Visit:

American Express Canada and Insecure mastermind Issa Rae have teamed up to launch the Live Life Experience pop-up on Toronto’s Queen Street West. A broad collective of local artists, including muralist Hello Kirsten and painter Chrstina Mazzulla, converted a 12,000-square-foot space into an immersive experience. The pop-up brings life to life experiences each artist is passionate about, like travelling, food and entertainment. The event runs from May 31 to June 3, and again from June 7 to June 9.

 

 

 

Listen:

It’s best to get acquainted with serpentwithfeet’s (a.k.a. Josiah Wise) divine music before his debut album, soil, drops next month. You’ll definitely need a few listens to allow the former choirboy’s abstract and experimental sounds to fully sink in. Luckily, the lead single off the crooner’s LP, “bless ur heart,” (yes, the lowercases are all intentional) is the perfect sneak peek into what you can expect.

 

 

 

Visit:

This summer, the Winnipeg Art Gallery is celebrating the women who redefined art in Canada. Defying Convention travels back to the Modernist period and features 30 groundbreakers—from Emily Carr to Marion Nelson Hooker—who challenged gender roles in their stunning work.

 

 

 

Watch:

Inside Out Toronto kicks off their annual LGBT Film Festival with the international premiere of A Kid Like Jake. Claire Danes (Homeland) and The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons star as the adoring parents to four-year-old Jake. The couple struggles with their assumptions about identity when their preschool advisor (Octavia Spencer) suggests that Jake—who likes princesses and wearing skirts—is “gender expansive.” And as an added bonus: our May cover star, Priyanka Chopra, also has a role in the flick.

 

 

 

See:

Celebrate and empower young Indigenous performers at Outside Looking In’s annual student matinée. Ben Mulroney hosts as the program’s participants assemble in downtown Toronto’s Sony Centre to dance along to music from the ‘70s. Save the date, because the May 26 event is one night only.

 

 

 

Read:

Don’t worry if you missed Toronto-based author Amy Stuart’s first bestseller, Still Mine. Her latest book, Still Water, may be the second of a series, but the return of Stuart’s badass P.I. protagonist, Clare, is structured as a stand-alone novel. In the twisty Still Water, Clare unravels small-town secrets as she desperately tries to track down a missing woman and her son—all while still on the run from her abusive ex.

 

 

 

Visit:

Have a trip to New York planned and looking for experiences outside the usual tourist traps? You can explore the city and support Canadian artists at Arsenal Contemporary’s latest exhibition. Winnipeg-based painter Wanda Koop’s Standing Withstanding features all-new works that examine globalization and the environment, bringing together art and activism. If you’ve yet to see Koop’s art in-person, her first-ever NYC exhibition is the place to do so.

 

 

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Watch:

The formidable Gabrielle Union (and former ELLE Canada cover star) latest big screen role in Breaking In, an intense thriller that follows a single mother as she fights to keep her family alive when a group of men invades their home and takes them hostage. Not only does Union star, it’s also the third film she’s produced.

 

 

Try:

We don’t want to jinx anything, but it looks like the warmer weather is finally here to stay. Say goodbye to winter with Starbucks’ new cold foam. The coffee chain has added an entirely new delicious layer to your fave iced coffee, frothing cold non-fat milk to make it smooth and creamy. Be warned: you might enjoy it so much that you’ll want to add it to your regular order.