Artist Spotlight: Nora Kelly

Nora Kelly Band press photo via Nora Kelly

If anything, Nora Kelly is multi-faceted. She's done everything from painting murals in Mexico City to creating editorial work for the NY Times, not to mention playing rock shows in Montreal as Nora Kelly Band and Dish Pit.

We spoke to Nora about her creative practice, advice for other artists, and more.

via Nora Kelly

Malaika Astorga for Also Cool: How did you first get into visual arts? 

Nora Kelly: I was a reclusive teenager, and drawing was something I had control over, could pick up and put down whenever I wanted. I think my continued dedication to art is for similar reasons. I need a lot of alone time, and paintings and drawing are great ways to spend one's time.

Also Cool: Have you always practiced with the same mediums, or has that changed over the years?

Nora: First, I was into drawing. I didn't start painting until I was in university. I was probably the worst painter in my class when I started at Concordia. Now I can't get enough of it. 

via Nora Kelly

AC: When did you first start doing murals? What was your experience with the creative scene in Mexico City?

NK: I had always dreamed of being a muralist, but it's kind of a catch-22 getting your foot in the door. No one wants you to paint their wall if you have never done it before, but without any murals to show on your resume, you aren't going to get that first wall. 

When I moved to Mexico City in 2017 and a mural company called Street Art Chilango hired me, I was so excited. At first, I was handing spray paint cans to more experienced artists, but eventually, they gave me my first wall. They are a very prestigious company, working with clients like Vans and Ray-Ban, but after 6 months, I quit because I had always been into the democratic quality of street art. I like that it's accessible to anyone walking by, and I didn't want to be involved in painting glorified ads for large corporations. I went door to door, asking smaller businesses in Mexico City if they wanted a mural and have gotten all my work that way since, even in Canada. 

AC: Do you have any advice for anyone looking to do more professional / commissioned work as a visual artist but doesn't know where to start?

NK: I'm kind of type-A, but my advice would be to get into spreadsheets. Email 20 people or businesses a day and keep a log of who you're spamming. Eventually, you'll get a hit, I guarantee, and it then it only gets easier from there.  

via Nora Kelly

AC: Do you find there's a difference between your commissioned work and the work you make purely for yourself? How do you balance the two?

NK: Definitely. My commissioned work is usually based on pictures and comes out more realistic. When I'm doing something for myself, I tend to work from my imagination and take risks, which keeps the whole process exciting. 

AC: What's your creative process like? 

NK: I like to walk my dog and come up with ideas. Usually, I paint at night because I stay up late, and it gives me something to do while my roommates are asleep. 

via Nora Kelly

AC: Who are some other creatives who inspire you?

NK: The most inspirational people are usually the people closest to me. I have a kind of friendly competition with myself, and seeing the people around me giving it their all makes me want to work harder. In terms of favourite acclaimed painters, I've always been fond of Rousseau, Peter Doig, Hilma af Klint and, of course, Francis Bacon. 

Watch Nora Kelly Band's latest music video for their song "Hymn for Agnostics" below.

Nora Kelly

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Malaika Astorga is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of Also Cool. She is a Mexican-Canadian visual artist, writer, and social media strategist currently based in Montreal.

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Artist Spotlight: James Collier

Art by James Collier

Enter the world of James Collier, one filled with birds in suits on their ways to work, night time walks and industrial environments slowly becoming overtaken by nature.

We chatted with James over email to learn more about his creative practice and inspirations. If you find yourself wanting some work of his for your own, you can DM him on Instagram.

Art by James Collier

Also Cool Mag: How did you get into making visual art? What mediums do you use most often?

James Collier: Drawing and cartooning have almost always been part of my life. I learned how to read from Carl Barks' Donald Duck comics and grew up drawing all the time. My dad is a great cartoonist, and there were always comic books around which I would consume voraciously. I never really questioned art-making as a kid and thought making comics and drawing was just an intrinsic part of life, a way of making sense of the world. I stopped drawing altogether for a while though, and it wasn't until age 18 or 19, after a particularly bad mental health episode, that I picked it up again.

Mediums are pencil, ink, paper. Most of it is done in various notebooks with cheap pens or graphite on Stonehenge paper when at home. Though drawing is the most accessible, both cost and space-wise right now, I'd like to explore printmaking more in the near future.

Art by James Collier

Also Cool: What kind of work and aesthetics were you interested in early in your creative practice? What inspires you now?

JC: Again, Carl Barks was a big one. There are a lot of people like Milt Gross and E.C. Segar who were/are big influences. Julie Doucet is continually inspiring – I can't wait for her new book, coming out in the spring.

I'm looking at the printmaking work of people like K the Kollwitz and James Ensor a lot these days. Herge, Joost Swarte, E.S. Glenn. The comics and drawings of Walker Tate as well. The comics and zines of U.K.-based artist Michael Kennedy are very inspiring. I've started looking at Walt Kelly again. I really like Charles Burchfield's paintings. I've also been looking at photographers such as André Kertész and Alfred Stieglitz.

Art by James Collier

AC: Where did you grow up? How did your upbringing shape your ideas about art and design?

JC: I grew up in Hamilton, Ontario. Hamilton is a city known for steel manufacturing. It's pretty grey, generally. Plenty of abandoned vacant lots, which I've gone back and drawn. There were also hidden bits of nature that you could get away to. There was an overgrown area known to my family as the "secret spot" that you could get to by canoe, as it was across the Hamilton Bay. I spent a lot of time reading and drawing there. There were also people around that you could collaborate with. My first printed work was with a local kid on my block, where we created a small photocopied zine entitled "The Guy who Never Returned" at age six. I don't remember what was in it, but we went around selling it on the street.

Art by James Collier

AC: How has your personal style developed over time? Can you tell us a bit about your bird characters?

JC: It's just the result of continually drawing in sketchbooks. It's a subconscious development, so it just changes incrementally over time. It's hard to track development. 

As for the bird characters, while working as a window washer, I would be very tired at the end of the day and barely have time to make a few doodles and scribbles before bed. The birds emerged in my sketchbook one night while fatigued, and I've kept drawing them since. Related to this, I'm working on a comic right now about a duck with insomnia.

AC: Tell us a bit about the creative communities you've connected with and any artists/projects within them who inspire you.

JC: I'm lucky that I currently live around many talented artists. Being able to show things to people around you helps with not becoming disillusioned. I've found creative communities even in the world of minimum-wage work. When I was working at Metro Food Inc., as a greeter during the height of the pandemic, I had many discussions with the security guard about old animation and art history. Right now, I work at an art supply store with nice people who are very encouraging when I show them drawings.

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James Collier is a cartoonist and visual artist originally from Hamilton, Ontario and currently living in Montréal, Quebec.

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A Visual History of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours Illustrated by Michayla Grbich

Also Cool is proud to present a visual history of Rumours by Fleetwood Mac by Michayla Grbich. This is the first in a series of illustrated musical histories by Michayla.

We’ve included the full album below so that you can listen as you read for the full experience.

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Michayla Grbich is an illustrator with strong interests in portraiture, storytelling, history, music, and pop culture. She enjoys exploring and pushing narratives through her art, utilizing symbols, icons, and colors to set the tone for her work.

If you’re as in love as we are with Michayla’s beautiful work, you can find information for commissions, and more of her work below. For freelance or commission inquiries please email michayla.grbich.art (@) gmail.com

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Artist Spotlight: Sophie El Assaad

Hello, and welcome to a small walk-through of the world of Sophie El Assaad.

Sophie is an award-winning designer, director, and theatre-maker, and she cannot help but ooze her lovely sweet creative aura. I would describe her energy as a light fluffy mist that may crack with a low rumble or quick flash of lightning. 

With her company, Theatre Nuaj, she has developed the project Black Balloon in many iterations: live outdoors in Centaur Theatre’s Portico Project late 2020, as Leila, a short film presented at Centaur Theatre’s 2021 Wildside Festival, and through multiple residencies.

This interview was held over two sessions with the intent to give a non-linear progression and experience of Sophie’s thoughts and world through visuals, direct quotes, as well as some snippets of her work or inspiration.

Sophie has curated a playlist here, that I would encourage you to listen to as you read through.

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Segment from experimental video ( Sophie El Assaad, circa 2014)

I thought about this word yesterday.
[ Underbelly ]

Maybe I should have used it when describing themes I like to work with artistically; the hidden violent side that exists in people.

“For my birthday, my dad got me a cake, my mum got me a cake, and my sister got me a cake. It was perfect.”

On working in residency on Black Balloon:

In the past, I approached work via building a very solid core and working my way out of it, but what my last creation residency has done (working with dancers and movement actors) was it allowed me to be use impulse and intuition, working from the outside in, and discovering what that means afterward — the whole process of trusting the work and the process has been super interesting — very scary and always kept me on my toes, but, in the end, amounted to something reliant on body and emotions rather than intellectuality.

I really like involving artists that don’t necessarily specialize in the medium, who can contribute to the piece in unexpected ways and teach me. I just love surprises. The actor who played Leila (Maria Marsli) was not an actor before we worked together, for example.

Segment from Sophie El Assaad’s video Leila, shown at the Centaur Theatre’s Wildside Festival in 2021 ( This process is made possible by the support from the Government of Québec and the City of Montréal as part of l’Entente sur le développement culturel de Montréal, and from the Canada Council for the Arts)

Sometimes in film, I think that theatricality is lost because you have the liberty to take many takes to get it exactly how you want and perfect it. Filming a mistake rather than having to start again could be a form of theatricality in video that I am interested in exploring. Those moments really drive me - those moments of live, unpredictable human behaviour, mistakes.

I really love paying attention to the little details that happen in the in between space — the micro moments before going into action. Observing that – it’s so beautiful when you can see it and take the time to watch the brain processing and how it translates through the body.

It’s been amazing to shift my process upside down and give more control to other artists involved in my process- it’s liberating and collaborative! It leaves a lot of room for surprise and the unpredictable.

The photo was taken by Sophie El Assaad of Chadia Kikondjo for the project Black Balloon: Portico Project. 2020

An important image for Black Balloon was the moon. There’s a theory that the moon was created by a collision that happened between the earth and another planet and all the debris that was created from the collision that was floating around the orbit of the earth came together through gravity to form the moon. So it was through destruction that this essential part of our world was created.

“I’ve always wanted to be the kind of person to memorize poetry and say it to someone in the right moment.”

On decolonizing work and family history:

I am trying to decolonize my work by doing a lot more research into my own culture and bringing that into the process. I’m Lebanese, and I grew up in Bahrain, but I find I am very Western in how I was brought up; my mum is British, and I went to Western schools. So everything I learned in terms of history and art is from a Western perspective. So I’m going through this process right now — it’s kind of like an identity crisis or rebirth — of rediscovering my father, his culture and baggage, through my art. In a way, it feels like the longer I am physically away from my Middle Eastern roots, the more I try to get closer to it through my work. There is an invisible thread tying me to the sea, the sounds of street cats and the call to prayers, the salt in the air, the sand and the rocky desert. It’s like a past life that I constantly mourn. Even though I love my current life and probably wouldn’t move back, there is a certain void.

Image of my paternal ancestors. My grandmother is the young girl between the man and woman.

My dad shows his love through cooking. Every Sunday, my dad cooks and my sister and I go and spend time with the family (as much as we can). He actively plans his weekend around what he is going to cook for us. It’s a great way to bring me back to my past living in Bahrain, or summers spent in Beirut with family, because he mostly cooks Lebanese food (even though my mum’s British palette doesn’t always leap for joy at it). He’s a very silent man and there's a lot about him that I find very mysterious. Sometimes it’s hard to connect. That’s kind of why I feel driven to researching and creating through my ancestral culture. It’s also a way for me to connect with and rediscover my dad.

Image of a broken mirror (photo by Sophie El Assaad)

Something that has been inspiring me lately are the traces of life that you can find in dead material. I am obsessed! An example would be a shattered mirror – it holds the traces of the action in its appearance. It has so much energy locked into its absolute stillness.

Flayed Man Holding a Dagger and His Skin, From Juan Valverde de Amusco, Anatomia del corpo humano, 1560

Some of my favourite ways of working costumes are when I can put a lot of energy or emotion into a fabric – new fabric (especially when it is machine made) is “dead”, but the more you manipulate it, the more it absorbs your energy and holds traces of that love or hate – like human skin. You can often tell the kind of life a person has had from their skin and it’s the same with material. If you give love to material, you can see it. And I try to put that into consideration as much as possible when I’m thinking of design and how I treat my materials. They’ll share their life story with anyone who’ll pay attention, using their own unique language.

I love the body. That’s why I love theatre, performance and dance. There is something I am really drawn to in certain art – it’s this primal connection that, as humans, we tend to neglect or actively conceal in our daily lives. I love to see the body do things that I don’t get to see in my daily life because it’s a part of my being that I don’t really get to explore. Witnessing our primal side, or the animal within us, is cathartic for me. There is a violence inside all of us that I think is dormant but easily awoken. We see it in times of war, or political hysteria.

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“There is a secret part of me that I would really love to have more opportunity to explore – my clown.”

When I say clown, I mean a weird creepy out of control thing. I have this clown that I only present to some people. I don’t know what their name is yet, but she’s a troll. She comes out sometimes when I am in a special mood.

Self-portrait of one of my inner trolls. 2022

When I get into my clown, it just happens naturally and not very often – it’s funny, talking about it makes it sound as though it’s a real thing that is developed, but I have only recently discovered her. She comes out when I say something mean or that I consider unreasonable (or when I get exaggeratedly emotional/passionate) – “ah there she is! The troll is out”. It’s my way of coping with my inner animal.

I don’t know if stories belong to anybody – it’s not necessarily about where a person is from or what they have personally experienced, but how a story is told. I definitely think that if someone wants to talk about an experience or an identity that isn’t theirs, they need to make sure they work with people who have that experience or identity, to make sure the story is developed in an informed way. It is important to have that authentic perspective.

I think artists need to be accountable for how they represent people, especially if those people are marginalised in society and already have that weight to carry. There is an ethical question to ask about whether you are profiting from a situation that misrepresents others. I think there is great responsibility that comes with the privilege of being an artist who is given a public platform.

Unfinished painting of a horse by Sophie El Assaad

Image from a workshop of a creation piece by Sophie El Assaad ,2022. Lighting designed by Zoe Roux and modeled by Nasim Lootij.

Image from Sophie El Assaad’s video Leila, shown at the Centaur Theatre’s Wildside Festival in 2021 (Chadia Kikondjo as Mother Moon; This process is made possible by the support from the Government of Québec and the City of Montréal as part of l’Entente sur le développement culturel de Montréal, and from the Canada Council for the Arts)

On process:

I saw a lot of my early work as internships – there wouldn’t be a lot of budget or pay, but what I did get was experience and a platform, so I saw those as my opportunities to go all out and take risks (I also chose projects that really inspired me, so it fueled me in other ways than just financial). For me, the extra time put into the work was worth it. I don’t know if it’s what I would recommend to others, but it’s what I did to get my career started.

Costumes designed by Sophie El Assaad for the show Jonathan Livingston: A Seagull Parable, (Surreal SoReal/ Geordie Theatre, photo by Marie Andrée Lemire)

“If I have an idea I think, ‘Can I do it? Maybe not, but why not try and see what happens?’”

Mask created by Sophie El Assaad for the band Fleece for album Stunning and Atrocious in 2021. Photograph by Cameron Mitchell, Styling by Kayleigh Choiniere, Clothes by Lucas Stowe and modeled by Owen.

“I would also love to make a play about pigeons. Write a play, or ask someone to write a play and just have giant pigeons having a conversation.”

My pigeon friends Pin Pin and Smithy (the ones that live on my building, that I feed) – they’ve started this repetitive occurrence. Every morning they have a choir session. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard pigeons but they gather so close to my windows and it’s a cacophony of chirps and bubbles. It is so beautiful.

I have a fascination with birds. I love seeing little sparrows in the winter when they’re in the bushes — because they look like leaves but then they move around — so it becomes a sort of like, magical and alive bush.

I think recording rehearsals can be useful in my future projects – seeing how accidents can become pieces in themselves. But I also see it as a way of approaching the process. For example, what would happen if you filmed something, like a small gesture, edited it on video to slow down or twitch it, then brought it back into rehearsal. Being influenced by the technology and what that offers and finding how it can bring meaning is something I want to experiment with. I think it could bring unexpected approaches to movement and performance. Video is like a second pair of eyes, noticing the little details you can’t capture during a rehearsal. 

“There is something about the early rehearsal process, the magic that comes during improv. Because it’s live and in the moment — it’s so raw and unrehearsed, completely reliant on intuition — it’s truly magic.”

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Sophie El Assaad

Holly Hilts is a core member of Also Cool. She is a maker of things: theatre sets, jewelry and websites, currently based in Montreal.

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Chimbites x Plastique Famille Present Almas, an Immersive Experience for Ancestral Healing (Balistikal, Cité-des-Hospitalières)

As the world slowly opens up, we begin to celebrate and heal with each other. At a time when collective healing is needed more than ever, the Chimbites and Plastique Famille are hosting Almas from November 10-15 at Chapelle de la Cité-des-Hospitalieres, raising money for Balistikal's Anti-Clinica.

Almas (Souls) is a week-long exhibit centred around the re-interpretation of spirituality through a queer, anti-colonial lens and the deconstruction of ancestral trauma linked to religion. Tickets available HERE

By RICO SERNA via Chimbites

CHIMBITES is an international artistic network born in Tiohtià:ke / Montreal and Colombia in 2020, when Rico Serna and Julicore began working together to curate, develop and produce fundraising events. Their work is rooted in intersectionality and mutual aid, focusing on raising awareness and redistributing opportunities and resources, aiming for global equity.

With members in Bogota, Barcelona and Montreal, their goal is to organize exhibitions and events to showcase, empower and connect LGBTQIA+, BIPOC artists, while fundraising for their communities. By booking artists from near and far, they seek to provide a common international platform that provides equal compensation for their work.

PLASTIQUE FAMILLE is an artistic entity born in Mexico in 2016 founded by Diego Israel and Monica Olvera, operating as a platform to create, develop and launch ideas. Their work orbits around new technologies, decolonial practices, critical thinking, and social relationships in arts & culture. PF has been based in Toronto since 2017, with different members worldwide. They have grown into an established newcomer organization by creating and engaging with different communities, developing artistic management, which centres a human approach in our interactions with the artists and their work. They seek to understand needs more holistically, engaging with artists on many aspects of their process, co-creating pathways that suit their needs in terms of mental health, ability and financial capacity.

Chimbites and Plastique Famillie aim to (re)appropriate the colonized segregation space, "the church," by showcasing artists from various backgrounds to create a sacred space for our community to express their artistic views on spirituality, mental health, and healing. A "ceremony" will take place on Saturday, featuring performers and musicians, aiming to raise funds for a mental and spiritual health fund for Balistikal, an LGBTIA2S +, Afro-descendant, indigenous and migrant community in Latin America.

Cité-des-Hospitalières via Chimbites

Balistikal is a community organization whose mission is to heal, transform and cultivate the Afro and Indigenous LGBTIQ+ community. Their Anti-clinic offers healing services such as Tarot, Oracle, Astral chart, sexology, dream interpretation, Reiki, meditation, and more. Their next event will take place on November 18, and they need our support to raise funds to offer 80 free spots for Trans and Black individuals in need of healing services.

By NEAGONORREA, LAKRAS, OTRUS EXTRAVIADUS via Chimbites

The Cité-des-Hospitalières is a former convent based in Tiohtiá:ke, also known as Montreal, the unceded traditional territory of the Kanien'kehá:ka Nation. It constitutes a unique spiritual and sensory space, protected from the turbulence of the city by the wall of the formerly cloistered complex. The Cité has been open as a transitory space in recent months, inviting innovative projects that re-imagine inclusive and transformative uses of this exceptional heritage site.

Featured artists: PABLO BARESCH (Video Performance), DIANE GARCIA RAMOS (Sculpture), EDSON NIEBLA ROGIL (Short Film), NEUS LAKRAVIADUS (Short Film & Photographs), SANTIAGO MENDEZ & GABRIEL PITO (Photograph), JOSÉ L. MENÉDEZ (Painting), RICO SERNA (Photography), PRINCESS PRADA, PASTIZAL ZAMUDIO (Performance), JULICORE & SANTIAGO HURTADO (Short Film)

With performances by Kokettte, Araya Guanipa, and Zi1oj and musical performances by Chivengi, Deidre Opal, Syana Barbara

Sensorial Environment by Diane García Ramos, Earth Note Scents/Daniela Madrid, Corium, and onyyysumo

Emotional support on-site in collaboration with AGIR Montréal Thursday 11 & Friday 12

Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th, 15:00-18:00 - On November 10, 11, 12 and 15, free admission, donations will be accepted at the door.

The venue is wheelchair accessible. COVID-19 Protocols will be followed.

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Malaika Astorga is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of Also Cool. She is a Mexican-Canadian visual artist, writer, and social media strategist currently based in Montreal.

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Artist Spotlight: Henry Hu

whitesink by Henry Hu (inkjet print on cotton rag 24 x 16 cm) from passing parade, 2019 (10/10)

How do you decide to go from civil engineering to making a career for yourself as a visual artist? How do you know when it’s the right time to trust your intuition, and make that major life change that you need? For Henry Hu, these kinds of decisions have shaped his journey to becoming a full-time visual artist.

Exercising through various mediums, Henry Hu's (born 1995 Hong Kong) emerging practice commits to an infusion. An exchange. An immediacy. A link between the interior and the exterior — of a self, a being, an identity, a consciousness. 

Each individual series offers an overarching narrative, steps away from the present for a spell: tasked with casting new perspectives, fresh air to breathe, a spiritual relief. Often juxtaposing the past with the future, differing forms of surrealistic fantasies unfold across his works; along with a recurring structure, the heart of all series rests in harmony.

To be presented in dialogue with one another, all proposing works speak to the different natures of human existence, the quiet, the chaotic, those hushed periods, and at times the buzzing bangs.

Earlier this summer, we spoke to Henry about his work, travels, and how he decided to switch from civil engineering to visual art.

airydust by Henry Hu (inkjet print on cotton rag 24 x 16 cm) from passing parade, 2019 (4/10)

Malaika Astorga for Also Cool: Let's start at the beginning. Has your creative practice always been a part of your life? How has it changed over time?

Henry Hu: No, not at all -- growing up, on no occasion was I engaged in anything creative, I suppose I just didn't particularly care for it. Looking back, I was nonchalant. My younger self was rather indifferent; nothing at school piqued my interest, and I never really paid much attention or even had the ambition to achieve anything. Quite honestly, I was just sort of present, unoccupied, existing really, that's all. Not once did it cross my mind, the desire to devote myself. But I did enjoy movies; that was the one childhood obsession that persisted over the years. 

It wasn't until at university, shortly after I started a degree in civil engineering that it didn't seem worthwhile. Still, I didn't dare to picture a future in a creative line of work. Then, it all came about ... a realization. I acted on an impulse, and from there, my inclination to pursue arts and film quickly hardened into determination. 

I began doing small series of digital arts, both static and motion works. It made sense for me spatially, didn't cost a lot, only a computer was needed. Meanwhile, I buried myself in films, day in, day out, revisiting different eras of past cinema. Eventually, the works from directors like Antonioni, Éric Rohmer, Víctor Erice, Edward Yang, Kieślowski, Woody Allen stood out and entirely broadened, reshaped my perception of films. It was then when I started to write. Straightway I recognized the familiarity; it was comfortable. I was at ease and was confident that films would be my primary outlet. I also registered that it would be a long road ahead before I could actualize my screenplays. 

Anyhow, I kept on with the visual works, trying out various mediums. Graphics, art books, photographs, and a little later, mixed media initiated the urge to coexist physical and digital arts. Until then, I had been utilizing solely digital tools, so it was essentially the desire to do something concrete, dynamic, and perhaps on a larger scale. With that in mind, I made new sets of digital artworks, specifically for print, onto numerous fabrics, surfaces -- eager to see how they would interact with raw materials: acrylics, spray paints, threads, modelling doughs. Trials and errors charted the progress, noting the little details. The end result was a plunge into maximalism, a playful flux of colour. But still, traces of everything pre-existed. 

It is merely fortuitous that this new direction, quite the polar opposite, from the films I have envisioned, which are all very hushed and quiet, muted tones. Nonetheless, it is a nice balance, separating the two mediums.

Selected work from night dot surrender by Henry Hu (2020)

Also Cool: You've lived in so many incredible cultural hubs. Can you tell us a bit about each one and what your experience was like there?

Henry: I was raised in Hong Kong, up north. I had a pleasant childhood and had many uneventful years of growth. I wouldn't have appreciated it then, but it is a time now I feel very fond of. My parents took us hiking quite often, surprisingly. For such a small city, Hong Kong has a wide-ranging of walking trails and mountains. Nature, I think, the fields, the woods, spring, winter, the clouds overhead, the streams beneath, they are gifts for a child. 

At fourteen, I started attending a boarding school in Queensland, Australia. There was a drastic shift in environment, to say the least, but frankly, there wasn't much to take away; they were good years. And the changes were all surface level, however significant they might seem first. 

Following high school, I moved to Sydney for university, and, well, that's that. To be fair, I never did feel deeply rooted in any particular place, culture -- but I am awfully glad for the experiences. It is what it is.

Selected work from night dot surrender by Henry Hu (2020)

AC: You switched out of a degree in civil engineering and instead developed your passion for art and film. What was that process like? How did you learn to trust your intuition in that way?

H: It was months of dissonance and dread. A turbulent time for me, so to speak. The loss of a dear friend. Riddled with unrest, unsettled. I turned inward. It wasn't very dramatic, and it didn't happen overnight. But once I went forward with the visual works and writings, I realized that I belonged. That was it. 

Strangely enough, it was then that I saw myself coming into being for the first time. I suppose you have to narrow yourself to a point, for better or worse. Staying truthful, being mindful, what to do, what not to do, within reason. The ring of authenticity. It is difficult to hold the line, and it is difficult to stay true, but it is very fulfilling to the spirit. Having reached an understanding, of sorts, to yourself. 

Now I tend to believe there wasn't actually any underlying cause -- obviously, the events that occurred factored in. Everything factored in. And yet, sometimes, it's just meant to be. When I discontinued the degree, it was liberating. I never gave it a thought other than to be sort of pleased. I wasn't at all seeking validation; I just got on with it. So it was, more or less, the willingness to accept, to really heed your own thoughts and feelings. They can be very telling. All things considered, I am grateful, at that very moment, the external circumstances allowed me to proceed, to an extent. I was granted the privilege to move forward, so it was fortunate for me, I guess. 

In the end, it also just boils down, instead of letting the decisions be governed by fear -- simply, a leap of faith. Not necessarily any grand expectations. More so, a belief, the self-assurance that it was the right path -- I, myself, made the conscious decision to commit, with that, whatever happens, happens … and, that's okay.

motor by Henry Hu (inkjet print on cotton rag 24 x 16 cm) from passing parade, 2019 (5/10)

AC: What's the creative scene like where you are right now? What do you like about it, and what do you wish there was more of?

H: Earlier in the year, I had the opportunity to assist with indie films around Sydney. It was educative to spend time on set, to be observant. All around, it was delightful. As far as visual arts, well, in truth, I don't really know … Everybody does it differently. There are no rules. I had always intended to make some things on my own before branching out, connecting, and sharing. And so I did; I stayed underground, gave myself the time and space to work. But I am sure it's a very interesting scene out there, and now I look forward to getting more involved.

it hangs by Henry Hu (inkjet print on cotton rag 24 x 16 cm) from passing parade, 2019 (8/10)

AC: I'm interested in how you incorporate sequencing into your work. Can you expand on this?

H: From the beginning, my approach was to develop full bodies of work, no matter the medium. For the most part, especially with the photographs and digital stuff, once I feel I have enough materials. I take a few days, occasionally a few weeks off, a clearing. Afterwards, I come back, work on the sequencing, and finish off. This was a process that emerged incidentally. Now I do it on purpose. 

With the mixed media works, it was somewhat different. I had all the pieces visualized, sketched out before getting hands-on with the paints. I was attentive, more meticulous, and deliberate with the materials and structures -- how this particular piece should close out the series or how this colour won't work unless applied to that specific texture. I did put in extra precision and clarity -- constructing, rearranging, bits here, pieces there. It was a new thing for me; I had no prior knowledge of paints. I thought if I were to do this, I might as well do it the way that felt most organic. I listen to music when I work. My mind would have been filled with second-hand rhythms and tempos, ingrained with a given flow, pacing of things. After all, it is instinctive. Now and then, things naturally align. They seem genuine and sincere. I will just leave it at that. It would be very unwise to fight against it.

let in by Henry Hu (inkjet print on cotton rag 24 x 16 cm) from passing parade, 2019 (6/10)

AC: Who are some artists/creatives that are really inspiring you right now? (feel free to shout out friends)

H: I have been reading, re-reading a bunch lately. Sylvia Plath, her journals are something I return to regularly. Anne Truitt, who was known for her sculptures, but her writings are very stimulating to me. They are well worth the read. 

With films, this young Chinese writer-director Bi Gan, his works are precious, I highly await whatever he does next. 

Current music excites me a great deal. Mount Eerie, Julia Holter, Beach House, Weyes Blood, Florist, Perfume Genius, Car Seat Headrest, Let's Eat Grandma, James Blake, Tomberlin, Jockstrap, Laura Marling, Snail Mail. This year only, new records from Dry Cleaning, Vince Staples, Wolf Alice, Black Country New Road, Julien Baker. It's just joyful to have so much I could anticipate all the time. It's a good feeling. And also, Helena Deland, I came across her debut last year, been playing it ever since. (A nice surprise to see there's an interview piece with her on Also Cool!)

AC: What are you hoping to do more of in 2021, both creatively and career-wise?

H: Sydney is in lockdown at the moment. A chance to entertain new ideas. It's been productive. Did some digital art stuff. Continuing with the screenplays, visual references and research, all that. Just getting on, really -- I don't know how it's all going to pan out, but I am satisfied, the journey so far, I guess we will see.

Henry Hu

Website I Instagram I Twitter

Malaika Astorga is the co-founder of Also Cool. She is a Mexican-Canadian visual artist, writer, and social media strategist currently based in Montreal.

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I’m For No One’s Consumption But My Own: Meet NYC Treasure Kitty

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Kitty, edited by peachy_kai

In our era of “the everyday celebrity,” where creators’ means of gaining a reputation and fanbases are (sometimes) dictated by social media savviness and a viral appeal, one roadblock remains: authenticity. Across all forms of creative expression, the timeless questions of “Why do artists do what they do?” and by extension “Who are they, really?” are always on the table, especially now that creators willingly let us peer into their everyday lives online. A few odd years ago seeing artists “just being themselves” could majorly stain their image. Now, the advent of “get ready with me” and “day in the life” style social media segments humanize, and even glamourize, the day-in and day-out of lived experiences. In other words, the exposé has retired and vulnerability has been readily embraced. Relatability is in, and can even be your ticket to widely received recognition via innovative corners of the Internet. At the same time, the idea of online availability trickling down into how success is born and raised also threatens how people are treated by their audiences.

With little barriers between creators and consumers, the pressing question becomes “How do creatives preserve and care for their sense of self when so much of it has to be on display in order to stand out?” This theme was at the core of my conversation with Kitty, a multidisciplinary visual and makeup artist, fashion designer and model, who uses social media to showcase their creative portfolio and network within the fashion industry and beauty community. 

On the surface, Kitty and I actually have a lot in common. We’re both 23 years old, earth signs, and are living with our parents after graduating post-secondary during the pandemic. Though we share a “just figuring it out” mentality, there is, of course, one key difference between us: their 35.9K following on Instagram. Through chatting with Kitty, I learned that the upkeep of their artistic passions, in tandem with their social media presence, is made entirely possible by staying true to their biggest source of inspiration, themselves. 

“When it comes to my creativity, a lot of people ask, and are surprised, when I say that I’m mainly my own source of inspiration,” they say with a small smirk across their face. “I’m like, what do you mean who inspires me? Why does it have to be somebody else? To me, being a real artist and a real creative doesn’t mean you can’t find inspiration in others, but basing my drive off someone other than myself is something I’ve never experienced or felt,” they add. 

For Kitty, self-reliance is a must and comes naturally when conceptualizing new projects. From a young age, they’ve always been encouraged to pursue creative freedom, and continue to reject being boxed-in when it comes to self-expression. Their looks combine ethereal whimsy with the underground edge of their hometown of NYC, adorning them with a presence that exudes originality. Much of their determination is evidenced by the origin of their name and artistic outlook. 

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Self-portrait conceptualized, created, styled, shot and edited by the artist

“I’ve been in love with cats since I was a little kid. I remember I used to go to art school and they would get so upset with me because all I wanted to do was draw cats,” they laugh. “My instructors couldn’t understand why, but cats always represented much more to me than just my favourite animal,” they explain. “I’ve done a lot of research on their symbolism, and cats represent the concept of one’s inner-child and a sense of playfulness, and how to embrace that. My connection to cats brought my work to life… [It’s] just very magical, and also very safe. I feel like that’s my energy, and how I want people to feel when they see my work.” 

This story was made a little sweeter by the fact that they had a kitschy kitten poster behind them during our Zoom call. 

Kitty also expressed that their relationship with their inner, imaginative world has only come to life in a tangible way after learning to cultivate their distinctive sense of style.

“Since I graduated high school I’ve gone through so much shit. Back then, I didn’t really know who I was. Though I still added my own personal touch when it came to how I expressed myself, I still felt like I had to be a ‘certain type of girl.’ Back then, I didn’t even know I was non-binary, and I wasn’t surrounded with the right people who allowed me to feel more fluid in myself,” they articulate. “In terms of my evolution, I’ve really learned to free myself from norms that were pushed onto me, and there’s no going back.” 

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Self-portrait conceptualized, created, styled, shot and edited by the artist

Though much of Kitty’s growth was made possible by nurturing self-acceptance, sharing it with the world via social media unexpectedly lead to online admiration; much to their surprise considering their humble intentions. 

“As I always like to say, I don’t think people realized that I started from my fucking basement,” they giggle. “I didn’t have a tripod and I didn’t have a ring light. I just had some backdrops, and you know, I would do a fun makeup look here and there. That’s when people started reaching out to me, and I realized diving into the industries I was interested in was possible.” 

Kitty tells me that while the start of their online buzz brought professional opportunities in the world of beauty and fashion, the downside of broadcasting their personal brand on a public platform has made for a lot of challenges. Like a lot of online creators, Kitty struggles with maintaining boundaries and managing their followers’ expectations. 

“Personally, it feels like I’m never enough for some people, you know?” they begin. “I’m very grateful for all the love and support I get, but at the same time, I get overwhelmed because people feel very entitled to my time and personal life.”  

Just as they were about to make another point, Kitty noticed an Instagram DM notification pop up on their phone, and read it out-loud to me. 

“Hi, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you pay your bills when you were just starting to model, what were you doing?” 

They roll their eyes, sigh and smile. The timing is a little much for both of us. 

“Yeah, like you see?!” they exclaim. “I can only give you so much of me and my experience. I do joke a lot, saying that I’m not real… But, I am a real person. I have feelings and things I need to process… I don’t always want to be perceived. At the end of the day, I’m for no one’s consumption but my own.” 

Laughing off this note of frustration, Kitty and I got on the subject of how they’re learning to self-advocate on social media, and how much of it draws from protecting their art, as so much of it comes from a sentimental and intimate place. 

“People are so used to me being sweet and nice, but one thing I refuse to be silent about lately is the makeup community not understanding the difference between recreation and inspiration. Another part of people wanting too much from me is when they say they’re ‘inspired’ by me and use that as justification to recreate my look without properly crediting me, especially with my rhinestone looks,” they share. “People might label me as being a bully or being mean, but I’m tired of being accused of gatekeeping when I’m defending something that fully represents me.” 

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Self-portrait conceptualized, created, styled, shot and edited by the artist

I then asked Kitty how they keep up their momentum and stay grounded within these circumstances, realizing how exhausting they must be. 

“I feel like everything really comes full circle. Everything I have has really just started from myself, and I can’t lose sight of that because I want others to get there. For example, I’ve been working my way into the modelling industry since I was 19, and it’s very toxic. I realize now, after walking fashion week at 5’5, that I can break the mold and inspire people who have features like mine; models who are short and have weird noses, or like a nose bump… any kind of nose, and any body type. Even though I still deal with people who try to manipulate and undermine me, and who expect me to work for free… I want to always give back to others because I feel like when you give back, the universe will return it to you eventually, you know?” My friends remind me that not everyone is going to want to come with me on my journey, but that leaves room for new people and new energy.” 

In closing our conversation, Kitty tells me what they’re looking forward to in 2021 after undergoing so much self-discovery in the past year. 

“I feel like what I was missing before was the self-love that I started finding in 2020. I think a lot of that translates into my work now, and I hope people recognize that I am much happier. I’ve got some exciting collabs coming up in the future and my website is growing. Even though things are uncertain in the world right now, one thing I learned in the past year was to do all the things [I was] afraid to do. I want to carry that energy forward and continue to evolve.” 

Kitty shot by estherfromnewyork for uzumakigallery

Kitty (They/Them)

Website | Instagram | TikTok | Youtube

Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter (She/Her) is the Co-Founder and Editor of Also Cool Mag. Aside from the mag, she is a music promoter & booker, radio host & DJ, and a musician.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

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Artist Spotlight: Gabriella Scali

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Sorry Girls by Gabriella Scali

Get to know Montreal-based photographer Gabriella Scali, whose photos initially caught our eye with with their attention to texture and muted colour schemes. Read and experience Scali’s reflections on following the band Sorry Girls on their past North American tour in her photo essay below. Within, Scali shares the charming, intimate moments of touring with a band through a gentle lens, and discusses how her relationship with her work transformed through reminiscing these nostalgic moments a year later.

- - -

One year ago, I left Montreal to follow Sorry Girls on their tour across North America. My boyfriend is one of the musicians in the group, and as a photographer sensing a great opportunity, I immediately bugged him to have me tag along. I knew I had to document the band and their adventures on the road, in motel rooms and behind stage curtains. 

Only packing a handful of film stock with me, I had to be very meticulous about what I wanted to capture. This is one of the reasons I always prepare my ideas in advance by sketching scenes and images: It calms my anxiety before the actual shoots. But on tour, it was creatively difficult. I couldn’t easily have control over the scenes and create images following my drafted ideas like I usually do. Being shy to approach the subjects fully and the quick pace of the tour schedule made it difficult for me to take pictures I enjoyed. 

At this point in time, I wasn't very well acquainted with the other musicians in the band, and the process of following and documenting people that I barely knew was unsettling. I feared that the results might be overly-reserved and inauthentic. When my photos came out of the lab, a sinking feeling of disappointment came over me. I realized I had kept a deliberate safe distance from the subjects, in order to disturb their experience as little as possible. I tossed my photos aside. It wasn't until later that I was able to find beauty in my polite, introverted approach. The artists’ faces were often obscured by flares and reflections, creating an effect as if they are in a different realm, like light peeking through a translucent curtain. I noticed, however, that in time this shy obfuscation, approached with a cautious veil towards the beginning of the journey, began to lift. The warmth of the California sunshine began to seep in, illuminating the subjects' faces and the shadows between us.

Now one year later, when I look at my photographs I am faced with nostalgia and a bittersweet sensation. I feel the desert wind on my legs, the yellow sun warming my arms, and I smell the sweet scent of gasoline as I picture the mountains swiftly passing by. I also recall the cramped 15 hour drives, the unhealthy road-meals and the poor sleeping habits. I see my personal transformation in these photos. I see the time it took me to reach my comfort level, and how I was eventually able to let go of my expectations and preconceived results and to instead embrace the music scene’s vibrant and spontaneous energy. Spirited, suddenly full of power and brightness. This trip was like a flare you had to quickly grasp, otherwise it is lost. I wonder if I will ever experience this feeling again.

- - -

Gabriella Scali is a Montreal-based photographer who started taking pictures as a young teenager, always dreaming of travelling to quiet places and capturing people by creating mood and settings around them. In 2016, she received her BFA in Photography at Concordia University. She also found inspiration in new surroundings, studying design at Bauhaus University in Germany, where she travelled across Europe and displayed her work in exhibitions. She now works as a graphic designer for a non-profit organization and works on her photography projects on the weekend.

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Gabriella Scali, photo courtesy of the artist

Gabriella Scali

Instagram | Website

Sorry Girls

Instagram | Website | Facebook | Spotify | Bandcamp

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Artist Spotlight: Amanda Leigh Ponce

By Amanda Leigh Ponce

Amanda Leigh Ponce really does it all. As an actor, graphic designer, and illustrator, she’s a force to be reckoned with. Get to know Amanda and all of her creative endeavours below.

Malaika for Also Cool: How did you get into creative work? 

Amanda: I honestly can’t remember a time in my life where I wasn’t participating in something creative. I’ve been dancing since I was a kid and spent most of my childhood inside dance studios. After a back break right before college auditions, followed by illness, I switched gears. I focused on acting while I was recovering, and eventually ended up going to New York City for college to train to be a film actor. 

Throughout that entire time, I had been drawing and teaching myself how to use design programs just as a hobby. It wasn’t until I got to New York that I realized that art and design were things I could pursue as a career. A friend of mine had seen some of my work and mentioned that I should set up an online shop.

So I began reaching out to the network I had established as a performer. Many of the theatre companies I’d worked at gave me my very first opportunities as a graphic designer, and really gave me the confidence to begin freelancing. 

Amanda Leigh Ponce

Also Cool: Do you have a primary medium?

Amanda: Yeah, it’s definitely changed over the years. I started out trying to act full-time, but being in a smaller market wasn’t sustainable. So now, art and design are my primary mediums, and how I spend most of my day today! Pre-pandemic I was auditioning a lot and going to New York for shoots, but everything came to a halt. I had to pivot and sort of re-assess how I was going to be able to pay my rent, ya know?  

AC: I really enjoyed your blog post about the pressure to be productive as a creative during quarantine, and for your work to reflect the current times. Do you still feel that way now, and if so, how do you manage these expectations?

Amanda: Thank you. It was kind of cathartic to write, to be honest. I definitely still feel that pressure a little bit. I’m trying to learn how to give myself some grace and to not force myself to create out of an expectation. As a generally anxious person, I think I do that to myself a lot.

Since May, when I initially wrote that post, I’ve really been working on not stretching myself too thin. Setting actual work hours, allowing myself to pursue the projects and hobbies that bring me joy, scheduling out my social media weeks in advance so that it’s not even something I have to think about. Doing what I can to support and lift the voices of other Black and BIPOC artists who have the energy to create in that way has also been important to me. 

I’m very slowly beginning to realize that my productivity and output do not define my human worth. The more I lean into that, the better I feel all around. 

By Amanda Leigh Ponce

AC: Who are your creative inspirations?

Amanda: Oh gosh, there are so many different people, but some I can think of off of the top of my head are Hsiao-Ron Cheng, Corinna Dodenhoff, Frida Kahlo, Andy Warhol, in particular, have had a significant impact on how I see colour and composition. 

AC: I love your fake film posters! What are some of your favourite films, and why?

Amanda: Thank you! I love working on alternate posters, it’s always a fun way to pay homage to movies that I love. Right now, I’m kind of obsessed with Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite. I thought it was really thrilling and beautifully shot and I’ve watched it multiple times now and have noticed something new with each viewing, which I love. Another film that I think is just so visually stunning that I know a lot of people hated, lol, but that I will always have a soft spot for is Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. The soundtrack, the cinematography, the costume and makeup design, it’s really just a visual treat and I really love highly stylized pieces like that. 

By Amanda Leigh Ponce

AC: In your opinion, what makes a good poster? 

Amanda: Whether or not it grabs my attention. It’s a weirdly simple answer but that’s kind of the point, right? Movie key art exists to get audiences excited/intrigued about what’s to come. So if it makes me really stop to take it in, it’s done it’s job. I think a lot of posters sort of fall into the same basic composition/fonts/etc. and I definitely feel like those are less likely to catch my eye. 

AC: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned as a freelance artist? What would your advice be to others who are trying to figure out how the freelance world works?

Amanda: Honestly, that there’s enough work to go around for everyone. I’m so lucky to have a circle of incredibly creative friends and colleagues, and I find the more that you’re willing to support other artists (even if they’re your ‘competitors’) the more support that comes back your way, and then you’re really able to begin creating a community that you can lean on, which I think for me as a freelancer has been absolutely vital. 

The other major lesson that I think every freelancer has to learn in their own time, is to know what your art is worth, and not budge on it. Figuring out my rates (and not being bullied into changing them once they were established) was a huge game changer for me. 

As far as advice goes, I would just say don’t be afraid to shoot your shot. I’ve sent out countless numbers of ‘cold emails’ with my work to brands/companies that I would love to work with. And while most of the time it doesn’t work out, sometimes it does, and they wouldn’t have known me from any other artists out there if I hadn’t taken the time to do that. Of course with that being said, you need to make sure that you’re prepared and have a solid portfolio of work to show people, but ultimately I’ve found that most people are pretty open to this because artist and designers are problem solvers. 

Also - and this shouldn’t be that surprising but - be kind! Firm, but kind. It will help you to navigate all of the different types of personalities that you’ll come in contact with doing freelance work. 

By Amanda Leigh Ponce

AC: Finally, is there anything you want to promote or shout out right now? How can we can best support you?

Amanda: I would love if you checked out my website (amcoart.com) and gave me a follow on Instagram (instgram.com/leigh.corbett). For whatever reason, the amount of followers you have seems to “legitimize” artists in the eyes of some brands, so that’s super helpful for me as I continue trying to branch into the crazy world of brand partnerships. I also post cute cat pics! I’ve been selling prints of my work on Society6 for a long time and recently launched a store where I’m selling prints directly through my website, plus I have some tee-shirts available through Hot Topic! A visit through my website (to the ‘shop’ link) will direct you to all of those places! 

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https://locallove.ca/issues/the-revolutionary-origins-of-self-care/#.X1ka0WdKhE5

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5024403/

http://www.itsabouttimebpp.com/Survival_Programs/survival_programs.html

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Nina Slykhuis-Landry is a Montreal-based illustrator, cartoonist and mural artist. 

Instagram I Website

Rico Montaño on Colombian Graphic Design, Freelancing During Quarantine & Chimbites

Rico is a Colombian multidisciplinary artist currently based in Barcelona. Known for their colourful and creative style, they are a graphic designer, art director and photographer. We caught up with them about their work and their latest project, Chimbites.

Design by Rico Rica for Cuarenteca

Rico: My name is Rico, and I'm never in one place for too long. I’m currently based in Barcelona, but grew up in Colombia, and lived in Canada for 13 years. I love my culture, I love colours, and I love people. 

I go back to Colombia as much as I can, and I take many of my photos there. A lot of my work is documentary or editorial. I mostly photograph people I love and the people I collaborate with, and I always shoot with film. I love analog. Even in my design practice, I love starting with a painting or a drawing and then it becomes something else.

Design by Rico Rica

Malaika Astorga for Also Cool Mag: Who inspires you for graphic design, and why?

Rico: I take a lot of inspiration from things that aren't graphic design. Growing up in such colourful streets in Barranquilla made me become almost obsessive about colours. Luis Barragan is a big inspiration (he was in his turn inspired by North African architecture). His book on emotional architecture "Obra Construida" really resonated with me, so I dedicated a semester to studying his work and did a three-part book about it. 

My dad was my first exposure to graphic design, without realizing it. He's obsessed with stamps. He has a lot from Colombia from the 1940-50s and 1800s as well. I didn't understand why he liked them so much when I was younger. Now that I'm trying to find more Colombian graphic design, I go to them for inspiration and plan on making zines to document them.

I truly admire the work of Ramon Tejada and Jerome Harris on decolonizing design and documenting African-American/Latinx work in our field. I’m also really inspired by Leah Maldonado’s take on typography and education. These days I’m really into 3D typography, early 2000’s internet art and anything that shines.

“Ver, Leer, Sentir” on Luis Barragan by Rico Rica

AC: How have you been able to find your style? 

Rico: My style has always been really colourful. Quarantine has helped me get out of all the practices that have been in my head from school. I think I just had to go the complete opposite way. I'm still exploring, I'm experimenting with, for example, how many textures and gradients I can add to something. 

Design by Rico Rica for Nox Lounge

Design by Rico Rica for Nox Lounge

AC: How are you managing your freelance work? How have you been able to figure out balancing it with your routine? 

Rico: Balance is a big word. (laughs) I think the most challenging part has been balancing mental health and freelancing.

AC: Well, you seem very like on top of things. 

Rico: I'm trying. I think something that's helped to get the ball rolling over the years has been building up a network of other artists and collaborators. That way, we're working together, and I don't take all the responsibility on myself. 

I enjoy coordinating in general, getting people together, or building a team for a project. It's something I'm slowly starting to do more, and spending less time on the details of the project.

Social Distancing campaign by Rico Rica x Florient Aniorte

AC: What are you working on right now? 

Rico: I'm working on a collaborative project called Chimbites with my friend Julicore from Bogota and a community of Latinx artists in Montreal. It's an intersectional Latinx Artist Network, focused on encouraging collaboration, community building and solidarity within the Queer Latinx Immigrant community and Latinx artists in Latin America. 

The initial idea came up in April and is finally coming to fruition with our digital event on September 11th. It will be a fundraiser and a collective performance in solidarity of two organizations: Taking What We Need and Dos Latinas. 

The event will showcase artists from the Latinx community and allies performing to raise funds for various organizations, aiming to support Femme, Trans, Two-Spirit and Marginalized communities in Canada and Colombia. 

Chimbites will happen in two parts: a Mixcloud Livestream, showcasing short films, music sets and performances, and a Zoom afterparty with Club Quarantine. 

Taking What We Need is an informal volunteer-run community group dedicated to helping trans women, trans-feminine (AMAB), and Two-Spirit people get what they need through discretionary funding, primarily in Tio'Tia:ke-Montreal.

Dos Latinas is an organization that provides food, basic hygiene products, contraceptive care and sexual education workshops that seek to protect women in marginalized territories in Colombia. Their work is crucial throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as the number of unwanted pregnancies augmented, and the poverty situation is worse than ever before. 

Menstrual cups and contraceptives will be sent to the womxn in Baru, Colombia, and their neighbouring islands. Food baskets will be sent to the Afro-Colombian community in the urban Palenque in the city of Barranquilla.

AC: It's really cool to see how you integrate community into your creative practices. Do you think that this is something that you want to continue, like past this event and into the future as well? 

Rico: Definitely. It's attracted people from all around the world, who are a part of the Latinx community. There's a lot of interest in participating in the next one. 

We want to keep using this platform to collaborate, creatively, or even find and allocate funds. We're also not exclusive to Latinx people only. Anyone can help, and we encourage non-Black people to help by opening up their wallets and donating.

Design by Rico Rica

AC: Is there anything else you'd like to put out into the world right now? Advice or otherwise?

Rico: I feel like this article is a bit of a goodbye letter to Montreal. My last advice is to follow your gut feeling and to listen a lot. 

Ensure that your intentions are in the right place and that you're listening to the community around you. Listening to the people, you're trying to help. If you're in a position of power, delegate it. As hard as that can seem for some people, it's an important thing to do. 

Set boundaries for your time and take care of your mental health. Take care of yourself and your friends more than anything. 

Rico

RICO RICA I Instagram

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Chimbites

GoFundMe I PayPal I Instagram I Nequi: 3212476229⁣

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🥂𝐸𝓍𝓅𝑜/𝒫𝑒𝓇𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓂𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒🥂⁣via MixCloud⁣

SHORT FILMS

Eléctrica Rogil @edsoniebla⁣ Tupamara Alta @La_crymoso⁣

⁣

FASHION PERFORMANCES

Rastros de Amor @posadas.apparatus⁣ CoctelCancer @analcancer2009⁣ Neus Lakraviadus @neagonorrea @_lakras_ @otrusextraviadus⁣ Chimbites Collab: @viasus_ x @culonahigh⁣

⁣

WARM-UP with @Yoggaton⁣

⁣MUSIC SETS

@jas_h_im x @accept__cookies⁣, @deidre.opal9 x @teozamudio⁣, @lomaasbello (live)⁣, @isabellalovestory (live)⁣, @climatecollapse x @us3rname2⁣, @__jerico_____ x @custoblanch⁣,

Chimbites Collab: @teykirisi x @metacyber.s.a

⁣

🥂𝒜𝒻𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓅𝒶𝓇𝓉𝓎: @clubquarantine🥂⁣via Zoom⁣

LINEUP⁣

@tayhana_⁣ @k.hole_kardashian⁣ @laguapiss⁣ @phaedramu⁣ @akadjmilf⁣ @anpob⁣⁣

The winners of the Raffles we have with @earthnotescents, @lmbainofficial and @arielledepinto will be announced during the event! ⁣

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Gabor Bata: Memories of Clown Exhibits, Wim Wenders, & Getting Over Art Blocks

Art by Gabor Bata

Known for his wavy characters and psychedelic range of texture and colour Gabor Bata is a Montreal-based illustrator, whose work will transport you to a whole other world. He does everything from comics to book design, and article illustrations as well.

We caught up with him about creative influences, strange art exhibits, and how to get over art block.

Art by Gabor Bata

Also Cool Mag: How did art first enter your life? Was it something that was always there, or did you find it later on? 

Gabor Bata: I was sort of in a special situation where my parents actually encouraged me to go into the arts, even at a young age, and continue to do so today. Art was always a big part of my life, and it was usually a very giving dynamic. 

My parents always had art books lying around the house or would take my brother and I to galleries. I remember one, in particular, was this show in Ottawa when I was about 9, called Portrait of the Artist as Clown. It was all these kitschy paintings, drawings, sculptures, photos, and videos of clowns. I feel like I must’ve made such a huff about not wanting to go because the last thing I think a 9-year-old wants is to be trapped in a museum full of clowns on a Saturday. Great idea for a horror movie, but ya know. My folks insisted. One installation in particular that has always stayed with me was this strange, very sensual video of this half-nude queer clown doing a trapeze act. 

While I’m sure it was all aggressively incomprehensible to me at the time, stuff like that opened me up pretty early on to how diverse and limitless art could be. I never would’ve thought of that as art until then. My scope had changed, and I think it’s important for any kid getting into art to have an experience like that. Preferably without the clowns, though. 

Art by Gabor Bata

AC: Your personal style is so unique and has a great variety of textures and colour. How did you find your style, and how has it evolved over the years? 

Gabor Bata: Comics and cartoons were as always the backbones of my work. I never really got over them or felt like once I was going into art school that I had to “grow up” and move on. I’ve become less interested in creating straightforward cartoons and comics in the last two years and more interested in exploring their abstraction: the shapes and the colours, the visual language. So much of those elements alone can tell a story. 

Those were what had always appealed to me, and made me feel so at home in those worlds. Removing a piece of dialogue, the linework from a drawing, letting forms breathe and bubble, and stretching across those familiar panel grids and geometric lines creates something more involved and emotional. It actually gives you a lot more through suggestion, instead of creating a full scene with fully formed characters and speech bubbles with dialogue that tells you these blobs are mad or depressed or haunted or heartbroken or whatever. The work would all be done then, and there’d be nothing left for the viewer to interpret for themselves. 

Art by Gabor Bata

AC: Where do you go for inspiration? Either online, or IRL? 

Gabor Bata: Movies are a big inspiration. Seeing all of these separate elements coming together, the images, the pacing, the music, combined to elevate and flesh out a singular statement is really magical. I’ve recently been on this Wim Wenders kick, and his films are like my new obsession. He finds a way of creating worlds you just sink into. I just rewatched Paris, Texas and am planning on catching Until The End Of The World, and wow, now does that film have a killer soundtrack. 

Julee Cruise, Nick Cave, Talking Heads, good grief! I haven’t watched it yet, maybe it’ll be terrible, and I’ll regret bringing it up here, but the music has already made me soar and brought me to another place. It just isn’t the same thing for me when I’m drawing or painting. 

When I’m creating, I have a pretty particular idea of the voices, the sounds and the music I associate with the image. Still, no one else will ever really know those things or have access to it the way you would with a movie. Some galleries and installations try doing that, with audio playing in the gallery, or the lights flickering or something to elevate the pieces, but it always just feels like you’re in a sad version of Disney Land. Some works really have the ability to transport you, though, and that’s something I always aspire to. 

Art by Gabor Bata

AC: What do you do when you hit an art block? What helps you get over it? 

Gabor Bata: If I need a boost, I’ll do things that I’m uncomfortable with or shitty at, or try something I can’t rely on my laurels to accomplish. 

Screenprinting was a big one, and actually ended up greatly influencing my interest in abstraction. Breaking my images down layer by layer made me see all the incidental work going on literally beneath the surface. I’m still a little lousy with printing, but that experience was so informative and helpful in regards to the work I create now. 

It’s really easy for me to start feeling trapped in my drawings or to get overwhelmed by the detail. It’s constantly a game for me to surprise myself or trick myself into doing something I wouldn’t have thought of before. It centres me a bit and reels me back into why I’m doing what I’m doing. 

Art by Gabor Bata

AC: Where did you grow up? How did your upbringing shape your ideas about art and design? 

Gabor Bata: I was born in Montreal but was raised an hour out in a couple different suburban towns until I was 15 (at which point I moved back here). I feel that was the right age to come back, and while I think I did most of my maturing and creative discovering in the city, I can’t say suburbia didn’t have some effect. 

Nature had always been a backdrop in my home life, trees especially. My interest in the shape of trees has translated into some of the organic shapes I toy around with in my art. And the strange things you find living in those trees! My brother would get these bugs biting him all the time, and he’d just balloon completely out of control. The way the body reacts, how little control we have over it, and how little understanding, especially as a kid, definitely must’ve played into me drawing these erratic, bulbous organic characters who can barely contain themselves. 

Art by Gabor Bata

AC: How do you feel about social media as a platform for what you make? 

Gabor Bata: Social media has its perks. It can be a beautiful way of connecting and discovering others, especially in the art world. However, as a means of consuming art and information, that’s a bit tricky. On Instagram, you’re swiping through image after image after image, and at a point, they don’t really have the impact or the ability to be enjoyed on their own. Is it the ideal way to consume a piece of art? 

In my case, there’s a lot that feels lost in the translation of my 3x5 foot drawings to my 5.5x2.5 inch iPhone. I dunno, I sound like dinosaur bones now. I follow plenty of artists who have mutated their output to fit within the square confines of an Instagram post, to the point where I can’t imagine it being presented anywhere else. To me, I use it more out of practicality, and I’m definitely intent on eventually creating my own website where it’s less about taking in as many different images as possible in 30 seconds and more about giving the work a proper platform to breathe. 

Art by Gabor Bata

AC: What does community mean to you, and how do you connect with it?

Gabor Bata: Look, I know I just wrote that grand anti-Instagram manifesto, but yeah, I’ll stand by the fact that I’ve connected with so many cool artists and friends through it. 

It’s important to surround yourself with other nut jobs who share the same wants and struggles as you. Working around like-minded folks can be inspiring and challenging. If they’re really good at what they do, I think getting a bit pissed at how good they are and trying to outdo them every once in a while is healthy. 

Here are just a few of the artists who piss me off on the regular: @jupescoops (Aaron Elvis Jupin), @alexahawksworth (Alexa Hawksworth), @mlarono (Mathieu Larone), @catherine_desroches (Catherine Desroches), @erynlou (Eryn Lougheed) @jasonmurphyart (Jason Murphy) @foreshortening (Graeme Shorten-Adams), @francismarcel_ (Francis Marcel Williams) @peiangelina (Angie Pei)

Gabor Bata

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Malaika for Also Cool: Who is Warm Up Project? How did it get started?

Jean David: Warm.Up.Project is a daily collaborative project between me (Jean-David) and Louis.

It started after I was forced to come back from my three-month trip in Asia due to Corona. I felt like I needed to transfer my energy into something creative, to forge a habit and release stuff without overthinking. I wanted to create music on a daily basis, and I immediately thought about asking Louis to collaborate for visuals. At first he said: “Ok let me think how I can pull this off without investing six hours a day into it,” to which I replied, “Think about it and let’s talk tomorrow”

I woke up the next day to 25 messages from him. I felt his excitement and determination. We posted the first collaboration two days later, and now we have more than 50 posts, with more to come!

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Also Cool: What are your backgrounds? The combination of your visuals & music choice is stunning. I definitely binge-scrolled through your account when I first found it.

Jean-David: I’ve always been in the audio and music industry. I took art classes here and there for fun, but I’ve worked in recording studios all my life. Throughout the years I’ve collaborated with a lot of talented artists, creatives, directors and international brands. I’ve always thought that music and visual art were meant to enhance each other. I am super grateful that I met Louis, and after all these years it was time for me to finally release music regularly and share my passion with the world!

Louis: I had a three years cegep program in graphic design, and then got into freelance work by sheer luck! I met like-minded people and started doing more projects in animation, while still keeping and evolving my taste in graphic design. I met Jean-David some years ago from afar, and always considered him to be a genuinely talented guy. So I was flattered when he came to me with this project. The more we work together, the more we realize how connected our visions are! We really respect each other's work, and we are stunned how sometimes our inspirations match up perfectly. There have definitely been a few moments of “DUDE it was meant to be!!”

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AC: Have you always been interested in combining arts and music? How does that manifest in your life outside of this project?

Jean-David: Yes! Like I said earlier, for me it’s a great combination that I think we need more of! Adding eye-catching visual effects to the emotional aspect of music is so powerful. Geometry, colors, perspective and compositions have always been important for me visually, and Louis understands that, making for a great artistic connection between the two of us!

Louis: In animation, rhythm plays a crucial role. Good music is a driving force to push the visuals further. I like fixed images without any sound too, you have more time to really analyze the art. It’s like photography versus cinema. But in the end, a specific moment that moves both in image and sound is really powerful to me. 

AC: Who are your favourite artists right now? Both musicians and visual artists?

Jean-David’s favourite musicians:  Rival Consoles @rivalconsoles Superpoze @superpoze_ Olafur Arnalds @olafurarnalds

Favourite visual artists:  Charlotte Taylor (Dello Studio)  @dellostudio Alexis Christodoulou @teaaalexis Sean Meilak @seanmeilak David Umemoto @david_umemoto

Louis’ favourite musicians: Yussef Dayes @yussefdayes Daniel Caesar @danielcaesar Jordan Rakei @jrakz Skinshape @skinshapemusic Yves Jarvis @yvesjarvis Lianne La Havas @liannelahavas

Favourite visual artists: Linus Lohoff @linuslohoff Lou @holalou Jeremy Rieger @jprgd Romain Loubersanes @romainloubersanes Rafael Araujo @rafaeldearauj0 Violaine et Jérémy @violaineetjeremy

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AC: How have you been keeping up motivation to be creative during quarantine?

By “forcing” ourselves to create something new everyday! We created a habit and it’s the greatest decision. Sometimes it’s hard and you feel like you’re not coming up with anything right, but if you just try, there’s always something good out of it. It’s so satisfying to see the accumulation of our work!

Also, we agreed that this project should always stay fun, not stressful. If there’s days where we don’t have time or we are simply not feeling it, we skip it and come back stronger the next day.

Being two in this project means that we can always push each other, it’s really energizing! The people who appreciate and support our work with amazing feedback is a strong fuel too. It’s all about the people around us in the end!

AC: What’s the best way to directly support this project, and both of you as artists?

If you like and enjoy what we do on warm.up.project, you are welcome to share with your network! It’s always good to know that people can enjoy our art and it resonates with them.

Jean-David: I’ll be releasing an album this year and I am super excited! I also just launched a new company called “Supersavant.” It's the apogee of my knowledge and experience in the audio and music industry + my determination to create and support local talent. I can’t wait to invite you to the launch party!

Louis: My goal is to create work with and for genuinely awesome people with collective, ambitious and cultural projects. So spreading the word helps me get to them, wherever and whoever they are! 

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