ArtwordBlog

It seems that McMaster is planning to phase out their art history program. Some students and others think this is a bad idea, and they make a good case. I signed their petition to save the program. Here’s the information:

Greetings

My name is Adam Belovari and I am a fourth year Honours Art History student at McMaster University. As a student representative for both the Faculty of Humanities and the School of the Arts on behalf of the art history students I want to voice my concern with the university and the Humanities decision to phase out the McMaster University Art History Program over the next three years. More »

As many of you know,  Ken Steffler – an excellent singer and guitarist – was served a $65 for busking on King Street.

I wrote a letter to Bob Brattina, copying the mayor, the police board and the Spectator. You can Mark Mcneil’s article in the Spec.

I’m also attaching a link to the letter I wrote.
N.B. There is a mistake in the letter. When Ken told me about the incident, I thought it had just happened, on January 14, but it was really on the previous day, January 13.

Today we learned of the death on December 30, 2009, of our dear friend and colleague Barbara Caruso. Barbara’s life-long passion, rigour and commitment to her painting and drawing was a constant source of amazement and inspiration to me. [posted by Judith Sandiford]

Below is the obituary that will appear in the Brantford Expositor on Saturday.   “Barbara Caruso of Paris, Ontario died of cancer in Brantford General Hospital on December 30th, 2009 after a two and a half month illness. She was born in Kincardine, Ontario in 1937. Survived by Nelson Ball, her husband of 44 years, her sisters Joan Caruso and Rosemary Eckert of Toronto and by nieces and nephews, she was predeceased by her parents Tom and Rose Caruso and her sister Thomasina Merritt of Kincardine. Barbara Caruso was a visual artist who dedicated her life to painting, drawing and print making. She was a writer on art and the author of two volumes of memoirs. Barbara is missed by her family, friends in Paris, and by friends in the visual arts and writing communities across Canada and abroad. Cremation has taken place. Memorial donations may be made to a charity of your choice through the Wm. Kipp Funeral Home, Paris (519) 442-3061 or www.wmkippfuneralhome.com”

David Hare’s documentary drama about the Bush administration’s descent into the maelstrom of the Iraq war, “Stuff Happens”, has been given a cracking-good staging by a relatively small Toronto company, Studio 180. The production, directed by Joel Greenberg, has been picked up by the Mirvish organization, and is now running at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. More »

Since we opened the Artword Artbar a few weeks ago, I have been very impressed and humbled by the quality of the performers who have sought us out. The regular Wednesday Arts Hamilton Artshare nights, organized and MC’d by Dave Pomfret, instantly attracted a high calibre of talent. It has turned into a terrific vehicle for getting to know performers, poets and other artists. More »

There’s been a lot of controversy about Sky’s latest play, “Why We Tortured Him”. An article in the Spectator by Susan Claremont expressed shock that Theatre Aquarius should host a play that was “ripped from the headlines” (a quote from the press release) referring to a sensational case of confinement and torture that was still before the courts. More »

Artword’s new project, Artword Artbar and Artword Gallery, at 15 Colbourne Street, Hamilton, will have its doors open during the James North Arts Crawl Friday Aug 14, for a preview peek. There will be music, dance, projections, inside and out on the street.
Things are moving along. Our baby grand piano is coming from Toronto on Monday Aug 17. Watch for our official opening coming soon.
Check the website for event updates: www.artword.net/artbar

We can hardly believe it ourselves. We bought a bar. The Artword Artbar.

It’s just off James Street North (which as everyone knows, is Hamilton’s artistic hotspot), on Colbourne Street. 15 Colbourne, to be exact. It used to be The Three Amigos, catering primarily to a Portuguese clientele.

A darling little box of a freestanding building with a bar, suitable for all kinds of entertainment possibilities, plus a semi-basement bachelor apartment that will become the Artword Gallery. More »

On April 15, two members of the audience for the first preview of Tobacco Troubadour turned out to be undercover by-law enforcement officers, out to bust Gary Santucci and Barbara Milne for running a theatre and an art gallery!This nefarious enterprise, by the way, is located in a neighbourhood notorious throughout Hamilton for crack houses and prostitution.Well, I guess you have to start somewhere!

I must say that I feel rather sick to my stomach, thinking of how Judith welcomed them to our play, performed by local actors, based on songs written and played by Hamilton musicians, telling the story of farmers in Ontario’s tobacco belt.

For some information on what The Pearl is doing for Hamilton, check out the video Hamilton Arts and Heritage, made for the Hamilton Economic Summit held last week. More »