The Artis Launch!

The Beginnings of the 905’s leading Art & Culture magazine on April 12th 2017 at the Moonshine Cafe in Oakville, ON.

Catered by Adonis Mediterranean Cuisine, we had Feature performances from all our contributors in The Artis 1 (and some from The Artis 2) and a very special surprise Guest of Honour all the way from Scotland!

Feature Artist, renowned painter Eva Kolacz holds up her cover art on the inaugural issue of The Artis and performs some of her recent poems as our Feature reader.

Infamous rhyming poet and world-traveled Welshman Trevor Trower reads to a full house at the launch of The Artis magazine.

The Artis’ Publisher, Editor-in-Chief and event MC, Ivy Reiss with Technical Assistant and event doorman (needed to control the fans!) Chris O'Byrne take the stage to dole out the coveted raffle prizes; think 3 pairs of tickets to The Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts, 3 sets of gift certificates to award-winning Adonis Mediterranean Cuisine, and 3 stunning gift baskets from the Wine Makers Shoppe, select books from Mosaic Press, and more!

Professional entertainer and writer Kim Cayer knows how to grab an audience! Kim tells us her secrets on reading prose live on The Artis with Ivy Reiss.

Special Surprise Guest of Honour, President of the Robert Burns World Federation; Bobby Kane flew in all the way from Scotland, gave an incredible rendition of Rabbie Burns’ classics.

Poet Dave Taylor enthralls the audience with his classic style.

Poet & emerging photographer Lindsay W. Albert takes the stage and primes the audience for her Featurette in the second issue of The Artis.

Congrats to Zohra Zoberi, who was also a finalist for the 2018 MARTY Awards in the “Literary Arts—Emerging” category.

Motivational writer and speaker Frank Veri reads from his opinion-editorial "Failure to Success."

Poet and non-fiction historical writer Josie DiSciascio-Andrews reads from her latest poetry collection, Jar of Fireflies (Mosaic Press). Find Josie hosting the monthly Oakville Lit Cafe reading series at Joshua Creek Heritage Art Centre.

Featurette Artist Ronnie O’Byrne performs his original poetry with satirical side-splitting humour. Ronnie has performed throughout Canada, UK, and Australia; it is no he is the Director of the Canadian faction of The Robert Burns World Federation.

Award-winning playwright, poet, and author Zohra Zoberi reads the exclusive special sneak-peak from her upcoming memoir published in the inaugural issue of The Artis magazine.

Lindsay W. Albert debuts her photography in The Artis 2. Here, she reads her poetry, much of inspired from working in hospice care.

Kim Cayer shares a laugh with a roaring audience. See excerpts of her prose her work in The Artis 2 and 3.

Prolific poet, writer, and scholar Laurence Hutchman reads from his latest non-fiction poetry collection Two Maps of Emery (Black Moss Press). A few months later, in August 2017, Laurence was named Poet Laureate of Emery (formally the Weston Rd area of Toronto).

World traveled photographer, poet, and professional actor, Featurette artist Eryk Burns brings his eclectic poetry to the stage.

Blinged-out! Special Guest of Honour, President of the Robert Burns World Federation, Bobby Kane captivates the audience with Robert Burns' legendary poetry.

Surprise guest, poet, and scholar Karen Kane gives an impromptu performance or Robert Burns' progressive 1792 poem "Rights of Women" for the Event Finale! Find out more in the Editors Letter in the second issue of The Artis.

Frank Veri wraps the night of performances with his honest, dry witty humour.