Carleton University Art Gallery (CUAG) hosted its Annual Spring Art Showcase and Art Party on March 30.
The event was organized in partnership with the Carleton Art History Undergraduate Society and the Campus Activity Board.
The showcase included art-making activities with special guest artist Ojo Agi. Agi led a workshop with portraits of Black feminine figures, chalk and charcoal.
“I’m here running the arts table, so people can come and chill out here before the show starts. We’re doing colouring pages of Beyoncé, Lupita, and Solange,” Agi said.
CUAG also hosted The Other NFB: The National Film Board’s Still Photography Division, which displayed photos of Canadian culture from the 40s through 50s. Yannick Anton and David Ofori Zapparoli created Outside These Walls, a series of photos that exhibit Canadian society in a fresh way.
Marina Martin, Mackenzie Gracequist and Cody Pigilam, all students in Ottawa, came out to support their friend and headlining act, Zineb Nour, a slam poet and student from Nepean High School. This was Martin’s first time visiting CUAG.
“[CUAG’s] amazing, I want to spend all my time here,” Martin said.
Gracequist was also impressed with the free creative space.
“I think it’s difficult to find free things to do that are really exciting, but this is incredible. I had no idea about this,” Gracequist said.
Performances began with Taylor James McKinnon of Vintage Creek leading the crowd with a few country tunes. The Ottawa Breakers/Hustlers followed his performance, and then the Carleton University Dance Crew took the stage.
Mo Abd, a beatboxer who runs UNITY Carleton and hosts weekly beatboxing sessions, beatboxed at the showcase. Abd has been beatboxing for six years and credited his talent to the time he has put into his passion. He said he practices beatboxing everyday.
Abd said the best way to improve is to work with other experienced artists. He added he gets inspired by many different things.
“Personally I get inspired by melody a lot, so it could be a song or lyrics that I hear and I take the melody from it and put in some of my own flavour. I’m inspired also by just trying to mimic instruments or specific genres,” he said.
The show ended just after 10 p.m., with over 50 people having attended.
– Photo by Justin Samanski-Langille
