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Kuumba Yeah Daily Arts Alert ... by Cathleen Bond Friday, Feb. 2 African Heritage Month kicks off this weekend at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre. Kuumba, the Swahili word for creativity is the appropriate moniker for this diverse event. There's a whole month of Afro-centric events on board that will appeal to any and all ages. This year, there's a big emphasis on intellectual achievement in art and literature. "The only attributes African Americans seem to possess, at least as far as their public image is concerned, are in the areas of sports and entertainment," Lady Sala Shabazz told the Toronto Star yesterday. She's the curator of a Los Angeles museum, and has brought a travelling exhibit of invention by African Americans. Included in her display: the squeegee the traffic light and the golf tee.
Saturday, February 3 Black Book Fair: Different booksellers are displaying a wide variety of books by authors of African descent Soul Kitchen Café: Grab a fork. There's mouth-watering Caribbean and global African cuisine served between 8 p.m and midnight at the Community Gallery Talking Aloud: Part III Words, music and soul: After you finish eating, head over to the Brigantine Room to hear jazz fest regular Dwayne Morgan and local "griots:" (pictured, from left to right, Dwayne Morgan, Jemeni, Afrikaren, and JD Vishus). Morgan has been one of the bright lights on the Canadian poetry scene since 1993 and is worth checking out. His group of artists drops a fresh face on black history, with lyrics by underground Philadelphia and New York poets. Presented by Up from the Roots Entertainment. That's at 9 p.m. in the Brigantine Room. Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the door Sunday, February 4 Each One Teach One's Youth Day 2001: Join the youth rap room to learn about career opportunities and visit the youth services booths. "Entertainment includes Jungle Bouti Orchestra, Do Dat Dance Agency, steppers Black Ice, a hip-hop seminar with Blueprint 4 Life and more." That's from noon to 6 p.m. at York Quay Centre. Admission is free. HarbourKids Creative Workshops: Learn how to make African drums, vests and leg rattles. Plus a featured guest artist! Kids can create in the Harbourfront Centre's Craft Studio from noon to 5 p.m. It costs $2 per child. Sunday Concert: The Lawrence Heights Middle School Choir is a multi-voice African-Canadian heritage choir. The performance runs from 2 - 5 p.m. at the Lakeside Terrace. Free Kardinal Offishall: The Canadian artist "takes hip-hop to the next level. The show's presented in association with Tropicana Community Services." That's Kardinal Offishall a 5 p.m. in the Brigantine Room. For more info on Harbourfront's website:
Fine Art: There are some key shows about to close in some of the larger centers across the country. Here's the skinny on what's about to leave some of Canada's larger galleries.
Prior to this period, people either bought the original or gazed upon it in a gallery. When printmaking arrived, suddenly ordinary folks could hang replications of great works of art in their homes. Furthermore, there was the impact the technology had on the artistic community. Suddenly painters could "communicate their compositional ideas, drawings and paintings to each other internationally for the first time." Thus printmaking thus had a profound impact on both the development of European art and the public's visual imagination.
This show focuses on masters in the development of print-making techniques.
There are twenty-six selected prints on display, which include "early masters
as Israel van Meckenem, Martin Schongauer and Albrecht Dürer, Italian
sixteenth-century printmakers Marcantonio Raimondi, Jacopo de' Barbari and
Federico Barocci, and seventeenth-century artists Jacques Callot, Claude
Lorrain and Rembrandt."
From Durer To Rembrandt until Feb. 4 - Montreal (514) 285-1600 This Sunday the National's hommage to Yves Gaucher will close. The Canadian abstract painter and printmaker died last September. The artist is famous for standing at the foreground of Canada's abstract art scene, as well being "the undisputed leader of Quebec's printmaking renaissance of the Fifties and Sixties." Homage to Yves Gaucher until Feb. 4 - Ottawa 9613) 990-6835 Tracing The Past: Relative Mark, Relative Surfaces, an exhibition of works by Bryan Maycock, closes in Halifax this weekend. Since 1996, Maycock has been working on a series of "two- and three-dimensional works that investigate and reflect upon personal genealogical research. The exploration of parish records and censuses, together with visual information in photographs and maps, provide Maycock information about his ancestors who lived in central London until his generation." Maycock is currently a professor at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.
Works by Bryan Maycock until Feb. 4 Halifax (902) 424-7542
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 Updated each weekday by Cathleen Bond ... bookmark this page and come back for the latest news, reviews and gossip on the Canadian arts scene. RECENT FEATURES: More from our year-end review: >> Public Art >> Film >> Digital >> Visual Art >> Literature >> Dance >> Architecture >> Music and Opera >> TV or not TV
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Of course, that's not say there isn't some music and other entertainment during the month. Here's what's up for the coming weekend:
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has a fascinating exhibit hanging from its
walls. Masterprints of the Fifteenth through the Seventeenth Century: From
Durer To Rembrandt explores the impact the emergence of print-making had on
the public and on the artists.
Twenty clicks through Canadian culture: Test your memory, from Anne
of Green Gables to Shift.