With one month of the fall semester under my belt, I am just starting to find something of a balance and rhythm with the new normal. None of this has been easy—not for myself or my students—and it has only been through a grueling trial and error process gained mostly through teaching this summer that I have figured out what to let go of, and what to amplify. Not unlike what many of us have been experiencing with the pandemic (in terms of the people we want to have relationships with, those we do not, how we want to spend our free time, and realizing what truly matters in the day to day etc…) there has been a collective reckoning. All of this is reflected in an art world that continues to shine a critical light on many of its practices and norms. In this spirit, I turn back to the round up as a way to capture the cultural zeitgeist, if for no other reason than to look back on this time at some future date and wonder how we survived it!

A FEW MORE THINGS… BEFORE THE ROUND UP

The Vancouver International Film Festival continues through October 7th and there are still so many films I want to see! You can check out this useful guide through the Georgia Straight if you need a quick primer and place to start.
I finally stepped foot inside my first art exhibition since the March lockdown and it did not disappoint. I cannot say enough about Kent Monkman’s Shame and Prejudice show on at the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, and last week’s artist talk with Monkman (which I attended virtually) is now available for viewing.
I continue to follow the stories connected to the spiraling academic job market (particularly in the US) and I have been recommending The Professor Is In website, and especially the podcast, to grad students and colleagues who are “out in the wilderness” and looking for guidance on how to transition to an alt-academic career. Now, more than ever, we should all have a Plan B.