I’m a little late posting this, but the results for this year’s Memefest on the theme of Debt are in! I was invited to act as a curator for the visual communication and beyond… categories, and it was a challenging process, with a lot of work to go through, and to be honest, many projects that I felt missed the mark.

The topic, from a communications perspective, was certainly a difficult one, but I was surprised to see so many projects that focused on literal or superficial interpretations of debt, given that David Graeber’s excellent text was central to the festival outlines. I felt many projects subjectivised debt as an individual problem/responsibility related to consumption, ignoring the systemic nature of debt as social relation that was central to the outlines, where it was asked “can we imagine a different relationship to Debt?”

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Leaving town for a little bit with a new camera in hand. Here are a couple test snaps of the neighbourhood taken while strolling tonight, featuring pieces by two of my favourite Montreal street artists.

Roadsworth‘s disappearing tigers.

Harpy‘s Exil.

Stay beautiful Montréal…

It’s been a while since we’ve done a Fugue, but we have big plans for the next issue of Four Minutes to Midnight, and we want you to be a part of it. We need your words.

The fugue is a cacophony of voices, brought together to express a common dissent and a common longing, on our own terms, and in new language.

The theme is, as always, where we’re at right now. In Montréal, that means a summer of love and revolution, a tired stereotype that nevertheless rings true. Red squares and cops everywhere, an unbearable heat, and the promise of more.

Please add your words in the comments thread below. The rules are simple, just read, write, and trust that meaning will emerge…

The last line from the last fugue:

“A flock of feathers fanning out the forest fire.”

or

“the tremble and treble,
it sounds,
and i kiss everything that is blue.”

As the inspiring 2012 student strike expands into a broader social movement, the Howl! Arts Collective will be holding an outdoor concert and artistic intervention, Rêve Général Illimité. The event aims to celebrate the creative spirit in the streets during the Québec student uprsing and to draw attention to, and support for, the ongoing strike.

Rêve Général Illimité will include musical and theatrical performances, visual art installations, a screen-printing station, all inspired by the Québec student strike.

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