by Greg Hall 1946-2009
(to whom FA Nettelbeck has dedicated our next issue)

In most of these pages
the only thing left even vaguely gold
continues as a careful harmony
my fingers and the searchings of my heart
describing the unheard answers
a man who answers
questions like yours…
Much has vanished—
The clamor and the poison,
the usefulness of further transfusions,
the possibility of self-defined grace…
Still, a certain connection
to those who were injured
falling from horses
and to those who were compelled to sing
because the world was suddenly taken over
by robbers and thieves—
And because the ocean
answered every question
left unsolved by the wind and the night.
Although in page after page
my losses grew
something else also grew—
Now I can feel
what I was trying to say
and from these failures
something green and unbroken
is rising and running towards the shore—
Inside these shards of feeling
lost nations and lost wars
that which was deathless inside you
was addressed by what was deathless in me
and for those who can’t believe in death
I recommend you go find
some American poet
who can be
ironic
about
Love

As part of the inaugural Quebec BDS Conference, Artists Against Apartheid is presenting an amazing and unique concert featuring detroit MC Invincible and Cuban Hip Hop ensemble Obsesión. The concert is taking place at le Consulat this Saturday, full details here.

Being a big fan of Invincible’s music, I was honoured to be asked to design the poster for the event and enlisted my good friend Kirsten McCrea to help with the ornamentation, resulting in my first ever 100% hand-drawn poster! (or at least since I finished design school aeons ago…)

I’ll also be a panelist during the BDS conference itself, participating in the artist’s roundtable workshop between 4 and 6 PM on Saturday. I’ll be speaking about Imaging Apartheid and my work for the Palestinian cause from a personal perspective, the role of cultural workers in social justice struggles generally, and Palestine specifically. So please register for the conference or come by for the individual workshops—it promises to be an educational and inspiring weekend.

Kevin Yuen Kit Lo is a Montreal-based freelance art director and graphic designer. He has previously worked at the agencies Sid Lee, Bluesponge and Cossette, and currently teaches in the Design and Computation Arts department at Concordia University. He runs an independent design and communications consulting practice under the name of LOKi design, specialising in work within the cultural sphere. He publishes the zine Four Minutes to Midnight, exploring the intersections of typography, poetics and politics.

As a community organiser and activist, Kevin is engaged on many levels with various non-profit organisations in Montreal and beyond. He is a founding member of Howl! Arts Collective, a member of the Artivistic Collective, a board member for Archive Montreal, a contributing editor at Art threat, and a long-standing jury member for Memefest. 2356 publishing is also involved in organising and documenting events in Montreal that bridge the gap between art and activism.

His work has been widely exhibited, recognised and awarded, including a Cannes Cyber Lion, several SXSW interactive awards, and recognition for design excellence from Print and Communication Arts.

He holds an MA in Typo/Graphic Design from the London College of Printing and a Graduate Certificate Degree and BFA in Design Art from Concordia University.