Tapestry Opera, in partnership with OCAD U and Art Battle Canada, are presenting an event called TAP:EX VERSUS on February 22. Music and painting will merge in a performance before a live audience as an interactive act of creation.
Audience members will also get a chance to own one of the paintings created during the evening’s battles.
Who?
JUNO award-winning jazz pianist Robi Botos and pianist/composer/interdisciplinary artist Morgan-Paige will be joined by visual artists Julie Amlin and Enrique Bravo.
Robi Botos
Robi Botos is known for his versatility and virtuosity as a jazz pianist, with a style that remains his own through multiple genres. Born into a Romani family in Hungary, he began his musical education on the drums at a young age, and performed in Budapest. He turned to piano at age seven, and worked throughout Hungary. At 20, he made the decision to move his young family to Canada, where he quickly made his mark on the national jazz scene.
He placed first in the 2004 Montreux Jazz Festival solo piano competition. The following year, he was invited to open for Oscar Peterson, and the two quickly became friends. Robi became one of Oscar’s last mentees, as he went on to win a number of other international awards.
Robi has worked with some of the legends of jazz, including Michel Legrand and Chick Correa, and has released several albums. He’s won three JUNO Awards, including Contemporary Jazz Album in 2006, Jazz Album: Solo in 2016, and again in 2019.
Morgan-Paige
Morgan-Paige began playing piano at the age of three, and was composing music and singing when she was not much older. Today the Toronto-based queer interdisciplinary artist is still known as a pianist, composer, and vocalist. She has composed a range of works from short film scores to pieces for solo piano.
Stylistically, Morgan-Paige’s musical journey has taken her from classical to pop, gospel, R&B and even hard rock, and eventually back to Western classical music. Her work incorporates the blend of genres and approaches, including the music of her Bahamian roots.
She has produced albums of works that address social issues as well as displaying an impressive stylistic and technical range.
Enrique Bravo
Artist and architect Enrique Bravo has been a resident of Canada since 2018. While working largely in acrylic and watercolour, he also works in mixed media on occasion. He’s a veteran of live painting events, and has exhibited his expressive works in galleries and at shows and events throughout Ontario.
His work as an architect includes conceptual architecture and manual renderings for various clients in Venezuela and the Caribbean area.
Enrique is also known for his drawing and illustration work in comics, political cartoons, magazines and books, portraits and murals. He has won awards for his work as a cartoonist and comic maker, and his work has been published in print and online in his native Venezuela.
Julie Amlin
Toronto artist Julie Amlin is known for her abstract paintings and large-scale murals in several public and private spaces through the city. A writer as well as an artist, as a painter, she’s inspired by colour, and the way it can animate and create a playful mood.
Colours come together with movement in her vibrant works, which celebrate joy and awakening the inner child. She frequently works in collaboration with other artists.
Human connections, and the sacred connectedness of life, are major inspirations for her work.
What’s going on?
Art Battle Canada has built a reputation on live events where a group of artists start with a blank canvas and paint in front of an audience who then votes for a winner. That’s the simple version. It’s a phenomenon that was created in New York City back in 2001.
Naturally, TAP:EX VERSUS adds music to the mix. The musicians and artists will build off one another’s work as the performance/battles unfold.
- At 5 p.m., pianist Morgan-Paige faces off against Julie and Enrique
- At 7 p.m., pianist Robi takes on Julie and Enrique
It takes place February 22 at The Great Hall at OCAD University (Level 2, beside the Anniversary Gallery), with limited seating, and a catered VIP experience available. Information and tickets available [HERE].
Are you looking to promote an event? Have a news tip? Need to know the best events happening this weekend? Send us a note.
#LUDWIGVAN
Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.
Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! — local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox HERE.
- PREVIEW | The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Offers Old & New In 130th Anniversary Season - April 29, 2024
- INTERVIEW | Composer Ari Kinarthy And Director Jeff Lee Petry Talk About Ari’s Theme, Premiering At Hot Docs - April 26, 2024
- PREVIEW | Creators & Performers Natalya Gennadi And Kristine Dandavino Talk About Grandma’s Shawl - April 26, 2024
