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The kinds of pitches you bring home to meet the 'rents

Salut, mes amis! It's Tom here, back with another batch of flamin' hot Arts pitches. As always, I want to start the email by giving you all a weekly dose of positive thoughts and good vibes. I know things are heating up with classes, tests, and assignments, but I want to encourage you to take some time to reflect on how much you've already overcome. No matter how you feel right now, remember that you have unbelievable potential. Trust me! Thanks again to everyone who made it to yesterday's meeting. We weren't able to run as long as usual, but either way, it was a blast! Don't worry if you weren't able to make it to the meeting though, because we've got you covered with the pitch email. Feel free to look through this week's pitches and let me know if any of them interest you.Without further ado, here are the recurring columns:

• The Hobby Hole: Tell us about any unique hobbies you have or give a fresh take on an old favourite. It could be a passion project or an activity you do when you want to lay back, unplug your brain, and watch the hours fly by.

• Paddling up the Livestream: Wax lyrical about your favourite livestreams, put us onto some hidden-away gems, or give your hot-takes on livestream culture!

• The First Time: Try something totally new and write about your experience. It could be a cuisine you’ve heard great things about, an unfamiliar type of music, or an activity you've never tried before. Tell us about it all from the POV of a complete novice.

• Dream Team: Write about your ultimate dream collab! It might be a Stephen King children’s books series or a Billie Eilish x Tyler, the Creator supergroup. Tell us what makes your dream team such a gamechanger. 

• Off-Campus Gems: Tell us about a local gem in and around the University area. It could be a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, your favourite bar, or even your go-to convenience store. Celebrate all things U of A and Old Strathcona!

• Gateway to Gastronomy: Know any fun and easy to follow recipes? Share it in this recurring segment. 

• Exploring Edmonton: Do you know any cool places around Edmonton that people should visit? Write about them in this new series!  

• Lunch Break: An Arts & Culture series where we share fun recipes with humorous commentary. It's wholesome and lowkey, so check it out and send an installment over!

• Brew Crew/Vino Bitches: A fun, short review of your favourite (or not-so-favourite) beers, wines, or other alcoholic beverages of choice.

• Noodle Nation: Who loves noodles? You (might) love noodles! Write a column on your favourite noodles or noodle haunts.

• Pot Thots: Write about your favourite strains, equipment, dispensaries, and more in our column on the world of legal weed.

• Eating Edmonton: Write about your favourite (or not-so-favourite) local haunts in this miscellaneous foodie column. A great way to spotlight local restaurants in a time when they really need it!

• DatApp: Have an app that’s been a gamechanger? Wax eloquently about it (or a few of your favourites) in this column.

• Top 5: Top 5 streaming shows, places to cry in public, work-from-home tips...you name it, you can write a Top 5 on it!

• Diss Track: Are there 3-4 songs that grind your gears in the worst way possible? Diss the crap out of them in this column.

• Doin’ You: Everyone has something they do exceptionally well. Wanna teach others your wizardry? Walk us step-by-step through the process of a master for this column.

• Playlists: Have killer musical taste? Share it on The Gateway with a curated playlist.

• Retro on Retro: Is some classic piece of media on your mind? Reflect on it with the distance of time in this column. Discuss the qualities, staying power, and impact of your favourite old movie, video game, album, book, play, or whatever else!

• Double Take: Love spitting fire-hot takes on pop culture? You and a friend (or foe) can team up to write opposing takes on some piece of art/entertainment/media.

• ...AND MORE! I'm always open to any pitches you might have for me!

Downtown Spark

is a series of art installations and cultural events happening across Edmonton’s downtown this spring. The first installation is Fantastic Planet, six giant illuminated humanoid structures featured near City Hall from Mar. 12 - Apr. 12. Winter Birds is an installation that is part of the Quarter Arts Society’s GLOW festival which features three inflatable chickadees on the rooftop of the CO*LAB courtyard (9641 102A Ave) from Mar. 21 - Apr. 30. Both of these installations would make really cool photostories or personal reflections, so let me know if you're interested!

The Edmonton Music Prize is a $12,000 award presented annually to Edmonton-based musicians. This year’s three finalists are

Farhad Khosravi

,

Lucette

, and

Lyra Brown

, and the final winner will be announced on March 22. Check out the nominated artists and let me know if you would like to write an album review or interview one (or more!) of the artists.

Reimagine the pandemic with Vivek ShrayaVivek Shraya is a musician, writer, and creative writing professor at the University of Calgary. Shraya will be giving a lecture titled “Next Time There’s a Pandemic” on Mar. 29 from 7 - 8:30 p.m. as part of the Kreisel lecture series. The lecture will reflect on different ways that the pandemic could have been approached by individuals and society, and knowing Shraya, it's sure to be an engaging time! Let us know if you would like to attend the lecture and/or interview Shraya.

UAlberta Press is a unit of the University of Alberta Library that publishes books that have scholarly impact, demonstrate publishing innovation, and achieve creative distinction. They've recently released their Fall 2021 catalogue, which features over 30 titles in topics ranging from Indigenous studies, to sport, to anthropology, and everything in-between! Feel free to check out the catalogue

here

and let me know if you’re interested in doing a review and/or interview.

Profile U of A alumnae Chyana Marie SageChyana Marie Sage is an Indigenous author from Edmonton and a University of Alberta alumnae. She recently published her debut poetry collection Dear You, which is the first book in her poetry trilogy, The Love Letters. Dear You explores depression, self-harm, intergenerational trauma, and toxicity. The collection has been a hit so far, reaching the number one spot on Amazon for Hot New Releases within its first week of publication! Let us know if you would like to review the collection and/or interview Sage.