Author Archive

Montreal artists present new Urban Plan for Lower Main

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

Eyebrows are once again being raised concerning the competence of urban planning on the Lower Main. First came the wholesale evictions and gutting of the now-crumbling historic block on the west side of the Lower Main, effectively transforming an area where entertainment once thrived into a dangerous and boarded-up eyesore.  Now, on the south-east corner of Ste. Catherine Street [...]

Artists still waiting for box office cash – 10 years after being kicked out of the Fringe!

Sunday, June 20th, 2010

This month marks the 10th anniversary of OTL’s infamous CAR STORIES show getting ejected from the St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival, and already the media are taking note of this disturbing milestone. The story is one of the most recounted in Montreal’s anglophone theatre community – it is the story of unethical corporate interests steamrolling artists at what [...]

Dumpster Dive Art Drive is seeking artists for infringement festival!

Saturday, May 29th, 2010

UPDATE (June 22) After a successful opening vernissge, the Dumpster Dive Art Drive has been on display in an undisclosed alleyway for the public to enjoy. One jogger who stumbled upon the opening said, “Thanks! You just made my day!” between chugs of red wine served to him in a brown paper bag. The great [...]

Envisioning a better plan for the Lower Main

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

Montreal’s Lower Main has been the site of controversy as of late, with powerful business interests squaring off against artists and heritage activists to determine the future of the historic stretch of road that was once the heart of Montreal’s bustling Red Light District. The battle has been characterized by powerful business interests dislocating the area’s [...]

Cafe Cleopatra artists rally against plans to destroy their venue

Monday, June 1st, 2009

Montreal’s “Quartier des Spectacles” project is proceeding at a fast clip. The neighbourhood is currently undergoing major transformations as new parks are laid out, a state-of-the-art concert hall goes up, and select buildings are appropriated and destroyed to make way for “development”. Designed to transform Montreal’s old red light district and environs into a less-seedy [...]

MainFest launches summer of corporate spam (and resistance) in historic site

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

Today is the beginning of “MainFest”, a 3 day “street fair” on St. Laurent Boulevard, or “The Main” Historic site. The boulevard will be completely closed to traffic and is expected to receive an estimated 300 000 visitors. According to The Société de développement du boulevard Saint-Laurent (SDBSL), organizers of “MainFest” and other “street fairs”: [...]

Judy Rebick launches “Transforming Power” – essential reading for activists!

Friday, March 27th, 2009

The Left has always been a fractured and fragmented place rife with disagreement and conflict about how best to challenge oppression and change the world. Can the days of disagreement between neo-Marxist-Leninist Communists and Third wave post-Anarcho-feminist radicals finally be over? Yes, according to Judy Rebick, who descended on Montreal recently with to promote her new book Transforming [...]

Irish culture at risk! Montreal’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade co-opted by military and corporate interests…

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

Montreal hosts North America’s oldest St. Patrick’s Day parade, which started officially in 1817, even though its roots go back as far as 1759.  With such an ancient history by Canadian standards, many assume that the parade is steeped in authenticity. After witnessing the parade this year, however, many viewers were left with the impression [...]

Roman Fee Theatre Award given out for first time!

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

The first-ever Roman Fee Theatre Award was handed out on Thursday, March 19, 2009, in the Grand Salon of Montreal’s Hyatt Regency Hotel. The Donor and Student Excellence Recognition Ceremony was presided over by Concordia University President Judith Woodsworth, who handed out various awards and bursaries to graduate and undergraduate students across all faculties and [...]

Police brutalize Anti-Police Brutality Demo – again!

Monday, March 16th, 2009

March 15th marked the 13th International Day Against Police Brutality, and in Montreal the mood was tense after an unusually brutal year whereby police officers killed a young man after they found him playing dice with his friends. Early in the evening on August 9th, 2008, 18 year old Fredy Villanueva was shot dead at [...]