ArtBeat

The next day, Kyle Scheurmann continues further north, moving through wildfire sites and clear cuts as the trip begins to come to a close. He reflects on what it’s like to come out of those environments and sit with what you’ve seen, and how that begins to affect the work. An encounter in a remote valley turns into an exchange, and the final stretch of the trip leads to standing at the edge of pro...

Kyle Scheurmann spent much of this past summer out in the field, moving through active logging sites and wildfire zones, witnessing firsthand the pace and scale of what’s unfolding across the landscape. In this conversation, he reflects on what it meant to be that close to it. What began as observation became something more immersive, where distance fell away and his understanding of the work, and...

Russna Kaur grew up in her mother’s Indian bridal boutique in Brampton, Ontario - surrounded by glittering fabrics, ornate surfaces, and the performance of joy. But behind the embellishment, she was watching something else: how beauty can mask vulnerability, how colour can distract, and how appearances rarely tell the whole story. In this conversation, Russna reflects on growing up as the eldest d...

In this ArtBeat episode, artist Peter Hong-Tsun Chan guides us through a landscape of half-formed memories, where shapes and scenes echo with a subtle nostalgia. Reflecting on a childhood set between Hong Kong’s bustling energy and Toronto’s calm, Peter finds meaning in the objects, rituals, and places of his past—each carrying a resonance both grounding and elusive. His paintings hold these fleet...

Julie Moon ’s journey into ceramics unfolds with captivating depth. From an early curiosity for materials to an unexpected shift from textiles to clay, her story reveals a process led by intuition and a love for experimentation. Julie’s vibrant use of ornamentation, patterns, and striking colours, paired with her unique take on human forms, offers a fresh perspective that challenges traditional vi...

In this conversation, we’re welcomed into Olga Abeleva ’s world as she steps into a new chapter of artistic exploration. She shares glimpses of her journey, reaching back to a childhood filled with creative discovery, influenced deeply by her mother’s inventive spirit. Olga’s work today forms a vivid tapestry of inspiration—from Eastern European literature to the unpolished charm of pop culture, w...

A creative world shaped by family legacy, spirituality, and the power of colour—this is where Janna Watson draws you in during this episode of ArtBeat . With roots planted in an artistically rich upbringing, Janna shares stories from her childhood, filled with lessons from her painter grandfather and furniture designer grandmother, both of whom deeply influenced her creative spirit. Her latest ser...

In this episode of ArtBeat , we’re joined by Mia Nielsen, Director of Art Toronto, who shares her fascinating journey into the world of art and her role in shaping the country’s most prominent art fair. Growing up between Ontario and Denmark, Mia’s early experiences with creativity—from her musical roots to her love for museums—laid the groundwork for her curatorial career. Her 12 years at the Dra...

In this episode of ArtBeat, we sit down with Toronto-based painter Amelia Valentine , who opens up about how art became her lifeline during illness and depression. As a self-taught artist, Amelia reveals how themes of nature’s cycles, mortality, and technology shape her work, reflecting the tension between beauty and decay. Amelia shares her journey as a late bloomer in the art world, describing h...

In this episode, Maxine McCrann reflects on her unexpected shift into becoming a full-time artist, a change that began in the stillness of early pandemic days. Before that, art was a private thing, something she did alone. But a friend's small request—a simple drawing—set something in motion. The realization that her work could bring happiness to others became the catalyst she didn’t know she need...

Jake Kimble’s story doesn’t begin in a gallery, or even near one. It begins in Treaty 8 territory, where traditional art spaces felt distant. During trips to Edmonton, it was the glossy tabloid magazines in grocery store checkout lines that gave him his first glimpse into the visual world—a preview of what would later become his language as an artist. Now based in Vancouver, Jake identifies as two...

In the first episode of ArtBeat’s third season, Mony Zakhour reflects on his journey from Halifax to Toronto, where he shifted from business school to bartending, eventually dedicating himself fully to art. From his first show in Japan to curating Cry Baby Gallery , Mony’s work balances abstract “designed chaos” with layers of meaning.  With Cry Baby Gallery set for Scope Art Fair at Art Basel Mia...

There's a certain cadence to Kim Dorland's voice—a rhythm that speaks of survival and a life lived on the edge of things. It’s the cadence of someone who has seen existence from the margins, where he grew up amidst a backdrop he calls abject poverty. Kim doesn’t sugarcoat his beginnings. He doesn’t need to. The harsh, unvarnished reality of his youth forms the very canvas upon which his ar...

From a bunkhouse in Northwest Ontario to the ancient forests of Vancouver Island, Kyle Scheurmann 's journey unfolds with an unyielding need to bear witness, to transform what he sees and feels into something concrete, something that communicates when language falls short. His paintings become living records, artifacts of a world teetering on the edge, yet still clinging to its fragile beauty....

In conversation with Vickie Vainionpää , an artist whose work navigates the spaces where the artificial meets the natural, we find ourselves exploring what it means to create in an era saturated with technology. Her journey began in the basement of her childhood home, a place where curiosity first took root, eventually leading her into the realm of generative art. Her work questions the very conce...

Ernesto Cabral de Luna 's artistic evolution unfolds like a map of lost and found memories, each piece a marker of the shifting landscapes of identity and cultural hybridity. As a Mexican lens-based artist, Ernesto navigates the fluid and often elusive boundaries of memory, drawing us into a world where images are captured, reshaped, and reimagined, prompting a deeper consideration of ownershi...

Today on ArtBeat, we speak with Adrienna Matzeg , an artist whose work serves as a bridge between memory and material, crafting stories out of thread and light. Adrienna's art operates in that space where the tangible meets the ephemeral, where photographs and textiles blend to capture the ineffable essence of the past. Our conversation winds through the sunlit streets of Los Angeles and the i...

Moses Salihou's reflections take us into the world where portraiture and abstraction converge, demanding more than a cursory glance. Moses speaks with the gravitas of someone immersed in the nuances of emotion and representation, describing his shift from detailed, realistic portraits to the expansive freedom of abstraction. His thick applications of oil paint, combined with the visceral strok...

Delali Cofie 's journey into photography is rooted in a time of stillness. It began with the ordinary act of documenting school life in Burkina Faso with a digital camera. However, it was in 2018, during a period of significant personal loss, that photography evolved from a simple pastime into a vital practice. Delali’s work is intrinsically intertwined with his Ghanaian-Nigerian heritage and...

We meet Vanessa McKernan, an artist who unspools the threads of her journey with a kind of visceral honesty that recalls those elusive moments in life where art and existence intersect. Vanessa speaks of art as a sanctuary, a retreat from the bustle of her upbringing, a method of dissociation that later evolved into a deliberate practice of immersion. The studio becomes a crucible where personal h...

In this week’s episode of ArtBeat, we follow the contours of David Constantino Salazar ’s artistic journey, a narrative woven with the intricate threads of family, choice, and destiny. David’s childhood, filled with days of drawing, led him to a pivotal decision between further studies or military service. His brothers intervened, steering him towards art school and igniting a path of life-changin...

In this episode of ArtBeat, Katie engages with Holly Stapleton , an illustrator and painter rooted in Toronto. Holly's narrative unfolds from the innocent artistry of an IKEA playplace to the vibrant streets of Montreal, where she discovered a community that fostered her evolution. Her work, suffused with gouache textures and the ethereal glow of golden-hour light, captures moments of selfhood...

In a landscape often marked by the banal and the predictable, Dominique Sirois emerges as a voice of exquisite dissonance. Dominique speaks of her early days, sketching in the quiet corners of her youth, and the surrealist currents that swept her into the realm of oil and canvas. Her first piece—a woman entwined with a tree, a dreamscape that entranced the surreal into her young consciousness—mark...

Today, we trace the improbable journey of Vlad Kanic . From the Adriatic shores to the vibrant pulse of Toronto, Vlad's journey is marked by tenacity and ingenuity. In the enforced stillness of the pandemic, he found inspiration in the most unassuming of places – his refrigerator. Seaweed salad, a favourite staple, became the catalyst for his living sculptures that breathe, capture carbon, and...

In this episode of ArtBeat, we explore the multifaceted journey of Briony Douglas , an artist whose story is a tapestry of strength and creativity. From childhood memories of crafting stop-motion animations with her father to navigating disparate jobs—factories, marketing, and more—Briony’s route to professional artistry was anything but direct. An adverse work environment led her to resign and fu...