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At 92 years old, Mary Xenos-Whiston is still learning

Xenos-Whinston first attended Concordia, then named Sir George Williams University, in 1950. CATHERINE REYNOLDS/The Concordian

A profile of Concordia’s oldest student

Mary Xenos-Whiston has been a lot of things in her life: a teacher, a mother, and a guide at an art gallery. But the one thing she has always been is a student. At 92 years old, she is Concordia’s oldest student and is currently enrolled in Dr. Nicola Nixon’s American poetry class. 

According to Xenos-Whiston, lately she has been doing the usual: “Going crazy,” to which her daughter Barbara commented, “Being 92 is not for the faint of heart.” 

Despite going crazy, she is still enjoying her class on American Poetry . “I wouldn’t be taking them if I wasn’t really enjoying them,” she said.

“My life is too short for doing things that I don’t enjoy,  like house cleaning.”

Xenos-Whiston was born to Greek immigrants in Verdun, and she’s lived in Montreal her whole life and has watched the city and University change dramatically. Her father owned a restaurant in Verdun, where she recalls it being the first to get a soft-serve ice cream machine. In her early years, much of her life was based around the church. Her and about 50 other Greek families would gather at Holy Trinity for weddings, funerals and Saturday night dances before the church burned down in the 1980s. 

As a girl Xenos-Whiston had a love for learning; she frequently found herself in the top math and science classes while attending Verdun high school and she always had a book with her. 

This love for learning has kept Xenos-Whiston in school for most of her life. She’s taken courses for fun at Concordia since the ’90s. After originally enrolling in English courses, it wasn’t long until she discovered other interests. “I discovered the FFAR [interdisciplinary fine arts] courses, wow,” she exclaimed. “I took a course in Jazz, I took a course in this, I took a course in that, I was just interested in learning.” 

During this time she earned another bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Concordia and has taken many courses in women’s studies. But her history with Concordia goes back to before the school even went by that name.

Mary Xenos-Whiston’s graduate portrait, Sir.George Williams University 1954/ BARBARA WHISTON

Xenos-Whiston began attending Sir George Williams University in 1950, where she received her Bachelor of Arts, majoring in history as one of the few women attending the school. “Girls did not go to university,” Xenos-Whiston said. She recalled a former teacher questioning her about her enrollment on campus one day. 

“What are you doing, going to Sir.George? You’re only going to get married and have children,” she recalled the teacher saying. “And I thought that’s what you think.” 

She did eventually marry and give birth to her daughter Barbara, but she found time for a great deal of academic success along the way. Xenos-Whiston completed a master’s degree in education at McGill in 1978, and a PhD from the University of Montreal in 1990.

After World War II she saw the city transform spectacularly. “The government allowed educated European immigrants to come here in the late ’40s and early ’50s and Montreal changed.” Xenos-Whinston watched as the city’s identity changed around her: what used to be diners became German, Italian and Chinese restaurants.

“Before you knew it, Montreal was a new place. It was great.” 

Concorida’s Iconic Hall building under construction in Crica 1965, 12 years after Xenos-Whiston had graduated from Sir. George Williams University. JACK BORDAN/Concordia Records Management and Archives

After finishing her first degree Xenos-Whiston began teaching in elementary school and spent her days going to the theater. In 1991 she retired. After a life served in education, some people may never want to look at a classroom again. But this was not the case for Xenos-Whiston who continued her education at Concordia.

“Look, some people go to movies. Some people play hockey. Some people spend hours training for things and then going and doing them. I love taking courses,” she said. 

Today, her family sees school as a part of her. 

“I can’t imagine her not being in school,” said her daughter. The only time Whiston could remember her mother not being in school was after she was born, when her mother left teaching for a few years. 

“After that, she’s constantly been a student; it’s part of her identity. I just can’t imagine her not doing it. It’s always been a surprise to hear about what courses she is taking and what papers she is writing, what ideas she is interested in and what she is discovering. It’s kind of fun.” 

Going to school has not always been easy for Xenos-Whiston, who is now legally blind and uses hearing aids. She has note-takers in class and through the Centre for Equitable Library Assistance (CELA) can get accessible copies of texts used in her class. It’s no easy feat, but she is still determined to be in class.

During the pandemic, her courses at Concordia were what kept her going. When her daughter asked if she could have made it through COVID without Concordia, her reply was simple. “No, I would have died.” 

Concordia does offer a senior non-credit program, which allows older people to audit classes. When auditing courses, students don’t have to write papers or exams like they would for credit. But Xenos-Whiston doesn’t have as much interest in this. 

“I did try it out,” she said, “But, to me, a course is not a course until I write the paper. So I decided that I wanted to write the papers.” 

92-year-old Concordia student Mary Xenos-Whinston has been taking courses for fun since the 1990s. CATHERINE REYNOLDS/The Concordian

It’s professors like Dr. Nicola Nixon who’ve inspired her to keep coming back. Nixon is an associate professor in Concordia’s English department and Xenos-Whiston’s professor this semester. 

“It’s not so unusual to have certain older post-retirement people in your courses, auditing,” said Nixon.

“Of course, they don’t want to write essays or write exams or any of those things and her willingness to do so, I find it quite admirable, But for her, it’s part of, you know, kind of immersing herself in the course, as opposed to just having a passive relationship to it.”

Xenos-Whiston and Professor Nixon have known each other for about five years now. “At first it was basically a professor-student relationship,” said Nixon. “I did go to her birthday party this year […] I suppose we’re more friends now than the first few years she was taking courses.”

Nixon says Xenos-Whiston is a good student, she engages with the class and brings in a lot of her own lived experience. Even considering her age, getting good grades has never been something she has struggled with. 

“If I go home, I could write a paper, get it in tomorrow and get an A,” she said. “My transcript is all As.” This is all but one failure from the year when she took philosophy.

However, school has not been her only hobby over the past 92 years. Exercise has been important to her for much of her life and she was an avid swimmer and walker for some time. A love for contemporary art led her to guide tours at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts between 1995 and 2005. 

Also a passionate music fan, she would go to concerts every other week, frequently attending the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the opera occasionally. Her love for music led her to spend years attempting to learn to play piano, but she never quite got the hang of it. “My family struggled, suffered and listened to me for about ten years try to learn the piano,” she said.

“When I die and go to heaven, I’m going to tell her, she was unfair to give me such a love of music but not the skill to do it.”

Despite not being able to play piano, Mary Xenos-Whiston has accomplished much in her life. At 92 years old she holds four degrees, “Most of it out of sheer curiosity and for pleasure’s sake rather than anything else,” said her daughter. 

But Xenos-Whiston still plans on taking courses. Her only dilemma is deciding if she will leave English for a while and take some more FFAR courses. When asked if she had ever considered taking Hip Hop: Beats, Rhymes and Life, a popular FFAR course at Concordia, she said she hadn’t, but did add “maybe in another 10 years.”

Categories
Arts

FEATURE: People, innovation, or bricks, mortar and art stacked in a corner?

Happening in and around the White Cube this week… digging into the world of art & finance at Concordia and beyond

“If culture is valuable, culture works should be valued the same way, not just verbally,” said Marc Lanctôt, curator and Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal (MAC) union delegate.

According to an article in The New York Times, “wealthy donors are generally happy to contribute to construction projects – often drawn by naming opportunities – they are far less excited about subsidizing unsexy operating expenses, like salaries and benefits.”

Public spreadsheets that document and protest unpaid internships and unfair wages in the industry currently include over 4,000 entries from museum professionals all over the world, including Montreal.

The MAC is among the six Montreal-based entries on the spreadsheet. There are two active unions at the MAC, one of which is for front-of-house staff and educators. The other is for professionals: conservators, curators, education tour managers and workshop leaders, registrar’s office, art transportation, collections management, communications and press relations, etc.

MAC Pros striking during their break. Photo by Cecilia Piga.

The employees at the MAC were under a common agreement (like a contract) which expired in 2015, although the conditions are still applicable today and provisions in the contract are still applied. However, there have been no financial changes, no pay increases since 2015 and certain provisions no longer pertain to the reality on the ground. Their bosses have no incentives to make any changes.

Their employers are keeping that money, spending it on renovations and increasing their own salaries. Simply put, Lanctôt suggests the museum should not “spend on what we can’t afford if we can’t pay our people right.” He added that John Zeppetelli, MAC Director and Chief Curator, is “acting like his hands are tied, that he isn’t really the director of the museum, the government is.”

This is a multi-tiered problem […] how we organize work and labour needs to be rethought,” said Lanctôt.

“We want salary increases comparable to those granted to our bosses over the past five years,” wrote @prosdumacmontreal on Instagram on Oct. 6. The affected workers have been actively protesting since Sept. 17, doing public interventions and striking on their breaks and during peak museum hours, such as the Janet Werner opening on Oct. 30.

“We have nine more strike days up our sleeve that will be deployed at strategic times,” said Lanctôt. “Everything that has to do with culture in Quebec and Canada is highly accountable to the state and public funding, very arcane. Issues are bogged down in complicated spreadsheets and legal labour language. We don’t want the public to lose track of what’s a stake; we have to stop gauging away at cultural workers. It’s the people that matter. Otherwise, it’s just bricks and mortar and art stacked in a corner.”

The Art + Museum Transparency group has stated that “many of the most vigilant and vocal activists in the current movement are those working front-of-house positions […] gallery security officers, education, retail and visitor services staff.” These labour activists are fighting the institution’s growth, urging cuts of unnecessary expenses and “fancy” renovations in favour of protection from unjust firing, basic healthcare insurance coverage, paid parental leave, and so on.

“Pas de pros, pas d’expos!”

“Museums remain extremely hierarchical, with power concentrated in the hands of a very few who dictate benefits, wages and workplace procedures out of step with the economic realities of our time,” reads the same statement by the Art + Museum Transparency group.

Museum staff are unionizing across the United States with the Marciano Art Foundation Union (MAF), and continue to prove the viability of the field, urging institutions to embrace Graduate and Undergraduate student internships instead of pushing them out, forcing them to consider otherwise.

At Concordia, the VAV Gallery has just released its 2019-20 Year Plan. It discloses their financial constraints by breaking down their budget and emphasizing the measures being taken to remedy the issue. The slow, accumulated deficit was not noticeable in last year’s financial report. Dropping by big chunks every year due to the gallery’s ambitious developments, they were forced to downsize from last year’s programming.

This year, the VAV Gallery will host smaller shows, showing larger bodies of work from three or four artists, working one on one with them to create a tailored exhibition plan. The exhibitions – now numbered and not titled in order to avoid lumping artists together with broad themes – will be more cohesive, focusing on overlaps between individual practices.

Alexia McKindsey, the VAV’s financial coordinator, knew the decision would come as a shock to Concordia Fine Arts students, but the reality is that if these drastic measures aren’t taken, the gallery won’t be able to operate next year.

We never wanted it to come to this,” said McKindsey. “This is the worst case scenario.”

Having cancelled their winter artist call-out, three out of four Fine Arts students contacted by The Concordian, who have chosen to remain anonymous, said they would consider opting out of the VAV’s fee levy should it increase from $0.85 to $1 per credit.

“The gallery has already selected its programming for the entire year – why am I paying for something that is not giving me the opportunity to show my work?,” said one student, an Art Education major.

“Especially when last year’s programming was excellent, I see no reason why a top level fine arts undergrad university can’t have a student gallery that can offer the space for students to exhibit their work, attend events and be engaged in the Montreal arts scene,” said another student. The Studio Arts major said this in regards to the $5.6 million donation to the faculty from the Peter N. Thomson Family Trust, received last spring. “It feels like things are happening up top and the students don’t have a say, like an extension of Cafe X closing.”

The faculty received this incredible donation, but where is it? In the big hole where the VA garden used to be?

Despite last year’s incident – the tragic death of art education student and sweet child of the universe, Ming Mei Ip – there are still no basic services in the building.

No one cares about the VA. We are the smallest faculty and the most neglected building on campus,” said McKinsdey. “We don’t know enough about where our fee-levies go and how we benefit from them as students.”

FASA, we love you, we know you’re doing your best, but like, the Art + Museum Transparency group stated, these institutions – universities, museums and galleries alike – remain powerful hierarchical structures out of touch with the social and economic realities they are surrounded by.

According to McKindsey, the donation isn’t reaching the VAV Gallery or any other student-run, fee-levy projects. Concordia has a weird system when it comes to money. For anyone who has ever received an honorarium or has had to be reimbursed by the university, this isn’t new information.

Unlike the gallery’s transparency, the money donated to the university and specific faculties isn’t being disclosed to students. Rumours around student organizations is that it’s a cyclical system, hinting to a new, “innovative” project unfolding towards the end of the year.

Funding opportunities for student projects

The Fine Arts Student Alliance (FASA) just released their Broke Student Handbook, which provides students with accessible and low-cost options for everything from art-making materials, funding opportunities, academic services and basic necessities.

Among these services are the Regroupement des Artistes en Arts Visuels (RAAV) and L’Artisan du Renouveau et de la Transformation Écologique (ARTÉ). RAAV is an association of artists that represent and defend the interests of Quebec artists. ARTÉ is an independent company mandated by the city of Montreal to manage the reuse centres.

Not many are aware of the numerous showcasing and funding opportunities available for student projects across the university. FASA Special Project Grants, the Concordia Council on Student Life (CCSL),  the Concordia University Small Grants Program (CUSGP), the Concordia University Alumni Association (CUAA), the Sustainability Action Fund and Concordia Student Union Special Project Funding are among the many programs that will encourage eligible student projects, new clubs, publications, events and more.

Showcasing platforms outside of the White Cube

Outside of student newspapers, Concordia is home to several publications. Some journals linked to various departments, like the InArte Journal, CUJAH and others offer free range to most students. Soliloquies, Yiara and l’Organe all offer a creative platform for writers and artists. Their difference lies in the language they are diffused in: l’Organe is in French, Yiara is bilingual and inter-university, and Soliloquies focuses on creative writing, poetry and prose, bringing together creative English-speaking students across the university.

A new addition to this list is Scribbles which, unlike Yiara and the InArte Journal which accept submissions from all departments within the Faculty of Fine Arts, will accept creative work from students across the university.

The magazine’s executive team doesn’t follow the typical publication masthead, similar to The Concordian’s editor/assistant structure. Instead, they have a president and various VPs and coordinators, characteristic of clubs within the John Molson School of Business (JMSB). That being said, the executive team is not restricted to JMSB students. Communications, behavioural neuroscience, software engineering and creative writing are among the team’s majors.

“In addition to our publications, we have the goal of informing students about the creative world by holding conferences with actual writers, journalists, artists and so on,” said Scribbles President Sara Shafiei, BComm Marketing.

The launch of the first publication took place on Oct. 30. Attendees paid $15, giving the magazine a head start.

“Guests were able to get their hands on a copy before anyone else and simply enjoy some food and music while celebrating with the team and getting to talk with other creative students,” said Shafiei. “We are brand new, don’t have many sponsors and are still growing as a committee. We received a small amount of funds from CSU which was barely enough to get our first edition printed. The event itself had costs, as hospitality also charged us. The tickets helped us fund the event. However, our magazine itself [is] free.”

Throughout the first weeks of November, Scribbles’s first issue will be placed around campus for students to pick up.

Interdepartmental and cross-faculty pollination is what makes our projects stronger, making voices louder, as students stand in solidarity as young creators and entrepreneurs.

Projects like Concordi’art – which claims to create a space for both fine arts and business students – really just focus on commercializing and capitalizing on pre-existing ideas. The group’s recent Bob Ross paint night at Reggies, which was sponsored by Concordia Stores, charged students $15 to paint along with a projection. They did not collaborate with the Department of Art Education, who would have been more than thrilled to assist. Concordi’art did not respond to The Concordian for comment.

The VAV Gallery is looking to collaborate with other departments and fee-levy groups for their winter programming. Among these are plans to coordinate a special exhibition with the Fine Arts Reading Room, the InArte Journal, CUCCR, Art Matters and more.

Clara Micheau, FASA Finance Coordinator and representative of the Faculty of Fine Arts for la Planète s’invite à l’Université (LPSU) at Concordia, posted on the Concordia Fine Arts Student Network Facebook page on Nov. 5, urging students to vote against online opt-outs in the upcoming CSU by-election (Nov. 12-14).

“Art Matters is not the only fee-levy group we are talking about here,” wrote Micheau. “People’s Potato is one, as is Queer Concordia, Cinema Politica, Food Coalition, Centre for Gender Advocacy, The Concordian and more. They all provide life-saving services to you or your friends or that student you don’t know but who has found their support group in them. They are everywhere, supporting our community.”

Fee-levy groups can offer superb opportunities to enhance careers and build reputable references, in any faculty. For more information and to encourage fee-levy groups, visit the Vote No Facebook Event.

 

 

Graphics by Chloë Lalonde (@ihooq2)

Shining a neon light on the history of ink

Tattoo Box Traditional’s storefront. Photo by Victoria Lewin.

At Tattoo Box Traditional, you’ll learn about more than just tattoo aftercare

Decked out in blown up portraits of World War I veterans and acetates dating back to the early 1900s, the walls of recently opened Tattoo Box Traditional tell a story. Artist Kate Middleton, living in France and working out of Montreal, began construction at Tattoo Box Traditional in August of last year. Originally meant to combat construction planned on Pine Ave. W., where her primary shop is located, she’s now hoping for the new location to double as a tattoo museum.

Artist Liam Lavoie tattoos his colleague on a quiet day at Tattoo Box Traditional. Photo by Victoria Lewin.

Collecting historical acetates and framed prints from artists she’s worked with over her career, Middleton has adorned the shop with bits and pieces of tattoo history. While the location only opened this summer, Owen Jensen, Sailor Jerry, Walter Torun, Zeke Owens and Jack Rudy are just a few noteworthy mentions who’s artwork can already be seen at Tattoo Box Traditional. Middleton said she’s only just getting started, “I have so much memorabilia that I have yet to get in there.”

Middleton holds up the sketchbook of renowned artist Zeke Owens, who tattooed service men and women during and pre-war. Photo by Victoria Lewin.

While residing in Avignon, France, Middleton also runs Livre and Let Die Books and Art Supplies on Pine Ave. E., as well as a small media studio out of California, her hometown. Ensuring the shop promotes a safe and open space for staff and clientele is one of Middleton’s top priorities. Being a female and lesbian tattoo artist, she said “misogyny is the biggest hurdle I’ve ever had to overcome, in myself and facing it from others. That needs to be ended before anyone or any gay woman can progress in their life.” Though the essence of Middleton’s vision is to showcase tattoo history, artwork that is traditionally misogynistic, racist, and otherwise offensive won’t make the cut in this tattoo museum.

An acetate from the early 1900s by famous American tattoo artist Paul Rogers. Photo by Victoria Lewin.

As a lesbian woman, Middleton works hard to ensure the shop maintains an open, safe space for all LGBTQ+ individuals. Photo by Victoria Lewin.

Artists work on various projects during the snowstorm in Montreal on Feb. 13. Photo by Victoria Lewin.

The shop offers free breast cancer ribbon and semicolon tattoos, symbolizing depression. Photo by Victoria Lewin.

Shop decor includes walls of art from various artists Middleton has met and worked with over the years. Photo by Victoria Lewin.

 

Tattoo Box Traditional is located at 1757 Amherst St. More information can be found on their website: tattooboxmontreal.com.

Photos by Victoria Lewin.

Following the tide of artistic creation

Lin has been teaching at Concordia since she was a graduate student in 2001. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

Part-time studio arts instructor Jenny Lin on how her practice continues to evolve

“I’ve been working in a really introspective way,” Jenny Lin said of her recent artistic endeavours. The visual artist and part-time Concordia professor has found herself in what seems to be a creative ebb—drawing back from her usual schedule to make room for new projects and pursuits.

One glance at Lin’s resume will reveal how busy she’s been over the past couple of decades, with most of her artistic work taking place during her teaching career at Concordia. “I feel like I can be a better teacher when I’m actually making work,” she said. A 2018 recipient of the Fine Arts Distinguished Teaching Award, Lin is soft spoken yet firmly present.

Lin began teaching at the university during her master’s degree in print media in 2001. She taught a screenprinting course in her third year, but upon graduating, found herself unsure about a career as a teacher. Instead, Lin worked in the studio arts office for a few years before Tony Patricio, the office administrator, convinced her to apply for a teaching position. She got her first teaching job in 2004 and has been an instructor at Concordia ever since.

“It made me a bit more confident and sure that I wanted to do this,” Lin said about landing her first gig. What started as a few occasional classes developed into a steady schedule, and by 2007, Lin had solidified her place at the university.

Lin’s screenprinted zine, avoid taking too personally or literally, 2018. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Lin said her job as a professor influences her creative career, and vice versa. “It’s inspiring to be around people making art and [to] get to talk about what they’re doing, and help guide them through the process,” she said. “The teaching really inspires me to keep making work.” Keeping an open creative channel between work and play is essential for both aspects of her practice to succeed, Lin said. “[I’m] lucky to be able to work in the studio art [department]. Both things feed each other.”

It’s fair to say that she’s found the balance, because Lin’s artistic biography is staggering. Since her time as an undergraduate student at the University of Calgary, Lin has racked up over 150 credits in group and solo exhibitions, video screenings, residencies, artists’ book collections and workshops. But her list of accomplishments isn’t what Lin considers to be most important—it’s the people she’s been able to work with, and certain projects that have her particularly inspired.

Although Lin completed her master’s degree in print media, she also took video courses while studying at Concordia. At the time, Lin was interested in creating art through non-physical means. Though she has shifted gears a little since her graduate work, this is a sentiment the artist continues to investigate. “I feel interested in [the] different ways that people can be reached by an artwork,” she said. “It’s interesting that someone could see something on the web, in their house, or on a random computer, and enter into this world—like a story—that they get immersed in.”

In her recent projects, Lin has been more focused on print media and zine work. These works can be immersive in their own way, she explained. In addition to being a tangible medium that the viewer can interact with, “artists’ books can fit in many spaces,” she said. Opposed to more traditional work that only appears in a gallery, for example, zines and artists’ books facilitate a more intimate relationship between work and viewer, Lin said.

The artist said she feels more distant from the virtual world now than she did while creating video and digital work. “The way that I was presenting it, or the way that people were accessing it felt a little unsatisfying,” she explained. Lin refocused her practice, leading her to build quite an extensive collection of artists’ books, host bookmaking and zinemaking workshops, and participate in zine fairs across the country with her partner Eloisa Aquino, who is also an artist. Lin and Aquino publish some of their collaborative work under the name B&D Press.

The artist’s 2016 poster/zine titled That which separates you and I or here and there. Photo courtesy of the artist.

As for why she’s drawn to bookmaking and published work specifically, Lin said “[zinemaking] is a way to create a space for more marginalized voices, and also to create a different space where it’s about encountering different people.” She has worked with a variety of groups in efforts to showcase art from marginalized groups, such as the Qouleur collective, which focuses on art and activism of people of colour within the LGBTTQ+ community. According to its Twitter page, Qouleur also hosts a “festival celebrating racialized queer/trans* identities and experience.” Lin said she connected with many people, and was inspired by the time she spent working with Qouleur.

In 2015, Lin helped create the Queer Print Club at Concordia. The artist said she “felt there was a need to bring something more collective and more political into the studios, [and] it seemed like the perfect thing to bridge the community, and the art studios, and teaching in this institution.” According to Lin’s website, the club encourages undergraduate students to “[create] projects that explore the collaborative, community-based and democratic aspects of print.”

Although some may see print media and zine work as disposable, Lin believes in its ability to connect with and create space for those not reflected in the mainstream art scene. In mainstream publishing, for example, “there’s way more distance between the artist and the audience,” Lin said. She also finds smaller, physical artworks refreshing in an age of social media and technological inundation. “A physical object touches and impacts a person differently, and stays with them in a way that’s different than looking at something online and scrolling through or clicking through,” she said.

“[Zine work] is a way to create a space for more marginalized voices, and also to create a different space where it’s about encountering different people,” said Lin. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.
This is not to say that Lin considers virtual or computer-generated art forms to be inferior to her recent endeavours in print media. The artist referenced Montreal-based publishing company and studio Anteism as a current example of how to bridge the gap between virtual experience and physical work. According to Lin, Anteism experiments with artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) in tandem with publishing. Lin is particularly inspired by the work the studio does with artists’ books. Although she has worked in the fields of AR and print media throughout her creative career, Lin admitted, “I’m not at a point where I know what to do with it myself.”

This artist also cited Zohar Kfir’s Testimony virtual reality (VR) project as insight into how computer-generated content can be used to express reality. Kfir’s project involves testimonies from sexual assault survivors that the viewer is told through VR—they are confronted with looking at the subject while they tell their story, as if they were face to face. “I like the idea that people identify issues with technology,” Lin said. “If there’s a lack of something […], people try to make work that addresses that. There are more and more people that are trying to humanize the experience of VR.”

Lin’s home studio. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

As of now, Lin has a few projects in the works, and although she admits they’re progressing slowly, she knows which direction they’re headed in. The artist’s recent introspection has highlighted key ideas that she wants to explore further. Lin explained that she wants to create works by “trying to pinpoint emotional responses to different situations, and gathering really random and fragmented thoughts and fragmented images, and pairing them together […] to create something that feels cathartic.”

Lin mentioned that her teaching schedule has reduced, allowing more time for creative pursuits, whatever those may be. She is currently working on a project with Aquino involving the Quebec Gay Archives. According to their website, “the Quebec Gay Archives have a mandate to acquire, conserve and preserve any handwritten, printed, visual or audio material which testify to the history of the LGBTQ+ communities of Quebec.” Lin and Aquino are interested in exploring queer people’s responses to their collections.

Lin has also started an AR book in collaboration with Anteism, however it’s still in its early stages. “I feel like I’ve opened up more time purposefully,” the artist said, and although she has a few projects on the horizon, Lin is still waiting for them to take shape. “It’s just part of the process,” she said with a reassuring nod.

See more of Lin’s work on her website: jenny-lin.ca

More of Lin and Aquino’s collaborative work can be found on their website: banddpress.blogspot.com

Feature photo by Gabe Chevalier

Categories
News

Concordia dance professor and choreographer, Florence Figols, combines research with the art of choreography

Exploring sensorial connections through dance around the world

Passionate, award-winning choreographer, Florence Figols has been fusing research with choreography to further explore body movement and its sensorial connections. She has been teaching at Concordia’s Department of Contemporary Dance for the past 20 years. The main classes she teaches are Choreography and the Creative Process.

“Dance was always present [in my life]. I was always choreographing in my living room,” said Figols. From her living room to an international audience, Figols’s choreographies and dance workshops have been presented in New York, Spain, Brazil, Puerto Rico and Argentina.

Figols is a second-generation Canadian. Her parents immigrated here to escape the civil war in Spain. Upon settling in Montreal, Figols’s mother wanted her and her sister to dance. She took her daughters to a dance school in Little Burgundy, where Figols would attend ballet lessons every Saturday morning for the next five years. At 14 years old, Figols switched to ballet-jazz and then discovered contemporary dance.

A glimpse of Figols’s dance workshop “Corpo sensivel, corpo relacional: composiçao sensorial” at the Instituto de Artes, University of Brasilia, Brazil in 2017. Photo courtesy of Florence Figols.

“I don’t know if it’s dance that chooses you or if you choose dance,” said Figols. “At one point the power is so strong—so overwhelming; you feel so connected when you dance. You feel the soul, the brain, the heart, the spirit, the body, the world; you feel everything connecting together. It’s so powerful. For me, it’s food. I need it, you understand?” she said.

Although Figols’s first love was dance, when it was time to choose a field of study upon completing high school, Figols chose chemistry. She studied chemistry for three years at Collège Ahuntsic. According to Figols, at the time there were no dance degrees offered at universities. “Despite that, I always kept dancing,” she said.

Figols went to work in the Northern Quebec region of Port-Cartier. She worked there as a chemical technician in a laboratory. In Port-Cartier, a dance company had recently opened where Figols would attend rehearsals in the evenings and on weekends. “We would do dance shows and tour around cities in Northern Quebec such as Sept-Îles and Havre Saint-Pierre—it was great,” she said. “I then realised that I cannot live without dance.” By then, dance was a degree option at universities so Figols applied to the Department of Contemporary Dance at Concordia University and was accepted.

What attracted Figols to choreography was the ability to creatively explore her background. “It was a way to search for a space within me that is empty. A space that is not filled up with information—a space that will remain a mystery,” she said.

“My parents escaped a dictatorship regime, it was hard for them to speak about the past, about the things that happened on the other side of the Atlantic. There are a lot of things about their life that I do not know because they were not saying it,” explained Figols. “Because of the absence of words [from my parents], the absence of my origin, my past, it gave me a territory to dive into, to explore—that notion of identity, connection, empathy, memory [through choreography],” she said.

In 1995, Figols continued to pursue her education by attending the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and working towards a master’s degree in dance. During her master’s, she explored the creative process of dance through sensorial relationships of the body and its surroundings. “My son was three years old and my daughter was five months at the time. I did my master’s degree part-time and it was amazing. It was a beautiful and very rich period [of my life],” said Figols. This was when Figols was first introduced to sensoriality.

According to Figols, it is believed that there are only five senses, but there are in fact many more. “It’s as if your body is an orchestration. The body is an instrument, you can dance anywhere, anytime—it’s freedom,” she said. “A poetic body will create connection through space and time with its environment, other dancers and music.”

It was during the completion of her master’s that Figols interest in science intersected with her passion for dance, and she began studying proprioceptive movements. According to Figols, the receptors of movements are inside our bodies and just like our skin, they are distributed evenly everywhere. “I am moving, but I need to embody the distance that is between us,” explained Figols. “It’s all about connections—these connections are always changing. Nothing is fixed; everything is flux,” she said. “The way you train the attention is also moving in the body—even stillness is a movement.” Her main focus in research is sensory connections; Figols worked extensively on the haptic sense, which can be seen through a variety of her dance choreographies.

“I need to let my body speak during a performance. It’s a discipline to not own the movement but to let yourself be affected by the movement—that’s where we see the transformation,” said Figols. Stage presence, micro-politics of the dancing body and embodiment are also important elements which inspired her research and choreography.

“As soon as you say: ‘I am going to be present,’ it’s finished—you are already in the future, you are projecting a result,” explained Figols. “Being really in the present as much as you can, automatically will amplify your stage presence.”

In terms of micro-politics of the dancing body, Figols explored two questions: “Why isn’t there contemporary dance in totalitarian regimes? Why do communist countries like ballet so much?”

According to Figols, proprioception is the sense of self and that is why dances which inhibit this are not celebrated in certain regimes. “Contemporary dance is about the sense of self […]. It has no one traditional style that is transmitted from one generation to the next such as in ballet, salsa and tango,” she explained.

Figols believes that the body is the best technology ever created. “Our bodies are an infinite landscape. There are a lot of layers, a lot of processes in the body. It is not only muscle and skeleton,” she said. “When you discover everything that is happening right now; you are thinking, observing, your heart is beating, you are digesting, so many processes are occuring all at once.”

As Figols continued to explore the chemistry of the senses, she created mute / sense veu / en silence, which was named Best Choreography of 2006 by Hour’s Best. Within this piece, she used the map of her political origins as a metaphor to investigate methods of communication with her dancers. According to Figols, ‘Sense Veu’ in Catalan means without voice. “It was a real relationship between two people, a relationship with tension. I questioned the fears of the performers as well as my very own [fears] as a choreographer,” Figols said.

“There was a beautiful scene when one of the dancers was dancing on the back wall and the other dancer was throwing clementines at her. The audience was laughing at that scene— which was great because it meant they were engaged in the performance—but for me [the inspiration] came from the civil war in Spain, where people were killed against walls,” said Figols.

In 2008, Figols created and presented a dance piece called Transparent Shift, which was inspired by a tragic accident that happened to her in 1996. “I was hit by a bus and had to stay in bed not moving very much. I was looking at the ceiling and at one point I thought, ‘What if the ceiling was a stage?’” A few years later, Figols built a transparent stage with a table made of plexiglass, and a dancer would dance on top of the table while the audience watched from beneath. Transparent Shift was also presented in 2017 at the event “L’art comme cognition incarnée” at Hexagram, UQAM.

Since 2012, Figols has been a member of the Senses and Society Thematic Group, which she attends every two years. She is the session organizer for the art sector of the conference and has traveled to Japan, Austria and Toronto to present topics such as Performing Arts and the Senses, Artistic Practices and the Senses and Fluid Borders: Sensory Interactions in the Arts.

One of Figols’s most recent projects is called Choreo-Haptic Encounters, which she has been working on since 2015. Her research on the haptic sense has brought Figols the opportunity to travel to Puerto Rico, Brazil and Argentina where she linked resiliency with choreography.

“I went to Buenos Aires and I worked with sociologists who use movements and art to do their own research and I had the chance to share all my creative processes which was very interesting and all my choreography work as well,” Figols said. She led a workshop in Buenos Aires and in Brasilia, where she spoke about Choreo-Haptic Encounters. “The haptic is the touch and movement combined,” explained Figols. Through her Choreo-Haptic performances, the objective is to stop judgement, to create a scenario where there is no possibility of categorizing identity. “The goal is to encourage a physical sensation,” said Figols.

To represent her project, Figols decided to work with two dancers who had never met each other before. Each dancer had their faces completely covered and were not allowed to speak. “At first you don’t know the colour of their skin, their accent, their identity,” she said. “I gave them different kinds of experiences such as sitting next to each other, pushing each other. Only through touch and feeling could they feel and deduce.”

Upon her return to Montreal, Figols spoke with her colleague, Melissa Raymond, an artist, urbanist, choreographer and Concordia alumna. Raymond assisted Figols during her dance presentation in Puerto Rico and is familiar with the Choreo-Haptic process.

“When I came back to Montreal we were having a coffee together and the idea of combining [a café experience] and the Haptic sense came together,” Figols said. According to her, the goal was to deliver this haptic experience to everyone, not only to dancers but to the general public.

Figols then realised that there was no longer a need for representation. “The participant is the performer and the audience at once,” she explained. “There is no spectator— it’s a participative installation –people are not watching this encounter because this would take away from the haptic experience. When people are watching you, you know that they are observing you and this can alter your experience.”

Figols and Raymond presented the first Haptic-Café experience in Montreal in September 2018 at an arts festival called Festival du Temps et du Silence. According to Figols, people came to participate, not knowing who was sitting in front of them and at the end of the event, they would reveal their identities and exchange their experiences. “Within a little book they left their testimony of the experience. This gave me the confidence to keep going. I might propose it here [at Concordia] at the SenseLab,” said Figols.

Many of Figols projects were made possible with the help from the professional development at Concordia University Part-Time Faculty Association (CUPFA). According to Figols, CUPFA helped her obtain opportunities for further research on an international spectrum. “The university promotes research, but to do research you need funds to pay the dancers, to go to different events around the world,” said Figols.

Figols emphasized the importance of trying to put herself in the shoes of her students when working on course material, teaching methods and activities. “I tell myself that I am a 22-year-old student in 2019, and I ask myself, ‘What is the world like today? What do the students need, what will make them feel more equipped, more strong?’,” she said. “The goal is to give them tools for creation and for them to discover themselves.”

 

 

Uncovering Indigenous knowledge in nature

A trail guides visitors to one of the plaques. Photos by Hussain Almahr and Maria Lucia Albarracin.

Two students explore the history of Montreal’s First Nations in the Botanical Garden

The Olympic Stadium looms in the background as snow slowly falls on The First Nations Garden. Part of the Montreal Botanical Garden, the installation was founded in 2001 with the help of Innu singer Florent Vollant. While the rest of Montreal resembles any other North American metropolis, the garden is one of the few spaces in the city that still honours its Indigenous history. However, the relationship between Indigenous knowledge and urban spaces is much more complex than a single spot in the middle of the city.

According to the Espace pour la vie Montréal website, the garden is intended to represent the knowledge of Montreal First Nations. “Native people were ecologists before the term was ever coined,” the website reads. “Over time, they acquired an intimate knowledge of nature, knowing exactly where in its natural habitat to find a particular plant to meet a specific need.” This knowledge has been suppressed by settlers’s hegemonic education system that values European traditions and actively subordinates Indigenous knowledge in the process. This settler legacy is reflected in the way the city is designed; there is a lack of visual indication that Montreal is on unceded land.

The Olympic Stadium looms in the background of the First Nations Garden. Photos by Hussain Almahr and Maria Lucia Albarracin.

The Olympic Stadium, which stands directly beside the garden, is quite indicative of the city’s priorities. The stadium is a representation of the way Montreal sought to attract visitors, grow its economy and give the city international recognition—during the Olympics, all eyes were on Montreal. The economic benefits of the stadium did not necessarily go according to plan, with maintenance costing millions of dollars, making the stadium a financial burden. According to CBC, the project cost taxpayers more than $1.5 billion dollars, despite the fact that then-mayor Jean Drapeau said there would be no deficit.

Photos by Hussain Almahr and Maria Lucia Albarracin.

The Saint Lawrence River also suffers. Mohawks, or Kanien’keh, have a special tie to the river; it is a place for traditional fishing, which provides people with a constant source of sustenance. Despite this, the Saint Lawrence is polluted and uncared for. In an interview with the CBC, Eric Kanatakeniate McComber, a local traditional fisherman, spoke about the state of the river, saying “People are so detached from the river now, they only notice it when they go over the bridge or to go to the movies. We were people of the river here, before the seaway was made 60 years ago. People used to live and fish off that river.”

This is why the First Nations Garden is important—it is a physical space that represents knowledge that has long been suppressed in Montreal. The garden provides information about plants, crafts and activities that various First Nations around Montreal continue to practice and engage with. Plaques around the garden inform visitors of the traditions and practices of various tribes. One plaque explains the differences between the canoe bark of each of the Nations; Malecite canoes have very elaborate decorations, while the Cree canoe is more rough. Birchbark was also used to make baskets and decoys with designs inspired by plants and animals, sometimes with a geometric flare.

Photos by Hussain Almahr and Maria Lucia Albarracin.

The organizers and builders of the garden consulted with various First Nations about what to include in it. One of these features is a sweat lodge, a structure made for a ritual meant to cleanse the mind and spirit, while also serving as a rite of passage. It is said that sweat lodges are also used in a ceremony to transition from one life stage to another. According to one of the plaques, from the mid 1800s until 1951, the Canadian government banned the use of sweat lodges, which affected the dissemination of traditions in many Indigenous communities. The garden’s designers decided to include a sweat lodge in order to provide a space to alleviate the stresses that Indigenous people face.

Inside a sweat lodge. Photos by Hussain Almahr and Maria Lucia Albarracin.

Mohawk elder Sedalia Fazio conducts the sweat lodge ceremonies in the garden. Fazio is outspoken when it comes to the violence that Indigenous people face. At a recent public inquiry for mistreatment of Indigenous people in Quebec, she condemned the not-guilty ruling of the killing of 22-year-old Colten Boushie.

In the city, places like the First Nations Garden are reflections of how Indigenous spaces are distinct and cordoned off, instead of being incorporated into the population’s everyday life. The colonial impact on Montreal is felt everyday, but is practically invisible to settlers. For example: Montreal’s streets are named after colonial explorers and officials. This city sits on unceded Indigenous territory, yet there are many representations of European colonialism, and very little of Indigenous peoples. According to Francis Adyanga Akena, a professor of education who studied the relationship between colonialism and the production of Indigenous knowledge in Uganda, Western education systems devalue Indigenous knowledge. This stifles the growth and emancipation of Indigenous knowledge in society as a whole, and within Indigenous communities as well.

Cattails, or passwekenak in Algonquin and pisekan in Attikamek, are commonly used as a remedy by the Algonquin people. Photos by Hussain Almahr and Maria Lucia Albarracin.

At a time when we are finally beginning to acknowledge the cultural, ecological and spiritual value of Indigenous peoples, it is crucial to also question the European foundation of Montreal.

By fostering more Indigenous places in cities, like the Native Friendship Centre of Montreal and the First Nation Garden, we can challenge the hegemony of European settler values and knowledge systems.

Story and photos by Hussain Almahr and Maria Lucia Albarracin

Uniting strangers in Spain

Graphic by Ana Bilokin

Students share their memories of a summer exchange program.

Our first day on the University of Santiago de Compostela campus began with rain dripping down our eager faces. In those first moments, we were strangers, but soon enough we became friends sharing umbrellas.

As the international exchange director shared information about the facilities on campus in Spanish, I looked around me and saw a vast green space and beautiful architecture carved in warm gray stone. No amount of rain could wipe the smile off my face. Here I was, in a foreign country, where I couldn’t understand a single word the director said. Yet, I felt a thirst for unforgettable adventures.

To describe the life-changing effect Spain had on me, I would need a room filled with quirky nonsensical phrases, best friends dancing to Reggaeton music and Galician culinary delights. It was truly a sensory experience, where gardens invaded Momo’s pub and floral jasmine flowers intoxicated us during long Spanish fiestas. Although I wish the six weeks had stretched on for years, I know I enjoyed every moment.

The St. James Festival comes to mind, a celebration of one of Jesus’s apostles and the patron saint of the famous pilgrimage route, Camino de Santiago, which dates back to the ninth century. University students, mothers, school children and religious devotees from all over the world walk for days, possibly months to see the baroque, Renaissance and Romanesque stone cathedral, which is said to contain the relics of St. James.

This grandiose cathedral marks one of the final destinations of this medieval pilgrimage route, therefore pilgrims can often be found in the central square staring up at the monument in triumph.

The festival is the busiest time of the year for Santiago de Compostela, with crowds of sweaty, proud and exuberantly smiling people ready to celebrate life, hardship and faith. The town did not disappoint with its free, public events that promote perseverance and Spain’s love for celebration. Every night, musicians of every genre performed throughout the old city. I heard everything from afrobeats to flamenco guitar players to famous feminist rappers.

During that time, the daylight hours were filled with traditional Galician costume competitions, food from the Atlantic Ocean and fringe political rallies. The nights were a different story. Whether we drank delicious Galician beer at a free show or watched fireworks from the park near the university, we embraced the famous Spanish phrase “La vida son dos días,” or ‘Life is two days.’ Its meaning is that we should enjoy the moments we have because they may be our last (or perhaps it means everyday is like a weekend… I am still trying to figure it out).

Now the clear night sky reflects the shining faces of my estrellas—the stars I discovered on my pilgrimage to embrace divine youth.

– Melodie Ratelle, Contributor

The Santiago Cathedral. Photo by Milagros Lopez Daglio.

If I were to make a list of the greatest things in my life, my experience in Santiago de Compostela is probably in the top five.

I didn’t know I could find so much happiness in learning a new language. It’s mind blowing to be able to understand bits of conversations in Spanish when I walk Montreal’s streets now.

I also wasn’t involved in student life prior to this adventure, and I seldom interacted with students from other faculties.
Santiago was gorgeous, with the most wonderful atmosphere. Rather than being filled with tourists posing for their social media accounts, people took photos to remind themselves of their arrival at the end of a long pilgrimage. People came from all over the world to end up at the Santiago Cathedral. Smiles and laughter were everywhere as people reveled in their accomplished journeys.
I know I will visit Santiago de Compostela again because there really is something special there. I can’t thank the peers who joined me on this trip enough for bringing something I was missing into my life. ¡Salud!

–Adriana Schwinghamer, Contributor

It’s checked off my bucket list. I can now say I lived in Spain for six weeks, and immersed myself in Santiago de Compostela. Before leaving for Spain, I was most looking forward to meeting strangers. In particular, strangers I hoped would become family. Although I was afraid of getting my hopes up, I did, and the people I met defied my expectations. It’s as if we were hand picked to get along.

The day I passed by the Santiago Cathedral for the first time, I was blown away. It felt incredibly powerful to stand in front of a carved structure dating back to 1211. Every day, we passed by it, and every day I felt the same. I never got over its beauty and power. I don’t know how locals are able to see it daily without stopping to stare at its glory.

Yes, this was my first time living on my own, and it was a wonderful challenge. However, beyond that, I learned lessons I wasn’t expecting. The international students in our class were from Japan and South Korea, from Europe and North America. Not only did I learn about the Spanish culture and customs, but I also gained knowledge about Asian traditions and culture—while conversing in Spanish. Since none of us spoke to each other in our mother tongue, this exchange of information was mind blowing.

My minor is in Spanish, so I had the incredible experience of being able to understand some Galician, thanks to the language I started learning seven years ago. I can also say that the province of Galicia is the most underrated place in Spain. Its beaches are beautiful, the food is impeccable and it’s a unique part of Spanish culture seldom discussed in the media.

Travelling is one of the best ways to meet and learn about new people. There is no routine when you’re in a new city. You ask yourself the same question every morning: “Where do I go today?” The concha, or seashell, is synonymous with Santiago. Those who complete the pilgrimage to the cathedral hold one because it symbolizes rebirth. This whole experience was a concha for me.

–Mia Anhoury, News Editor

Graduation day. Photo by Mia Anhoury.

When I started university, many friends told me about the wonders of studying abroad. “You have to do it, Phil. It’s a once in a lifetime experience,” they would tell me. And so I dreamed of it. I dreamed of the opportunity to travel, to learn in a new environment.
Unfortunately, in my athletic therapy program, studying abroad is not an option. So, there went my dreams of travelling during my degree—until I stumbled upon the Concordia in Spain program.
It was my only opportunity to study abroad since the program is offered during the summer. A six-week intensive nine-credit course focused on learning Spanish; could I ask for anything better?
For me, it was an opportunity to meet people from different programs and schools around the world. I now have friends in New York, Houston, Seoul, Taichung and, of course, Santiago de Compostela.
Did I mention the food in Galicia is amazing? Because it is. I highly recommend the pulpo (octopus).
The University of Santiago de Compostela is also perfectly located. It’s close to the top destinations in the city, whether it’s Alameda Park, the Santiago Cathedral or Momo, a pub with the most beautiful terrace you could imagine. I can also read and speak in Spanish now, which feels incredible.

-Philippe Brunet, Contributor

Philippe Brunet and Vincent Letarte on a day trip to Finisterre, the end of the Camino of Santiago. Photo courtesy of Vincent Letarte.

 

As a musician, my favourite part of this experience was the St. James Festival. I had the chance to see amazing live concerts and share these moments with the people I met there. The cultural scene really enriched my learning experience in Santiago de Compostela.

– Vincent Letarte, Contributor

My experience in Spain will mark me for the rest of my life.
I applied to the program hoping to learn some Spanish and travel, but I came out of it with much more. I lived and studied alongside incredible people with very different backgrounds and personalities. We grew closer as the program progressed, and I made friendships I hope will last a lifetime.
The classes were very interactive and included students from across the world. The weekend excursions and university-organized cultural activities taught me so much about not only the language, but the culture as well. And living in Spain allowed us to experience the culture first hand—I don’t think many of us had trouble getting accustomed to the daily siestas after class.
Santiago de Compostela, a small university city with a rich history, was the perfect location for the program. We had the chance to visit the Santiago Cathedral, travel a section of the Camino de Santiago and take part in the St. James Festival throughout the month of July. We also experienced World Cup soccer games in the small pubs around town, and celebrated a couple of birthdays (including mine).
For me, this was a chance to break out of a routine and develop my independence. It was my first experience living and traveling on my own. Despite being away from my family, I never felt alone; I always had my Spain family with me.
Leaving Santiago was bittersweet, and I couldn’t have asked for a better summer.

                                                                                                                                   – Matthew Di Nicolantonio, Contributor

Santiago has an incredible nightlife because of its student and traveler populations. There are plenty of bars and music venues to suit many tastes. Revelry in a park celebrating the Day of the Apostle Santiago. Photo courtesy of Vincent Letarte.

 

 

As I sit in a busy Starbucks on a chilly fall day, I find myself transported back to my summer in Spain. Flashbacks to hot afternoons filled with rich ice cream and adventures around the city put a nostalgic smile on my face.
There was something in the air of Santiago de Compostela that made me believe anything was possible. I loved wandering around, hoping I would discover a hidden treasure around every street corner. Alas, no treasure was uncovered. However, I found better. Lovely friends, amazing professors and a truly incredible program coordinator; these are the people who made my trip so memorable.
I was going through a rough time this summer, but the people I met in Spain allowed me to focus on the beautiful things in life. And boy, is there a lot of beauty in Galicia! Everything from the food and breathtaking landscapes to the rich history and Galician language had a unique Celtic enchantment to it.
Although I now live with a bit of la morriña—a nostalgic feeling specific to those who leave the magical region of Galicia—I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

–Jeanne Kural Chastenay, Contributor

I was able to see and experience so much of this Galician city and I am left wanting more. I can’t describe the overall experience without mentioning the people who accompanied me on this adventure, as they made it all the more worthwhile. The beauty of going on exchange and not knowing anyone is that everyone else is in the same position as you. It was truly amazing to not only discover new places, but also form friendships that may never have materialized back in Montreal. We were all incredibly different, but the mere fact of being in the same wonderful little part of Spain gave us that much more in common.

 – Olivia Salembier, Contributor

Here are tips I wish I was told before going on exchange:

  • Take advantage of the cheap transportation in Europe; take a train to the beach after class or visit a nearby town for an afternoon.
  • Shop locally for food and clothes.
  • Try the seafood—it tastes like the ocean!
  • Eat at the cafeteria and go out after dinner for tapas to avoid spending too much on food.
  • Go to free concerts organized by the city of Santiago.
  • Go on the tours organized by the university; you see a lot more than you would on your own.
  • Talk to locals and practice your Spanish.
  • Take advantage of the gym facilities.
  • Plan weekend trips with your new friends to neighbouring cities like Madrid or Porto.

  -Vanessa Recine, Contributor

 

I cannot think of a better way to symbolize my summer in Spain than with the concha. It is as though I have been refreshed and refuelled with passions and desires that were previously lacking in my life. The friendships I’ve made and the journeys I experienced while abroad will forever impact how I approach the rest of my life. This exchange reminded me why it is so important to chase my dreams with everything I have; as the Spanish say, “La vida son dos días” (“Life is two days”).

–Lianna Della Vecchia, Contributor

Traditional Galician folk band singing and dancing in Alameda park. Photo by Melodie Ratelle.

No words or pictures can describe my experience during the six weeks studying abroad in Santiago. I spent time with amazing people and created friendships. I also had the chance to visit numerous picturesque places in northern Spain and Galicia, and learn a lot about the culture. The loveliest teachers taught me Spanish—a beautiful language that I am now obsessed with. Of course, how can I forget la comida muy rica, or the very rich food. I still can’t stop thinking about all the mariscos, or seafood, even our cafeteria’s fries that were served at least once a day. ¡Me encanta, España! I adore Spain.

– Natalija Jurkute, Contributor

Graphic by Ana Bilokin.

Written by Melodie Ratelle, Philippe Brunet, Vincent Letarte, Adrianna Schwinghamer , Nalia Jurkute, Olivia Salembier, Lianna Della Vecchia, Vanessa Recine, Matthew Di Nicolantonio, Jeanne Kural Chastenay, and Mia Anhoury.

 

 

 

Northern Uganda: A dance scene in the making

The founders of Watwero Dance Company, Ojom Martin (left) and Geoffrey Oryema (right) have been dancing together since childhood. They teach dance everyday to the youth in their community.

Two young choreographers use dance to help change lives in their community

Walking by the Straight Talk Foundation youth centre in Gulu, Uganda, you can hear loud dynamic afrobeats blasting through speakers. As you enter the gate, a group of youngsters drenched in sweat from the northern Ugandan heat are having a breakdance battle while learning new choreographies and teaching newcomers. These dance lessons are free, offered everyday and open to the entire youth community of Gulu. Among this group are the founders of the Watwero Dance Company: Geoffrey Oryema, who is often referred to as “Message,” and Ojom Martin, known as “Beep.”

“Through dance, I got a family,” Oryema said. “My family is the people I dance with everyday. When people come in large groups to dance, I ask them, ‘Do you want to learn?’ And I teach them.”

Oryema’s life as a dancer began in 2007 in Kitgum, Uganda, when a workshop called Breakdance Project Uganda was held to campaign for peace. “In northern Uganda, we experienced war for over two decades. I had never heard of breakdancing before,” he said. “I had never seen it anywhere; I had no access to TV. Since the war started, it was the first time I saw people come in great numbers together.”

From left, Ojom Martin and Geoffrey Oryema. “We are targeting youth and they love entertainment and that is exactly what we are giving them. Through dance we are giving them an understanding that we really need to revise our culture,” said Oryema.

The dance workshop only lasted a day, but it had an everlasting impression on Oryema. “It was the greatest experience and feeling to see people happy because of those dance moves,” he said.

When the workshop was over, there were no longer any dance activities in Kitgum. “I kept pushing myself with those steps I learned … just to keep reminding myself of that day, because I felt peace. That is how I got to understand what peace is.”

When I am dancing, these memories from the war, they go away,”

When Oryema dances, he forgets about the war. “When I am dancing, these memories from the war, they go away,” he said.During the war, Oryema was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) at the age of seven. “I was in the bush for almost two years, and then I found my way back home,” he said. Upon his return, both his parents relocated to Gulu — without him. “None of them came to see me when I returned back home.” Oryema remained in Kitgum where he lived with his aunt. The arrangement was not well received by the community.

“They were calling me all sorts of names, like a war child, a killer, a rebel. Or sometimes they would say, ‘You need to be careful with this guy, he can kill you because he has been in the bush,’” Oryema recalled. He eventually left his aunt’s home to escape the torment, and ended up living on the streets. “I just started to live this wild life.”

In 2011, Oryema saw kids dancing once again at a playground in Kitgum. He asked them where they got their moves from, and they told him to go to the local Straight Talk Foundation youth centre. Oryema began attending dance classes there and never missed a day of training.

“It was as if I came back to life,” he said. “In a few months, I became a dance leader within the community because I gave it all my time. I wanted to be good so that I can make other people happy through my dance.”

Although Oryema quickly became known as a dance leader in his community, he faced challenges living in the small town of Kitgum. “I couldn’t support myself,” he said. “I couldn’t get 500 shillings in a day to buy myself any food.”

Oryema began searching for opportunities elsewhere. He went to Gulu for his first dance performance event, which was an outreach on malaria sensitization.

“It was a challenge when I was asked, ‘Can you do something that talks about malaria [through dance],’” Oryema said.

As he performed, people from Gulu noticed how good Oryema was. They began giving him more opportunities to host community dance workshops. The Gulu community began calling him “Kwena,” which means “message” in the northern Ugandan dialect of Acholi. When Oryema asked an audience member why they call him Kwena, “the woman said, ‘Because when you are dancing, we get the message. You are the message; you carry it within you,’” Oryema explained. Since then, everyone in the community calls him Kwena or Message.

The founders of Watwero Dance Company, Ojom Martin (left) and Geoffrey Oryema (right) have been dancing together since childhood. They teach dance everyday to the youth in their community.

In 2016, Oryema co-founded a community outreach organization called the Inspire Me Africa Initiative, where he would choreograph, teach and perform dance pieces in communities across northern Uganda. The organization presented dances that targeted the everyday challenges Ugandan youth face, such as malaria, early marriage, domestic violence and drug abuse. The organization was volunteer-based; they often visited local schools, hospitals and refugee camps to perform for the youth without compensation. “As much as we want to do things for free, we need to at least feed ourselves, maintain our health,” Oryema said.

Oryema began to dream about having his own dance company and saw it as an employment opportunity. In 2017, his childhood friend, Ojom, also a dancer from Kitgum, came to Gulu for the same reasons: to dance and make a living. “We want to live a life where you can always afford to pay rent and have a family. If dance can pay for all this, then it will be the best thing for us,” Ojom said.

“If one day I can at least be able to have land and feed myself daily, that would be the best thing I could ever have,” Oryema added. “It might sound crazy to many, but that has been my challenge.”

Ojom also said dance has changed his life. “I lost both of my parents; I lost my dad when I was seven years old and my mom in 2007,” he said. “My brother was the first one who began to dance. He stopped, but I continued. He was my inspiration, and now I inspire him.”

According to Oryema, they both realized they had been running away from challenges since childhood. “A lot of our youth and people in our community have these same challenges today. Why don’t we take a stand and face our challenges?” Oryema asked.

Together, they created Watwero Dance Company, which is the first of its kind in northern Uganda. Watwero is an Acholi name that translates to “We Can.”

“We have seen a lot of people dance, make money, travel. We looked at ourselves and thought, yes we can do this,” Ojom said. The name of the company is in the Acholi dialect because “we must start with our people first,” Oryema explained. “They need to understand that they can [do it]. Then, it will be easier for them to understand the reasons why we are running this company.”

Both Oryema and Ojom are artistic directors and choreographers who teach a wide variety of dance styles, such as the traditional African dances called Zulu, Gwara Gwara, Bakisimba and Durban Bhenga. They also teach afro-house, urban styles and contemporary.

This year, Watwero Dance Company participated at the Bayimba International Festival of the Arts, Krump UG and the Nyege Nyege Festival. They also featured a dance at the Kampala National Theatre. Oryema and Ojom won one of the battles at the Krump UG competition.

“We always had that sensitivity — a bond within us that we always wanted to share,” Ojom said. “Whenever we are together, we have that creativity to make art.”

“I feel that art is a universal language with which you can choose what you want to do and freely express yourself—it doesn’t cost you a thing to learn. All you need is your time and commitment,” said Oryema.

Their focus is to offer an educative platform where they use dance to express the challenges faced in their communities in northern Uganda.

“Everywhere you go, they talk about youth unemployment, drug abuse, early marriage — but nothing is being done about it. We realized that if we create a company, it will be a platform, a more organized form of art where we can work on our challenges,” Oryema said. According to Ojom, it has been difficult for their company to grow because of the community’s lack of support for the arts. Nonetheless, they refuse to give up on their dream to live a life through dance.

“As long as you are still alive, it’s not over yet. Giving up should not be something that a living human being should accept,” Oryema said. “You might try hard, but if you don’t win, it’s not a loss. If you don’t win, you learn. So next time you do it better and you don’t get to lose again,” he said.  

Both Oryema and Ojom remain hopeful that they will be changing lives through dance, just as dance has changed theirs. “Dance saved me from the other part of me that has been in the war zone,” Oryema said. “I fought in the war, I’ve killed a number of people. But that was not what I wanted. When I got back home [from the war], I tried to commit suicide twice. But after failing, I realized that there is a reason why I am still breathing now.”

“Everytime I perform, people say that I’m doing something great,” said Oryema. “I don’t know if that’s the reason why I am still alive, but as long as I live, I will be fighting hard to find out.”

 

Feature: Bobby’s story

By Sara Breitkreutz with Bobby Vaughan

Do you remember the first time we met? You were singing. I think it was “The Joker” by the Steve Miller Band. Some people call me Maurice… It was almost four years ago, a cold day in February. I was handing out steaming bowls of soup and pieces of bread in Cabot Square, a small park at the corner of Atwater and Ste-Catherine, in the heart of Shaughnessy Village. The incessant, metallic sounds of the construction site across the street drifted around us as you pulled an oversized plastic beer bottle from your winter coat and drank a toast to the towering bronze-and-marble statue of John Cabot that still stands in the middle of the square. Your friend Ced was giving you a hard time for drinking in front of me, but I laughed it off, and then you started telling me about the ‘old days’ when the Forum still hosted the Habs and the square was filled with crowds and pot dealers and line-ups to get into rock concerts.

Photo by Marie-Pierre Savard.

These days Ced is in the hospital and the construction site is now a tall grey condominium with a Starbucks on the ground floor. New cranes have popped up on the other side of Ste-Catherine, promising more condos and more coffee shops. Cabot Square has been completely renovated, despite fears that the neighbourhood’s rapid gentrification is pushing low-income and precariously housed people further out into the suburbs.

But you’ve been sober for six months now and you look great. You’ve shaved your beard. You’ve lost some weight. Everywhere we go people are telling you how much better you look. How are you doing?

Me? I just live day by day.

I’m just happy you remember me and don’t mind if we take a quick walk around the neighbourhood together. What do you think of how Cabot Square looks these days? What do you think of the ‘facelift?’

I miss the old park.

Leaves crunch under our feet as we walk across the porous white pavement that was installed to replace muddy grass.

They say this is the future, but what’s the future? It’s so ugly. Five and a half million dollars for that. They said well, at least when it rains the water goes into the ground, it don’t stay on the cement, but who gives a fuck about that?

I personally think they did the park like that because of people on the street, people drinking and partying in the park. I think the only benefit about the park is that the police can’t go in there in their cars no more.

You have a point. Since the square reopened last summer there have been more police in the area, but the new design at least prevents them from driving through the park in their cruisers like they used to.

Like so many others, you’ve been a regular in Cabot Square for a long time now. It’s not because you have nowhere to stay, but because, as you’ve told me, you struggle with alcoholism. You’ve seen this place go through a lot of change and as we keep walking this becomes the theme of the hour. Shaughnessy Village has gone through drastic socio-economic and architectural transformations in the last few decades. Every five minutes or so, it hits you, and you have to say something.

It’s so different now!

You tell me you grew up on Souvenir Street, behind the now-vacant Montreal Children’s Hospital that looms on the south side of the square. You and your 10 siblings were raised by your father, who worked at the Forum Tavern as a waiter, and your mother, who relied on welfare supplements to make ends meet. You’ve lived around here almost for almost 50 years; your birthday is next week. How did it used to be?

It’s not like the old days.

You gesture north towards Ste-Catherine Street and I turn my head as you take me back in time.

There were stores everywhere, it was lit up everywhere. You’d go along and there was lights everywhere. Now you don’t even see the lights no more. Back in the days, like in the ’70s and even in the ’80s, you’d look down Sainte-Cat’s and it was lit up like a Christmas tree! Everywhere you’d go there was nice lights and clean stores and that. It’s all changing. Maybe you see a lot of lights further down, but everything here’s too dull.

From where we’re standing we can see the blocky monstrosity of the Forum. These days people go there to see movies at the multiplex, but from the mid-’20s to the mid-’90s it’s where people went to see the Canadiens play hockey. And the concerts. Did you ever see anyone big there?

I think I saw Janis Joplin, I saw the Stones, Jimi Hendrix. I saw them all there. It was amazing. But it looks so different now. I miss the Forum. Especially Saturday night hockey. There were thousands of people, the streets were blocked off!

You point to the SAQ at the south-east corner of the building. It used to be an old brasserie where you could go and drink a couple of beers before the game.

The brasserie was cool, everybody went in there. It was basically a lot of old people in there, you know. All the ladies would go in there with their husbands. I think they closed at 12 o’clock at night. When you wanted food they delivered it from the deli.

You look to the next block over, where the condos went up in 2012.

There, right on the corner was the Forum deli. I loved the food in there, especially my club sandwich! Ah. And then beside it you had the… like a Chinese place, they made their own muffins and that…

Like a Chinese bakery?

Yeah! But it’s gone now, pfft!

Here you’ve got a bank, you’ve got the Adonis. It looks like there’s no life there, there’s no nothing.

What else has changed? Has anything stayed the same?

You point to the Forum Tavern where your dad used to work and you would sneak in as a teenager to play pool. It’s boarded up now and crowded in by construction scaffolding.

You point to where the old Seville theatre used to be, where you and your friends would go every Saturday to see the movies. Now there’s a towering grey condo.

And then there’s Moe’s restaurant, maybe the last place that remained from the ‘old days,’ a tiny casse-croute on the corner of de Maisonneuve and Lambert-Closse where the hockey announcers used to go.

It’s still called Moe’s.

As we amble back to Cabot Square, we run into David Crane, an outreach worker, whose new field office is in the square’s renovated lavatory. You and David talk almost every day. You tell David what you’ve been telling me, and start to wax lyrical about the old days and all the things you miss in the neighbourhood.

David is pragmatic. “There are a lot of guys around here who miss the old days, but you know the old days are never coming back,” he says.

You nod. The old days were rough sometimes, too.

No one is sure what is going to happen to Cabot Square and the neighbourhood. The Montreal Children’s Hospital closed last year and even more condos are being built. As we walk back to the Cabot statue we look up at the massive brick hospital building.

Photo by Marie-Pierre Savard.

I’d like to see them do something with that hospital.

I keep hearing they might convert the hospital to public housing. But no one seems to know for sure.

You know, they’re always saying, ‘Oh, they’re gonna build city houses.’ What do they want to do, put us near the river? What, ’cause we’re poor you want to put us off the island or something? What the fuck is that? We’re human. Like, duh. You know, it’s sick the way the world is now.

I don’t know. I guess that’s the way of the future. You ain’t smart enough, or you ain’t… I don’t know. You gotta be educated in the world now. If you ain’t educated you ain’t gonna move on. It’s very simple. Me, I don’t care. Me, I’m fine. I just live day by day. I’m happy the way I am.

What do you think people who remember Shaughnessy Village from the old days think about this place and what’s happened to it?

I think they’d want the old things back that were here. It was so nice then. There were a lot of stores. Now you’ve got the Tim Hortons, but they’ve got them everywhere. I like the old style, like the old Chinese bakery where they had the muffins and that, donuts, and they’d make your own bread for you, and you’d come back in a couple of hours and it’s freshly made for you. You don’t have that no more. Everything’s gone, I don’t know. I think a lot of people miss that. I guess a lot of people like that are older people, but even the younger generation would have loved it like that.

As we stand here together in Cabot Square and I get ready to leave, I think that maybe if you’re still around, remembering how things used to be, then the lively, well-lit streets of the old Shaughnessy Village won’t quite have disappeared. You and your memories will still be right here at home, as Steve Miller sings,  Right here, right here, right here at home…

Categories
Arts

The summer’s best and worst films of 2014

A look back on what the film industry had to offer this summer at the box office

Hollywood’s panicking! The news as stated by the New York Times is that summer 2014 was the worst summer film season since 1997 at the United States box office. Although the debate rages online as to why that is the case, that shouldn’t stop us from breaking down some of our favourite, and not so favourite, films of the season.

The Best:

Guardians of the Galaxy

Marvel has done it again. The studio that can seemingly do no wrong has made audiences all over the world fall in love with relatively unknown superheroes, and actor Chris Pratt in the leading role. Directed by James Gunn, the film follows the story of Peter Quill, AKA Star Lord, a space pirate with a criminal record, as he assembles a group of misfits to fight a rogue supervillain named Ronan who’s hell-bent on destroying the galaxy.

While the storyline is typical of superhero movies, the film saw tremendous success, making it the top earner this summer. It also paved the way for sequels, mainly because, like most Marvel films, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Chris Pratt’s delivered a solid performance and was supported by a strong cast. Combined with the talented director, it produces a fun, feel-good summer superhero film. Lets leave the “dark,” “realistic” superhero movies to DC.  Guardians of the Galaxy was a definite summer season winner.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

The sequel to the 2011 film, Rise of the Planet of the Apes – in which human civilization collapses due to the spread of the ALZ-113 virus – takes place a decade later. While humanity struggles to survive, the apes, led by Caesar, evolve and build their own separate civilization. With the underlying theme being the coexistence of good and evil in all of us, regardless of species, both humans and apes end up going to war in their quest for dominance.

Directed by Matt Reeves, the film succeeds in delivering an original perspective on the classic franchise. Supported by great visual effects and exceptional acting across the board, Andy Serkis reprising his role as Caesar steals the show. Already a proven heavyweight in motion capture acting, giving audiences memorable characters such as Gollum, King Kong and soon Baloo in the upcoming Jungle Book: Origins in 2016, Serkis’s portrayal of Caesar is generating some well-deserved Oscar buzz. If he snags an Oscar nomination, the result could be game-changing in Hollywood, as the Academy has yet to acknowledge motion capture acting. Overall, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a must-see summer film.

 

Godzilla

Note: spoiler alert. A reboot of the Godzilla franchise, this film offers a new take to the classic monster story, which was originally created to reflect the destructive consequences of nuclear weapons. This film, however, portrays the monster as humanity’s saviour against creatures called “MUTOs,” who feed off of radiation and multiply, threatening to wipe out human existence.

This reimagining disappointed some fans of the franchise, especially in Japan, where Godzilla is an important cultural symbol. This was not the only risk taken by director Gareth Edwards: two lead characters–played by Bryan Cranston and Juliette Binoche– were featured heavily in the film’s promotion, only to get killed off. Yet for all the risks taken, the result was a critical and commercial success. The film gives a nod to classic monster movies, such as Jaws, by withholding a glimpse of the monster from the audience until roughly halfway through the film. Even then, scenes featuring Godzilla are sparse, so that the monster’s appearance leaves audience members intrigued and wanting more. It is a film worth watching, if for nothing other than the Halo jump sequence (you’ll know it when you see it), complete with a tribute to Stanley Kubrick’s classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

 

The Worst

Maleficent

Maleficent is Disney’s latest retelling of one of its classic films. Director Robert Stromberg reimagines the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty from the perspective of one of the most powerful Disney villains, Maleficent. Maleficent is portrayed as misunderstood, turned evil due to being betrayed by a peasant boy, who uses her to gain the kingdom’s throne. She takes her revenge by cursing his daughter Princess Aurora; yet, as the princess grows older, Maleficent grows fond of her and eventually becomes good again because of her love for the girl.

Even considering the strong visual effects and a solid portrayal of Maleficent by Angelina Jolie–a part the actress fits perfectly–the film wasted its potential. The story line ignores any character development except for that of Maleficent. The narrative is constructed in a way that does not make the audience care for anyone other than the villainess, or understand why the story unfolds the way it does, resulting in a sloppy, boring retelling of a truly classic fairy tale. The movie is essentially 97 minutes of watching Angelina Jolie fly around in a kick-ass costume. Somewhere Walt Disney is turning in his grave.

 

Transformers: Age of Extinction

Explosions! 165 minutes worth of them! In the longest, and by far the worst, Transformers movie to date, director Michael Bay once again made a film which introduces new characters–human and alien alike. He also makes sure the audience doesn’t care what happens to those characters or even remember who they are when coming out of the theater.

The story takes place five years after the battle of Chicago, where humans have turned against the Transformers, hunting them down and forcing them into hiding. However, attempts to build an imitation of the transformers by a corporation called KSI leads to the reincarnation of Megatron (the big villain) who plans on using “the seed” to destroy mankind and create more Decepticons (the bad guys). This forces the remaining Autobots, the good guys, out of hiding, who then team up with Cade Yeager, played by Mark Wahlberg, and friends to save the day.

After four Transformers movies and countless complaints by critics and fans, director Michael Bay ignores all the noise, and with good reason. This latest installment is, inexplicably, the second highest grossing film of the summer in the United States box office, making over $1 billion worldwide, and is overall the highest grossing film of 2014. An absolute train wreck, but let’s hope that the fifth installment will be handed over to another director.

Categories
Music

Future Islands: a passionate performance

The band was adored by the crowd and mirrored that energy right back at them

On Sept. 2, at the ever-popular Metropolis Theatre, Baltimore’s own Future Islands returned to Montreal on their tour for their fourth full-length album, titled Singles. Regular Montreal music fixture, Dan Boeckner, opened the show with his new band, Operators– their debut EP, EP1, was recently released.

Playing Metropolis for the first time ever, lead vocalist for Future Islands, Sam Herring, announced, “We moved [venues] hoping to fill out the space.” The crowd in Metropolis clearly proved this was no problem and that the fan base had grown immensely since Future Islands’ first Montreal show six years before.

Photo by Oneida Crawford

As they opened with their peppy “Back in the Tall Grass,” there was an immediate burst of energy and a liveliness emanating from the stage. Although stating he had been battling throat issues for the past several weeks, Herring sounded more powerful than ever; his growling vocals igniting the crowd. Known for his charismatic stage presence, he became more active and theatrical as the set went on. In one instant his hips were gyrating on stage and then he passionately pounded his chest with his fist like a king of the jungle. In the next song, he would change the pace and sink down to the ground. Rising from the floor, he slowly gazed upwards. While still singing, the musician appeared to have tears streaming down his face – but that could have been sweat – it was difficult to tell. Either way, Herring, along with his bandmates, consistently demonstrated pure passion for their music.

The set mixed both old and new tracks, including past favourites like “Before the Bridge” and “Tin Man” to the crowd’s delight. Then, from the more recent Singles came the hit “Seasons (Waiting on you)” which prompted a surprise cameo from Win Butler, lead singer of Arcade Fire. A few missed greats from Singles were “Doves” and “Like the Moon,” but overall the selected tracks melded together for an outstanding show.

Just before the last song of the set, Herring yelled, “This is it, baby! Let’s have some fucking fun!” He returned to the stage – after a quick shirt change – for a four song encore. Enticing the band to deliver an encore required much foot stomping and commotion from the crowd. The band played an audience requested oldie, “Beach Foam.” Described as the first song ever written by Future Islands back in 2006, before they even had a band name, “Beach Foam” brought back waves of nostalgia, particularly for those who were long time followers of the band. For the finale, Herring wished everyone sweet dreams, and they played the beautiful soft  track “Little Dreamer” to wrap things up.

With the profuse gratitude and appreciation directed towards the Montreal fans from this fabulous band, it is only right to finish off by expressing the sincerest thank you to Future Islands.

Categories
Student Life

Let Wordlink become your world link for viral content

We all know how quickly news spread these days, how content can go viral in a matter of seconds. We all have our regular sites that we periodically (or obsessively, as the case may be) check in to in order to keep updated on the latest news stories, events, trends, gossip etc. But how can one possibly stay au courrant on ALL the important stories of the moment, from across all sorts of media? Up until now, the prospect has seemed daunting if not completely impossible.

Enter Wordlink – a new startup company that has developed an app that helps you keep track of all the viral content on the world wide web. The app scans the viral headlines of the day from tens of thousands of sources, ranked by their activity on all social networks, and feeds them back to you on one clean interface. The stories you get are purely representational of the most commented on / viewed/ clicked-on / tweeted about / shared items from around the world. This makes for a news feed that is free from editorialization — a freedom that one can rarely find these days.

Sources include everything from The New York Times, to The Huffington Post, to Buzzfeed, to lil old us here at The Concordian.  Wordlink crowdsources and data-mines viral content from all the major social media platforms to deliver content that is relevant to what people are talking about.

The app lets you filter the content you receive by building a “Favourites” list of all your go-to sources, or allows you to sift through all their partners’ headlines by category. They seem to have every category imaginable: Press, Research, Social, Arts, Business, Sports, Health… the interface reads like the world’s most comprehensive news site. There’s even an icon that lets you view the picture-heavy dashboard icons (being the links to stories that you can follow) as a more traditional layout, with news columns that allow you to read the story’s first sentence before clicking.

Once inside a source search or content category, you can then personalize your feed even further by choosing to see the viral headlines of the day, week, month, or year – making it easy to go back and look at the most important moments of recent history.

The app was created by four Montrealers, Nadav Perez, Allan Morais, Charles Taylor, and Rodrigo Vergara, all of whom are Concordia alum. The company still has strong ties with the current generation of Concordians as well, as most of their interns are Concordia students.

The Wordlink team will be coming to our campus during the first week of classes in order to promote their app to students.

Wordlink has already received some pretty impressive accolades – they were chosen as the winners of the Cossette Agency Lab’s startup competition for new businesses. Cossette is an International digital marketing agency, and their lab aims to help startups find their footing, and allows them to benefit from a mentorship program at the Agency.

You can check out the Wordlink interface at wordlink.com or download it from the App Store. It’s a free download, so it doesn’t seem like there’s anything to lose by trying it out!

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