Past Inductees Include Russell Peters & Michael Cera;Total Number Of Stars Now 24
BRAMPTON: The City of Brampton has announced the names of the newest Arts Walk of Fame inductees. Hailing from Brampton or having spent their formative years there, each has been selected for achieving excellence in the arts and entertainment industry, for building pride in the Brampton community, and inspiring emerging artists and creators.
This year’s inductees are:
• Director X – Born Julien Christian Lutz, Director X has been noted for directing high-budget, visually distinctive videos for popular artists such as Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Justin Bieber, Kanye West and many more. His work has been nominated and awarded by the MTV Music Video Awards and Much Music Video Awards. In 2015, X won Best Feature at the Atlantic Film Festival for his directorial debut, ‘ACROSS THE LINE’, and recently directed the highly anticipated film “Superfly” for Sony, Columbia Pictures, hitting theatres in June 2018. (www.directorXfilms.com)
• Rupi Kaur –Rupi Kaur is a poet, artist and performer. Her artistic journey began as early as the age of 5 when her mother handed her a paintbrush and said, “draw your heart out.” While studying at the University of Waterloo, Rupi wrote, illustrated, and self-published her first collection, Milk and Honey, which has since sold over 3 million copies, translated into more than 35 languages, and landed as a #1 New York Times Bestseller for more than 100 consecutive weeks. Rupi’s long-awaited second collection The Sun and Her Flowers was published in 2017 and debuted as a #1 global bestseller. She’s a Forbes 30 under 30 and named one of BBC’s 100 Women of 2017. (www.rupikaur.com)
• Zarqa Nawaz – Zarqa Nawaz is the creator of the 2005 ground-breaking documentary Me and the Mosque, and the hit comedy series, Little Mosque on the Prairie that ran on CBC Television between 2007 and 2012. Most recently she has written a bestselling comedic memoir, Laughing All the Way to the Mosque, in which she explores what it was like to grow up as a Canadian of Muslim faith. Nawaz currently hosts CBC’s The Morning Edition. (www.zarqanawaz.com)
• William Perkins Bull, Literature (posthumous) – Wm. Perkins Bull was a successful lawyer, financier, philanthropist and historian. In the early 1930s he began a comprehensive study of Peel County’s history that eventually grew into thirteen published volumes on Peel’s cultural and natural history. Bull’s history project also resulted in a very large collection of artefacts, archival records and artworks. In 2006, the Peel Heritage Complex (now the Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives) officially renamed the archives reading room the Wm. Perkins Bull Reading Room and in 2007 the Ontario Heritage Trust honoured Mr. Bull for establishing provincial historic significance.
Mayor Linda Jeffrey said: “A vibrant arts and culture community makes a city stronger. Amazingly talented people who have roots in Brampton are a source of great pride for us here and across the country. The Arts Walk of Fame is a way for us to celebrate artists who not only excel in their field, but are also connected to our City. On behalf of Council and residents, we are delighted to recognize their achievements.”
The artistic work of the inductees will be featured and celebrated in individual presentation events, followed by their recognition as part of the Arts Walk of Fame.
The first of these presentation events will be An Evening with Rupi Kaur, planned for Thursday, April 26, 2018, at The Rose. Details and tickets available at www.rosetheatre.ca.
The new inductees will bring the total number of stars to 21 since the Arts Walk of Fame’s inception in 2014.
Past inductees include Russell Peters, Michael Cera, Othalie Graham, Keshia Chanté, Exco Levi, Rohinton Mistry, and more. The Arts Walk of Fame is located in Garden Square in Downtown Brampton. Due to construction in the area, the installation of markers for 2017 inductees will be deferred to a future time. For a complete list of inductees and more information on this year’s presentation events, visit www.brampton.ca/artswalkoffame.
The Arts Walk of Fame is one of the City of Brampton’s key recognition programs, celebrating and building connections with the incredible artistic and creative talent emerging from Brampton while inspiring the next generation of artists and creators in Brampton to follow in their footsteps.
