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Secret Life of Canada

The Canadian art collective that changed the art world

The Secret Life of Canada explores the history of the Canadian art collective, General Idea.

General Idea was started in Toronto in the late 1960s

CBC Podcasts ·
A woman walks by a wall of posters with General Idea's AIDS artwork.
Art Metropole Collection, National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives, Ottawa Gift of Jay A. Smith, Toronto, 1999. (General Idea Photo: General Idea Archives, Berlin, courtesy the artist)

When three young queer men formed an art collective in the late 60s in Toronto named "General Idea", no one expected that they would end up becoming one of the most iconic art collectives of the 20th century. For 25 years Felix Partz, Jorge Zontal and AA Bronson became internationally known for their edgy, subversive, funny and boundary pushing work.

Leah and Falen learn about the early days of the collective, the time Life magazine tried to sue them, why they started a "Miss General Idea" beauty pageant, and how they ended up creating one of the most indelible images of the AIDS epidemic. And then, they'll hear about the group's final push to produce a catalog of work before AIDS took the lives of Felix & Jorge in 1994.

With special guest AA Bronson.

Here are some of the pieces referenced in the episode:

Listen to the full episode below. Listen to more episodes here, and get transcripts of our series here.

Key References