The art post outpost: Breaking down complex social issues through art

Here at CBC Arts, you won't just find our original content — we also bring you the best art posts from across the entire CBC network.

These are the week's can't-miss stories from coast to coast:

How Gord Downie's Secret Path could become part of P.E.I. reconciliation curriculum (CBC Prince Edward Island)

Last month, educators from across the country met with Gord Downie's brother Mike, illustrator Jeff Lemire, and Chanie Wenjack's family to strategize incorporating Secret Path into school curriculums. With P.E.I. educator Geoff MacDonald calling the project "one of the richest resources" he's ever seen for teaching students about residential schools and reconciliation, it could be in classrooms — at least on the Island — as soon as this coming September.

'Why did we do this as Canadians?' 11-year-old paints Canada's residential school past (CBC Edmonton)

It's clear that young Canadians are ready to learn the truth about one of our history's darkest spots. These paintings by 11-year-old student Austan Najmi-Beauchamp deal with residential school abuse — something he struggled to balance against his ideas of what Canada should stand for. And although the budding artist is not Indigenous, he often discusses these kinds of issues with his parents — his mother is Iranian and his father is French-Canadian — and his work has been received well by Indigenous elders at the Fort McMurray, Alta. gallery where it's currently on display.

'Share and talk': P.E.I. singer Kinley Dowling receives flood of responses to song about sexual assault (CBC Prince Edward Island)

When she performs with Hey Rosetta!, Kinley Dowling prefers to stay in the background — but she stepped out bravely last month when she released her debut solo album Letters Never Sent. One of those letters was 15 years in the making: it calls out the man who sexually assaulted her after her prom. The song turned out to not only be cathartic for her — some of the heartfelt responses she got were from people who had never opened up about their own experiences with assault until hearing her story.

Canada's first Indigenous zombie film garnering international attention (CBC Sudbury)

You usually know what to expect when it comes to zombie movies — but this one has an Indigenous twist. Director Jayson Stewart sees parallels between the classic zombie tale and society's treatment of Indigenous culture, and the film touches on everything from residential schools to the Sixties Scoop. But just like your favourite movie, there are heroes in this story: "It takes a select few to stand up and say, 'No more.'"

'Our beti is an artist? It's all your fault!': These women are challenging the shame around art (CBC Toronto)

Brampton artists Hatecopy (Maria Qamar) and Babbu the Painter (Babneet Lakhesar) have gone from humble beginnings on Instagram to being featured on Mindy Kaling's sitcom The Mindy Project — but they've got even bigger goals in mind. Both coming from South Asian families where being an artist was a highly unconventional decision, they want to change how being an artist is seen altogether: "Put that art profession on the same scale as a doctor or an engineer," says Qamar, "because it is adding to culture." (Revisit Hatecopy's CBC Arts feature from earlier this year!)

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