Apartment613 is pleased to announce our latest project in a never-ending quest for world domination… Apartment613 Talks! We’re planning a series of lectures that will highlight themes and ideas that you’ve come to expect from Apartment613 – except we’ll be discussing them in real life (or IRL). For our first event on May 16 we’re taking on the creative capital. How close are we to being a truly creative Capital? This panel brings together three of Ottawa’s top designers and leaders of Ottawa-based design firms to talk about their experiences... | Continue reading article

We all have memories we’d like to banish from the kingdom of our minds. If you can’t think of a special one right now, don’t worry, soon a certain scent will waft through the air, a genteel fingertip will brush by an earlobe or someone will snarl behind the bulge of a maple-cream donut and one of those memories will storm out unapologetically and obtrusively. Then you might think about how nice it would be to erase this memory from your mind forever, to eradicate it, to eternal-sunshine it. But,... | Continue reading article

Canadian dissent: passionate and vivacious or feeble and dormant? For Rick Salutin, a man who’s famous for brandishing a combative spur in the melee of pertinent issues, there’s a little of column A and little of column B; “There’s good news and bad news.” On Saturday afternoon, in the Main Branch of the Public Library, Rick Salutin, in front of a room of about a hundred, including local MP Paul Dewar, first took a few moments to remind or inform the audience of the rather stagnant aura of dissent in... | Continue reading article

Hey, Ottawa: those extra strains of music you’re suddenly hearing? That haunting melody and those catchy beats? They’re the result of the latest national event to stop by our city. The Junos are in town, bringing along Deadmau5, City and Colour, Feist,  Austra, Socalled and yup, a few hockey greats too (our money is on the rockers). Needless to say, these musical visitors are dominating our venues for Friday and Saturday – check out the full list of shows, and get your fill of Canadian music all weekend long. You’ll... | Continue reading article

This year, Apt613 will be partnering with Artengine for the 2012 Critical Blogging Residency. This residency is for an art critic or cultural journalist from the Ottawa-Gatineau area, who will pen in-depth posts on the Artengine blog and Apt613 throughout the year. The Critical Blogging Residency was originally conceived by Artengine as a creative space for expression and research into culture and technology.  The content and direction will be developed in consultation with Artistic Director of Artengine and with Apt613. The resident will also travel to Montréal for the 2012... | Continue reading article

By Kyle Sergeant, who attended the inaugural TedxRideauCanal event last weekend. They designed something – the coordinators of TedxRideauCanal.  It was a dynamic something.  And it was about design.  Different ones.  And those differences are our strengths.   And inclusivity and integration are our mortar.  Design is not finite and trending.  It is curvaceous and expanding – but simple.  And I saw it all.  And I took notes…. The first speakers were the kind, intuitive women of Propeller Dance. They voiced the “societal barriers” to their art form: physical, mental, and... | Continue reading article

Suckuary (aka February) fast approaches – the dreaded month of slushy streets and minus 30 degree cold snaps that drains even the most dedicated scenester’s will to have fun. No wonder some medieval visionary decided to sex up the month with a little romance. Fortunately, this year you don’t have to wait until the 14th to get a little action… at least of the literary sort. This Thursday, February 2, Venus Envy will be featuring a reading from three local authors – Barbara Sibbald, Jasmine Aziz and Patricia K. McCarthy - whose latest works... | Continue reading article

By Sabrina Bowman, who works for the Ottawa River Keeper, but is soon embarking on new adventures in San Francisco. The Ottawa River has been in the news a lot lately, and as we all know, the occurrence of raw sewage being dumped in the River happens much too often for comfort.  This issue, among many others, is why Ottawa Riverkeeper embarked on the Great River Project this summer, in an effort to document the state of the Ottawa River and share the ecology of the Kichi sipi (or “Great... | Continue reading article

By Alessandro Marcon A couple of nights ago, I was rollin’ down on Bank, jammin’ B.Blade, thinkin’ on Siggy Freud. Laid back, though pensive I was, with my mind on my Muslims and my Muslims on my mind. Not two days previous, with hand extended in fistbump position, I had found myself in the midst of cultural clash. “Teacher, I can’t do that” my student told me. “Sure you can,” I responded, while swiveling and fistbumping the chipper Korea woman on my right. “No teacher, I really can’t. I can’t... | Continue reading article

Post by Robin Levinson Malorie Bertrand and Amie Beausoleil want women to stop shaving their armpits and start fundraising for breast cancer. Inspired by such fundraising campaigns as “Movember” and “Mustaches for Kids,” the two decided to brainstorm ways that women could raise money for breast cancer that were quirky, humorous, and fun. Under the name “Unshaven Mavens,” they are asking women to forgo shaving their underarm hair for the month of October, all while raising funds for Rethink Breast Cancer, a Canadian charity that brings education and support to... | Continue reading article