• Toronto,  WorldWide

    Manifesto LOVE

    On Sunday, hundreds of people including myself were treated to many hours of live entertainment and other awesome activites during Manifesto’s all day “super” block-party. The weather was so nice, and the good vibes were definitely floating around as we watched Dundas Square transform into a multidisciplinary urban arts playground; featuring live performances by some of Canada’s musical legends, emerging talent, not to mention the handful of international guests. There were also tonnes of vendors, a bboy/bgirl open dance floor, lots of good food, workshops, and so much more! If you weren’t there, you totally missed out. I was bummed that I missed the First Look Cypher (heard it was awesome), but I’m glad I was able to catch the rest of the performances, cause they were dope!

    Fresco P and Shannon Boodram

    Watching these artists turn plain new era snap-backs into works of art was awesome!

    hey ladies!

    Champstiles Chains. So dope. I need some.

    Great performance by Narcicyst.

    Everybody came out to show L-O-V-E!

    SonReal graced the stage.

    Open Canvas. So much fun.

    KJ always puts on a good show!

    The One Clothing was there!

    LIWI was there, and I totally got hooked up with a dope tee and hoodie!

    Thoroughly enjoyed the performance by The Lytics

    88 Days baby!!

    GlassHearts. Gimme everything!

    Stalley (Ohio/ Maybach Music)- They love him in Toronto!

    Times Neue Roman gave us a good show!

    More people showing their love and support for Manifesto!

    Serious dance performance by the All-Styles Council

    Pretty ladies 🙂

    Ooloo Clothing was there. Love that shirt. “I’m not a hater, I just don’t like you” ha ha ha

    More L-O-V-E.

    Heartbeats T.O was there!

    I can’t wait for next year, I plan to get into ALL the Manifesto activites!

    Congratulations on 5 years of Manifesto, and a big thanks to everybody that made this years Manifesto Festival extra special!

    **videos coming soon!**

    peace and love

    ♥Bella♥

  • New York,  WorldWide

    Taking it Uptown: Art for Change

    On Friday I took the hike uptown to East Harlem for the Art for Change “Noche Clandestina.” Tucked away in an unassuming basement gallery, the night was full of art, spoken word, and a special burlesque performance by Brown Girl’s Burlesque.

    Art for Change encourages the advancement of progressive social change by using art as a catalyst for disseminating information to people.

    Artists used various mediums to convey experiences, struggles and aspirations, inspiring people to consider, with a questioning eye, their ways of life, their environment, their roles, how various systems work, and ways to improve their lives and environment.

    For more event and gallery schedule: www.artforchange.org

    Beginning of the burlesque show

    Art for Change Executive Director: Harry Jean-Pierre

    kisses, Olisa

  • Toronto

    The Courvoisier Collective

    How much fun did I have at The Courvoisier Collective gallery exhibition last night? Too much fun. The cocktails were flowing, there were yummy appetizers, I don’t remember not laughing or having a smile on my face, and it was such a pleasure to be around so many talented artists! I had a GREAT time.

    “The aim of The Courvoisier Collective program is to provide local artists with what they crave most- space to display their art and exposure for the best and brightest local talents.”

    It was lovely bumping into many familiar faces, and I had an awesome time serving the ladies of PraxisPR, heavy doses of my craziness! Thank you so much to Courvoisier, and PraxisPR for allowing us to be part of this experience, and to all the artists for sharing their work with us.

    peace and love

    ♥Bella♥

    For more info on the CVC, click here!

  • WorldWide

    Wearing Dark Fantasy

    Kanye West. Can enough be said to describe him?

    Set to debut for purchase today (Monday April 9/11) are Kanye West’s limited ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ – inspired scarves.

    Ballerina. Face. Phoenix. Power. Priest. The titles of each piece of art created by Kanye in collaboration with Parisian graphic design studio, M/M; as well as George Condo, who painted the original art on the album. Unsurprisingly, there are a limited 100 of each silk design at a price tag of $364, to purchase visit mmparis.com or colette.fr.

    We can all recall Yeezy’s hiatus when he went into (what seemed like) underground mode, while interning at the fashion house of Fendi. After a sneaker line for Louis Vuitton and his own Pastel clothing line, not to mention his undeniable eye for personal clean lines, its been obvious that Kanye’s passion for fashion and art are no less than real. The scarves are meant to be worn in layers, so the limited quantity and heavy price tag will encourage exclusivity to the individuals who rock them as intended.

    I probably won’t ever forget the emotions I experienced the first time I watched Kanye’s movie, Runaway. It was the evening of it’s premier and it seemed like the world was in anticipation. Staying clear of twitter and any other mediums, I was prepared to watch and discover my own review before hearing anyone else’s take. Private time growing up often involved some book or another, favorite authors would include Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Yaan Martel. One thing in common of each piece was their use of imagery in subliminal messaging. Anyways, I was submerged in Runaway for this same reason, if you deny that it was anything less than epic… another ‘go at it is in order. Press play.

     

    Poetic. Creative. Talented. Artistic. Exclusive. Mention one characteristic that doesn’t apply. The ever-so talented Mr. West graces us with (yet) another Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.