important part of fostering a sense of belonging and inclusion in cities big or small. These events bring together people from all walks of life. Community events are often where many beloved traditions and treasured memories are created. 

In Hamilton, one of the largest community events is Supercrawl. However, on June 17, Supercrawl announced that due to COVID-19 it would be cancelling the festival which had been scheduled to happen in early September. 

On social media, many have also expressed relief that Supercrawl is willing to do their part to keep the community safe. However, it is still disappointing as the multi-arts festival is near and dear to the hearts of many Hamiltonians. 

And I guess this should be Supercrawl weekend☹️.
I ❤️ Hamilton.

— Marie Zilik (@MarieZilik) September 12, 2020

For many first-year students, Supercrawl is their introduction to Hamilton and its art community, and an opportunity for them to connect with their peers.

“I went to Supercrawl last year, so in my first year at McMaster . . .  I found it to be a really great opportunity to get to know the Hamilton community and the art community. I feel like I got to see a lot of really, really cool performances and art pieces. It was just a really great opportunity to experience Hamilton culture . . . I think a lot of people in the McMaster community actually really love Supercrawl. I remember in my first year when it was coming up, a bunch of professors and a bunch of upper-years were really encouraging us to go,” said Andrea Chang, a second-year arts & science student.

I think a lot of people in the McMaster community actually really love Supercrawl. Like I remember in my first-year when it was coming up, a bunch of professors and a bunch of upper-years were really encouraging us to go,” said Andrea Chang, a second-year arts & science student.

Supercrawl’s organizers have opted to run a series of alternate events beginning Sept. 24, 2020 and continuing through to March 2021. When these events are scheduled to take place in person, there will be a cap on the number of attendees, who will all be screened prior to entry, expected to wear masks and instructed to respect physical distancing protocols. 

The first of these events, running from Sept. 24–27, is a ticketed concert series featuring Tim Hicks, Jessica Mitchell, Lee Harvey Osmond, Choir! Choir! Choir! and Skratch Bastid, among others. Supercrawl organizers will be setting up a temporary open-air venue for the event, at the top of the York Boulevard Parkade in downtown Hamilton. Both the concert performers and concert-goers are grateful and excited to still experience a little bit of Supercrawl.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBigIWvF2ga/

However, due to the academic year being entirely online, many McMaster students are not in Hamilton and will likely not be able to attend any of the alternate events. For students, the cancellation of Supercrawl reflects the much larger sense of community that the pandemic has deprived them of.

“[I]t's disappointing to not have community events in Hamilton the same way anymore. But I also think that that kind of just translates to everything else that the McMaster community is facing. We're stripped of in-person community in a whole host of ways and this is just one of them,” said Chang. 

“[I]t's disappointing to not have community events in Hamilton the same way anymore. But I also think that that kind of just translates to everything else that the McMaster community is facing. We're stripped of in-person community in a whole host of ways and this is just one of them,” said Chang.

Community is an essential component to wellbeing and has typically been formed through in-person interactions. In larger cities, community-wide events like Supercrawl, often play a key role in facilitating these interactions and connections. However, by causing events like these to be put on hold, the pandemic continues to isolate students from their communities.

Photo C/O buildingculturallegacies.ca

Hamilton is a well-known centre for the arts, with events like Supercrawl bringing in people from across the GTA and beyond. However, it hasn’t always been like this. In a 1959 statement, then Mayor Lloyd Jackson—the namesake for Jackson Square—claimed that the city had no need for modern art.

“The people of this city have made it abundantly clear that they want no part of this modern art . . .  we can't let the arty crowd run things,” said Mayor Jackson in his statement. 

Building Cultural Legacies is a digital storytelling platform that is proving Mayor Jackson wrong. In response to his statement, the Building Cultural Legacies exhibit has the subheading “The Arty Crowd Runs Things”. Their exhibit at the Art Gallery of Hamilton (123 King St. W.) has the quote blown up as a tongue-in-cheek reference to Mayor Jackson, showing just how far this city has come since those words were first said. The arty crowd is definitely running the show now.

The physical exhibit for Building Cultural Legacies is not currently accessible because the AGH has closed its doors until April 5; however, their online content is freely available and easy to access. On their website you can search through art based on criteria ranging from the type of material used to the decade it was made in. If you need a little break during your social distancing, you can just pull up the site and browse through Hamilton’s art history.

Alexis Moline is the Content Curator for the Building Cultural Legacies project, and she says that they chose to represent the second half of the 20th century because these records are most at risk of being lost. 

“We'd like to make sure that those things can be preserved and available so that people [can] access them and learn from them, as well as celebrate those artists and their legacies and the great collections of things that they have built up over the years . . . So the point was really taking over our artistic past and learning from it and to continue bringing it to the present,” said Moline.

One of the ways that Building Cultural Legacies has been helping Hamiltonians connect to the past is through facilitated discussions and public talks. With the mass closures resulting from COVID-19, these talks have been postponed. However, once things are up and running again, here’s a brief taste of what you can look forward to.

The next two talks that Building Cultural Legacies plans to host is a roundtable discussion with the Native Indian/Inuit Photographers’ Association and a discussion on mentoring in the artistic community. NIIPA was one of the longest-running Indigenous arts services organizations in Canada, and they were founded on James Street, right in the heart of Hamilton. Moline says that the events are designed to encourage connections across communities.

“[I]t's really a chance for people to come out and listen and hear stories and then afterwards speak amongst themselves and make those connections. It really includes talking to each other, [and] intergenerational exchange; we really encourage young artists or Mac students to come out. And so that's a great opportunity to have a friendly, relaxed environment for people to connect about all of our shared history and present,” said Moline.

Building Cultural Legacies is continually working to improve and add to their site. Moline says that she is working with Dr. Angela Sheng's Art History 4X03 Intro to Galleries and Museums class—a fourth year Art History seminar offered at McMaster—to develop new artist pages for the Building Cultural Legacies site, to be published tentatively this May, although this may be impacted by the closures on McMaster’s campus. 

Building Cultural Legacies encourages artists both young and old to work and grow together, and encourages Hamiltonians to learn more about their own history. Whether or not you’re an art devotee, the message to work and grow together is one that we can all benefit from. 

 

Explore Artists - Building Cultural Legacies Hamilton

Building Cultural Legacies has been generously supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

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Hamilton is increasingly becoming known as a haven for artists. This is demonstrated in the street art that has taken over the walls of the downtown core. Several of these pieces were created during Concrete Canvas, a visual arts festival that took place this past July. Each piece was painted legally and with permission from the city. Take this map along with you and go take in some of the art Hamilton has to offer!

Click a point on the map below to see some of the art!

 

Stop #1: 126 James St. South, “Gateway” by Vivian Rosas & Vesna Asanovic

This vibrant street mural is located on James Street, immediately next to the Hamilton Go Centre (36 Hunter St. E). It depicts different scenes from around the city through beautiful splashes of yellow, purple and orange. Scenes include hiking the Bruce Trail, walking along Art Crawl and eating pizza. It replaced an older, faded piece and is made of aluminum composite panels so that it can last for years to come. 

 

Stop #2: 103 John St. South, Angelo Mosca tribute by @scottanddestroy 

Scott McDonald is the lead curator of Concrete Canvas. His piece commemorates Angelo Mosca, a Canadian Football League player and professional wrestler known as King Kong Mosca or The Mighty Hercules. Mosca was a player for the Hamilton Tiger Cats and is in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. He is one of only a few players to have played in nine Grey Cup games. The painting is done in black, white and yellow to reflect the Tiger Cats colours, and shows Mosca running down the field.

 

Stop #3: 75-77 Hunter St. East, piece by @burnttoastcreative

This painting was done for Concrete Canvas by Burnt Toast Creative, also known as Canadian illustrator Scott Martin. It’s visible from blocks away with its blue sky and unique comic style. It sits directly opposite from the Angelo Mosca tribute and has an image of a giant hand holding someone aloft. If you're interested in his art style, you can see more of Martin's work on his website.

 

Stop #4: John Street and Jackson Street, parrot by @scottanddestroy 

This painting was also done by Scott McDonald. It features a colourful parrot that brightens up the otherwise grim parking lot and bus stop nearby. It is offset slightly by the Kings Pizza logo located immediately next to the beak. 

 

Stop #5: Main Street and John St. North, piece by @jordan_war  

This painting was done by Jordan Warmington, a tattoo artist at John Street Tattoo (179 John St. S). It was also done as a part of Concrete Canvas. It decorates the construction plywood that has been sitting unadorned for several years now. 

 

Stop #6: 81 King St. East, “Home Grown” by @luvsumone, @javid_jah and @danilotheartist

“Home Grown” was also done as a part of Concrete Canvas. It is located on the back of 81 King St. E, in a small alleyway. It features a house walking forward wearing boots. You can read more about this piece on @luvsumone's Instagram.

 

Stop #7: King Street East and Catherine Street, “Emanating Flash” by Kristofir Dean

This public art installation was created through the combined work of Effort Group, Scholar Properties Ltd. and the ARt Gallery of Hamilton. Dean is a contemporary artist and his work deals primarily in bright colours which can be found on display throughout the country, most notably at the Vancouver Mural in South Granville. You can read more about the piece on the installation itself.

 

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By Nisha Gill, Contributor

Tucked away between bakeries and boutiques in Hamilton’s downtown core, Factory Media Centre (228 James St. North) is somewhat  isolated from the hustle and bustle. Housed within the artist-run centre, Hamilton-native Natalie Hunter merges photography, video projection and sculpture to create a space to reflect on questions  questions of memory, home, time and light.

A collection of photo-based works created over the last four years, “sensations of breathing at the sound of light” is different Hunter’s typical pieces. The artist’s work has been exhibited across Canada and the United States, almost always in well-lit, neutral-coloured spaces, contrary to the conditions that are present in the Factory Media Centre.

“Factory Media’s space is quite cinematic, and it’s a challenging space because it doesn’t have accurate lighting like most white cube gallery spaces. Working with [Factory Media Centre] coordinator Kristina Durka, we decided to work with the darkness of the space and curate works that create light, in addition to reacting with its kinetic qualities,” Hunter explained.

When viewers enter the Factory Media Centre, it is immediately apparent that the space is as much a part of Hunter’s exhibition as are her works. The visible cables and wires, the naturally limited and cinematic lighting and the openness of the space all compliment Hunter’s work. This interaction between the space and the work allows for the viewer to reflect on the work and the influence of memory and home, furthering the incredibly unique and immersive experience that comes with viewing it. 

“Allowing a photograph to become a physical encounter rather than a picture on a screen or in a frame. And I think “Sensations of breathing at the sound of light” really questions areas between screen space and physical space, and how they influence memory, the senses, and perceptions of time in the present moment. Stillness and motion can be experienced at the same time,” said Hunter.

Hunter’s pieces themselves are created using a combination of film, colour filters and lights that allow a moment in time to be captured not only as a photograph, but as something physical that interacts with the space around it.

“I think my work is different in terms of my consideration of materiality in image making and hybrid forms of sculpture and photography. Allowing a photograph to become a physical encounter rather than a picture on a screen or in a frame. And I think  ‘sensations of breathing at the sound of light’ really questions areas between screen space and physical space, and how they influence memory, the senses, and perceptions of time in the present moment,” said Hunter.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3IPsBtHZtJ/

Hunter described the exhibition as a conversation between her and Durka, but also as a space for conversation between herself and the viewers of her exhibition.

“An artist’s job is to provide the conditions for an experience so that a dialogue or conversation can exist between artist and viewer. A conversation that a viewer may draw meaning from or pose further questions, perhaps not immediately, but eventually, through the work. I hope that a viewer is drawn into the work for its visceral and emotive qualities, but keeps them there long enough to contemplate the nature of time, memory, and our relationships to the spaces we create for ourselves,” said Hunter.

“Sensations of breathing at the sound of light” interacts with the space it is housed in to immerse the viewer in the works and encourage them to reflect on important questions about the nature and perceptions of the time, as well as the spaces that we interact with.

The closing reception for “Sensations of breathing at the sound of light” will be on Friday, October 4, 2019 at the Factory Media Centre (228 James St. North) from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Hunter will be in attendance.

 

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Photo by Cindy Cui / Photo Editor

Supercrawl is an explosion of creativity, bringing the arts to life for three days every September. With thousands of visitors amongst live music, food vendors calling out orders, and animated art installations, the commotion can be overwhelming. The Author’s Tent provided a haven away from the hustle and bustle of the crowd. The setup was simple; ten chairs, a microphone and a table piled high with books beneath an open tent. The lights inside made it feel intimate and inviting while still giving passersby the opportunity to stay and listen to stories. Here are a few summaries of events that were offered at the tent:

 

Terrifying reads

The first reading was on the evening of Friday the 13. The moon was almost full and the sky threatened rain. A cool breeze drifted through the tent, enough to make someone’s hair stand on end. It was soon to be a dark and stormy night. This reading featured works — both published and unpublished — from authors Nathan Ripley, C.S. O’Cinneide and David Nickle. Topics ranged from mass shootings and haunted pilgrimages to gin-craving ghosts. Gasps and laughter drifted onto the street and drew a crowd of listeners. Nightmares were promised and delivered. 

 

Writing the city

Saturday afternoon brought about a discussion of writing in Hamilton. The panel included Ryan McGreal, editor of Raise the Hammer, and Taien Ng-Chan, a founding member of the Hamilton Perambulatory Unit as well as a professor at York University. The panel was moderated by Noelle Allen, a publisher at Wolsak and Wynn (280 James Street N.). The panel spoke to the idea of rediscovering Hamilton  — seeing something familiar as if it were for the first time. The panel encouraged listeners to take time to notice the city while walking through it. For instance, they suggested that visitors try walking through Jackson Square along where streets used to be. 

 

Women on the poetry mic

Saturday evening featured poets Natalee Caple, Jaclyn Desforges and Julie McIsaac. Both song and spoken word filtered out into the square. A large crowd gathered around the tent and snapping fingers rang out into the night. The poems touched on motherhood and womanhood, amongst other things. Desforges featured a poem from her book, ‘Hello Nice Man’, provoking thought across the audience. ‘Enlightened Witness’, one of Desforges poems, asks the question: “If a man shouts in the forest and there’s no one to hear, who will help him process his emotions?” Poems such as ‘Enlightened Witness’ allowed for a night of tears,  a few of which were from laughter.

Epic Books (226 Locke Street S.) had a table set up with books from every writer at the event. If you missed out on the Author’s Tent event, you can pick one up there.

Overall, the Authors’ Tent was both welcoming and a welcome respite from the noise of Supercrawl. The focus on local writers and local stories made it feel like coming home. It is my personal hope that this event returns next year and every year after that, so it can continue to share insight with Hamiltonians.