Nick Schofield
Paintings by Jeff Bierk and Darby Milbrath

Music by:
Shabason, Krgovich & Harris –  Florence (instrumentals from Philadelphia) The Weather Station – Ignorance
Bell Orchestre – House Music

Jennah Barry
1. Sharon van Etten & Angel Olsen – Like I Used To
2. Bridgewater Value Village, just for the heck of it.
3. As usual: the internet
4. Weed immediately before bed
5. Succession – gives me nightmares but I can’t look away.  What is missing in me that makes me never, ever want to climb any sort of career ladder? 
6. Painted the floors to my house listening to Omar Apollo over and over again
7. Moon Mullins – groovy
8. I’m late to the game on this one, but I laughed, I cried.  I felt like I knew every person in this book; The Birth House – Amy Mackay 
9. Babies 
10. Ceramics class

Michael Feuerstack
Here is an incomplete, unordered list of music that made me extend my long walks in 2021:

Laura Mvula – Pink Noise
Highly emotional dance music.

Buck Meek – Two Saviors
Bravely idiosyncratic capture of songs that keep unfolding.

Angel Olsen – Song of the Lark and other Far Memories
Indulgent, ambitious and unexpected.

Arooj Aftab – Vulture Prince
A macro pan over fine fabric.

Tropical Fuck Storm – Deep States
Your hero splatters you with a dirtbike.

Julie Doiron – I Thought of You
Somehow more classic than ever.

Cots – Disturbing Body
Inviting and curious wisdom.

Suuns – The Witness
Eery and freaky and warm and uncomfortable twists and turns.

Land of Talk – Calming Night Partner
Late night thought bubbles that drift and bump into each other.

Hilotrons – Lonely Cinema II
Heavy brilliance.

Richard Dawson and Circle – Henki
Weirdo meets weirdos.

Ada Lea – One hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden
Messes around with the heartstrings.

Bonnie ‘Prince Billy’ & Matt Sweeney – Superwolves
Manipulative in all the right ways.

Cedric Noel
Songs that hit hard this year that maybe came out not this year too:

Luiz Bonfá – Concerto For Guitar
Evan Cartwright – should i?
Joan Armatrading – Weakness In Me
SUUNS – Clarity
Big Brave – Half Breed 
Cassandra Jenkins – Ambiguous Norway
L’Rain – Suck Teeth
Jensen McRae – Immune
Another Michael – New Music
Christian Lee Hutson feat. Julia Jacklin – You’re Still The One
Chris Cohen – What Can I Do
Astrud Gilberto – Who Can I Turn To?
Hand Habits – Gold/Rust
EXUM – Dark Kept Secret
Björk – Joga
Land Of Talk – Something Will Be Said
Bill Evans – Detour Ahead
Westerman – Waiting On Design

Matty Grace
My favourite records that came out this year in no particular order:

Needles//Pins – Needles//Pins
Talk Show Host – Mid-Century Modern
Slant -1집
The Last Mile – Respect The Frequency
Sincere Engineer – Bless My Psyche
Chain Whip – Two Step to Hell
No It’s Fine – I Promise
The Copyrights – Alone in a Dome
Dinosaur Jr – Sweep It into Space

Tim Walker (Senior Citizen)
Grateful Dead

Moon-Hee Kim
TV:  Painting with John
Book: The History of Bones: A Memoir by John Lurie
Music: Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg, Ginger Root – City Slicker, Helado Negro – Far In
Film: The Night House, The Mauritanian, The Lost Daughter

Anil Pinto Gfoerer
Music: For me this year was filled with the ballads of Johnny Flynn, Begonia, Cedric Noel, and Still Woozy. However during late night car rides me and my pals turned to more mainstream artists such as Doja Cat, Cage the Elephant, Britney Spears and Will Joseph Cook.

Books: Some favourite books this year were White Oleander, The Aeneid, and most recently Rainbow Rowell’s Simon Snow Trilogy. White Oleander was given to me several years ago by a friend and I only managed to pick it up this year to find within its covers a profoundly beautiful and heart wrenching (many tears were shed over its pages) depiction of the complexities encompassed in familial bonds. The Aeneid also explores the complexities of these connections which I find particularly compelling. The Simon Snow Trilogy is in truth just fun and very easy to read, another book likely to make me cry. 

Movies: This year I developed the unfortunate habit of falling asleep during every movie I attempted to watch. I did however manage to stay awake to a few capturing ones such as The French Dispatch, Little Women, and Emma.  I also indulged one too many times in the masterpiece which is the Twilight movies.

Michelle Yorke
Shows:
Pen15
How To With John Wilson
Euphoria
Mare of Easttown 
The White Lotus
Succession
Patriot

Music:
Ama Lou – AT LEAST WE HAVE THIS & Ama, who?
Aldous Harding – Old Peel
Doja Cat – Planet Her
Cortex – troupeau bleu

Tim Crabtree (Paper Beat Scissors)
Music:
The Notwist – Vertigo Days
Laura Mvula – Pink Noise
Floating Points, Pharaoh Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra – Promises
Pompey – Overwhelmed
Arooj Aftab – Vulture Prince
Aloa Input – Devil’s Diamond Memory Collection
Land of Talk – Calming Night Partner
Michael Feuerstack – Harmonize the Moon

Books:
Toni Morrison – Beloved

Podcasts:
Politics Theory Other
Adam Buxton

TV:
Get Back

plus…
Jigsaw puzzles, Jacques Tati films, the return of in-person soccer games

Joshua Van Tassel
Music:
Mdou Moctar – Afrique Victime
Lump – Animal
Pino Palladino & Blake Mills – Notes with Attachments

Books:
Richard Powers – Bewilderment
Sifton Tracey Anipare – Yume

Elly Hannon
Matthew Wong: “Blue View” @ the AGO (Aug 2021-April 2022)
After a long year and a half of mostly staying put in North End Halifax, I got the opportunity to spend a few days in Toronto in November. As is my tradition, I took myself on a walk to the AGO, this time without googling their current programming. I was pleasantly surprised during my visit to stumble through Picasso’s Blue Period and right into Matthew Wong’s.

Moving through “Blue View”, a collection of more than 40 works made as part of Wong’s “Blue Series” (2017-19), was a completely arresting and deeply moving experience. Looking at images of Wong’s work online pales in comparison to standing in front of his monumental oil paintings, but I would recommend any opportunity to peer into Wong’s vivid, shadowy world.  


Kyle Cunjak
To hear: the sounds of the ocean, Kelly McMichael’s excellent album Waves, Garrett Mason’s sporadic releases on YouTube.
To watch: I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson
To do: gardening, surfing, long walks
To feel: submersion of any sort