“Art and literature are our society’s cultural voice.”
The Artis is the only Art & Culture magazine focused on the 905 area code and we are also the only ones with a unique focus on the 45+ age demographic.
The works published in The Artis is unique because those published with us have one thing in common: A lifelong passion for their art.
Unshakable dedication and passion often produce one result: quality.
The Artis unites the written word with visuals and illustrates that art has something for everyone.
Art and literature are a testament to our society’s cultural voice; the 905 area code is one of the most open, diverse, and unique places in Canada and the world.
We at The Artis magazine are bringing the 905 to the GTA and beyond because we know what the greater art scene is missing.
The Artis publishes poetry, prose, essays, opinion-editorials, original visual art, artist profile interviews, and more from both established and emerging Canadian artists.
The Artis knows that good art requires more than just talent,
it requires skills that have been honed with dedication and love.
Mixed Media Artwork by Rita Plampe ©
We are bringing art from the generation that lived through the liberating sixties; the tumultuous seventies; the material-driven eighties; and the anti-establishment nineties to the generation of the instantaneous now—the ever changing, fast-paced, tech-driven, competitive world that demands our heart and souls just to be seen and heard.
We hear you. We see you. We know your art is our cultural voice.
Photo: Fred Fox, Swans by Dawn © Lake Ontario, Oakville; shot on a Sony Alpha
Art leaves its legacy for the generations to come. This is why The Artis is bringing you and the 905 art and culture scene to the rest of the world and beyond.
Thank you for joining us and making this reach possible. Good art is here.
— Ivy Reiss
Editor-in-Chief, The Artis magazine
Meet The Artis Team
Ivy Reiss, pictured with Guest Pat Connors at ThatChannel studios hosting The Artis with Ivy Reiss interview series.
Photo by Frank Veri
Mast Head
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Ivy Reiss
Editor-in-Chief & Art Director
Natalie Caputi
Creative Design Lead
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Copy Editors
Lisa Agranove
Norman Cristofoli
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Tech Support
Frank Veri
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Events Page & Social Media
Norman Cristofoli
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Website Design
Ivy Reiss
Frank Veri
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Board of Advisors
Frank Veri
Joyce Wayne
Josie DiSciascio-Andrews
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About Ivy Reiss
Ivy Reiss is the founding publisher and editor-in-chief of The Artis magazine and host and producer of the new show, The Artis with Ivy Reiss, which interviews 905 & GTA artists, hosts, and personalities on compelling topics related to art & culture.
Find out more about Ivy and The Artis team in the full bio’s below.
Photo by Jimmy Kakish
About the Editor-in-Chief & Art Director
Ivy Reiss is the founding publisher, editor-in-chief, and current art director for The Artis magazine and she has experienced the rich and hidden talent in the 905 from the start.
Ivy has been on the GTA art and culture scene as an event host, coordinator, spoken word performer, and writer for nearly ten years.
In 2012, she re-branded the successful Oakville Lit Café reading series, turning into a go-to hub for poets and writers from all over the GTA, western Ontario, and as far as the USA and UK. In April 2013, these successes landed the Lit Café a Feature spot on Cogeco’s Arts Matter television program. In 2016, full-houses were common and the venue had moved from the Moonshine Café to the Joshua Creek Art and Heritage Centre; that April Ivy passed the reigns on to 905 author and teacher Josie DiSciasscio-Andrews, and the Lit Café continuous to be stronger than ever.
See the Editor’s Letter from The Artis 1 inaugural issue to see how The Lit Café was the inspiration behind The Artis magazine.
As a spoken word performer, Ivy has been a Featured Reader at numerous venues between 2010 - 2016; including twice for ArtBar, Toronto’s longest running and most prestigious reading series; Loose Leaf Poets Reading Series; on CIUT’s 89.5FM Howl Radio with host Nik Beat; winner of The Best Poet of the Month series at the Free Times Café; The Oakville Ensemble; Poetry Month Events; and more, in addition to being to countless open mic readings. Fifteen of her poems have been published; two anthologies, Collected Whispers (International Library of Poetry, Maryland, USA, 2008) and The Courtney Park Connection (2013, IOWI Press, Mississauga, ON, 2013), and three issues of the “Labour of Love” poetry magazine (June 2013, December 2013, June 2016, Toronto, ON).
As a contributing art and culture writer for Luxury Globe Media in 2017, Ivy contributed eighteen articles on theatre, event, and culinary reviews, press releases, and artist interviews focused on the GTA, western Ontario, and the Muskoka region.
On June 08, 2018, Ivy launched her new, monthly internet TV series, The Artis with Ivy Reiss, which interviews artists, hosts, personalities, and movers-and-shakers on compelling topics related to the art and culture scene in the 905 and the GTA, and airs two episodes every month. Be one of 13,000 Subscribers to www.ThatChannel.com studios and click on The Artis homepage video links to see past episodes.
Ivy’s highly anticipated collection of poetry, There is a Place, is launching in 2019.
In addition to The Artis, she is currently writing on her investigative writing experiences from living with the Inuit in their homes in the remote fly-in community of Naujaat (formerly Repulse Bay), Nunavut in October 2016. She conducted over forty hours of interviews with numerous officials in the community, locals, and a visiting diamond mine; she investigated the education, healthcare, food, and housing conditions; gave talks at the elementary, high-school, and to the cadets on the importance of post-secondary education, their settled land claims, and how the future of Canada hinges on its youngest, and fully bilingual population; the Inuit.
The Artis with Ivy Reiss show
The Artis with Ivy Reiss show interviews 905 & GTA artists, writers, hosts, and movers-and-shakers on compelling topics related to art and culture.
See past episodes here.
Have an interesting topic and a new book or an event that you want to tell people about?
Email the producer and host, Ivy Reiss at ivy_reiss@hotmail.com or submit an inquiry via the online form here.
The Artis with Ivy Reiss show
Ivy Reiss interviewing professional entertainer and 905 based author Kim Cayer on “The Art of Reading Prose Live” and chatting about the very real themes of homelessness, battered women, elder abuse, and the over-sexualization of women in the media industry in her hilarious and often salacious novels.
Click the Video Link button on the Homepage or watch this episode here. Photo by Sheila Tucker.
On June 08, 2018, Ivy launched her new, monthly internet TV show, The Artis with Ivy Reiss, which interviews artists, hosts, personalities, and movers-and-shakers on compelling topics related to the art and culture scene in the 905 and the GTA.
The Artis with Ivy Reiss airs out of ThatChannel studios. Sign up and join over 13,000 subscribers on their Youtube channel.
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Ivy remains in-demand as a freelance writer, editor, event promoter, host, and coordinator for book-launches and in all events lit.
Ivy mentors writers in areas ranging from various writing styles, genres, marketing, and publishing, and will be starting a writing workshop to help meet the needs of authors in 2019.
She also enjoys tutoring youth and ESL students, especially in English, linguistics and pronunciation, world history, and first to second year German language studies.
She holds her Honours Bachelor of Arts; Specialist in English Literature and Major in German Studies from the University of Toronto, has traveled to over 20 countries, has lived and studied abroad.
As Editor-in-Chief of The Artis, Ivy and her team's main objective is putting the 905 art & culture scene on the map, while providing a platform for talented artists, with a special focus on helping those emerging onto the scene who are in the 45+ age demographic.
The Artis magazine’s team
(Present & Past—because you all helped us get here!)
Magazine Design
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Natalie Caputi is The Artis magazine’s Creative Design Lead. She graduated from Guelph-Humber University in 2016 with an Honours Bachelor of Applied Arts in Media Studies and a Diploma in Media Communications. Her love of vector designs, colour themes, and bold movement, blends traditional aesthetics with a modern feel. She is most passionate about creative and unique ways to achieve a message through design. Visit Natalie’s website to see more of her work at www.NatalieCaputi.com.
Ivy Reiss is The Artis’ current Art Director. But, first and foremost, Ivy would like to emphasize that it is thanks to her incredible design team, both past and present, that has taught her so much in the elements of design and magazine layout. These skills have transferred to the current Artis website layout.
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Hunter Scott Campbell was The Artis magazine’s creative design assistant/consultant for issues 2 and 3. He is known for his sharp eye as a Photoshop guru. Scott completed a three year Film & Television program at Humber College. It was there that he found his niche for Photo Manipulation Software, now known as Adobe Photoshop. Scott went back to college to take the Ontario Locksmith Training Course and continues to freelance as a graphic designer, with a passion for skateboard art and graphic design.
Britnei Bilhete was The Artis magazine’s art director and senior editorial assistant for the inaugural issue. She has been active on the broadcasting and multi-media circuit for since 2014. After graduating from the Humber College Journalism Program, and extending her program to do a third internship, she joined the broadcasting team at the CBC in 2017. Her undeniable news-savvy, passion for both the public and the written-word, and her gift for the aesthetic of graphic and magazine layout are behind the original template seen in The Artis No 1’s compelling design.
Editorial & Events Page
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Norman Cristofoli came on board The Artis in September 2018, just in time for The Artis No. 4. He manages our Lit Events page, is the social media assistant, and copy editor.
Norman published the bi-yearly and internationally acclaimed “Labour of Love” poetry magazine for twenty-one years, which he folded in 2017. He also ran the This Week’s Shows email group for two decades; which he wrapped in mid 2018, and the demand for it’s return has not stopped. His background as a publisher, graphic designer, editor, and writer are priceless. In addition to his well-known poetry and celebrated salons, he is currently pitching his first novel to literary agents. Visit www.NormanCristofoli.com.
Lisa Agranove is The Artis magazine’s editorial assistant/consultant. Her passion for literature has been life-long and her keen eye to detail has made her a natural at editing text and images. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Toronto where she studied double majored in English and Sociology, and then completed her B.Ed. in junior-intermediate education, specializing in English. In addition to being an editorial assistant for The Artis magazine, she has an upcoming article in Rêveurs Magazine and in January 2017, she launched her own jewelry line, Lisa Maxwell Jewelry. Creativity and refined style constantly informs the work that she does through both language and art.
Tech & Public Relations Associate
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Frank Veri has been an integral part of The Artis team since the beginning. He is on our Board of Advisors, in addition to being the key tech support developer on this current Artis web template, launched October 2018.
Frank’s background in the financial world led him to create a specialized, membership-based website, ccnetworks.biz, with hand-picked materials to help people succeed as entrepreneurs in 2016. In 2017, Frank launched his first self-help book; How to Easily Start your Internet Business: The One of a Kind Guide that will Change your Life (under the pseudonym Franco Casvar). Frank’s involvement with The Artis led him into the art and culture scene, where his opinion-editorials have been unanimously well-received, leading to motivational speaking engagements, in addition to being a keynote speaker at the Art Rewired Spotlight Event, where Frank revealed to the world that he suffered bi-lateral traumatic brain injury in 1984, and ‘rewired’ his brain before the term even existed in the neuro-science field. The Artis Spotlight Event included top experts in the fields of neurology and neuro-plasticity; 200 artists and audience attendees; Al McMullen, Executive Director of MindForward Brain Injury Services; Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn, Mike Douglas, Executive Director of the Mississauga Arts Council and more. Frank is currently writing and designing a course for the United Nations’ Noble University. Find out more about how anyone can succeed by watching Frank’s interview on The Artis with Ivy Reiss here.
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Chris O’Byrne was our technological assistant on The Artis No. 2 and No. 3. He studied jazz on a University scholarship in the United Kingdom for one year before emigrating to Canada in 2010. He graduated from Mohawk College as an automotive technician, and remains musically and mechanically inclined. It is these interests that drew him on to The Artis team, where he helped with all things tech and acted as PA and bouncer—to help keep the over-zealous fans just zealous!—at our live events, and for the third issue, contributed as Editorial Assistant, with an uncanny use of the English language, which can only be attributed to his formal British schooling.
Website
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Words and Design: Ivy Reiss
Tech Support, troubleshooting, and more: Frank Veri
Management of This Week’s Show’s: Norman Cristofoli
