(Cult)ure is Heating Up!

Napoleon Hill once wrote, “ideas were the beginning points of all fortunes,” and in this globalised world where culture has no fixed definition, the Editors of (Cult)ure Magazine have found a way to successfully mobilize ideas towards shaping and redefining Canadian identity.

By recognizing that each individual has the agency to influence Canada’s greater cultural milieu, (Cult)ure has gradually become a forum of choice for creative minds to exchange, share, and organize opinions about cinema, television, culture, politics, sexuality, food, and music.

Launched in September 2007, the founders of (Cult)ure magazine, An Nguyen, Kevin Johns and Brendan Blom, have reinforced society’s role in defining the various elements of culture they themselves have come to be a part of.  Lifting the veil from the hidden beauty of Ottawa’s arts scene and beyond, however, needed to be done not only in the virtual world but the real world as well.

On May 8, 2008,(Cult)ure held its first-ever concert fundraiser at the Rainbow Bistro to celebrate a real world launch of its presence. After nine months of actively mobilizing progressive writers, artists and activists towards collaborative expression, (Cult)ure made big plans to sustain its momentum. With the help of comedian Jason Harper MCing the event, and music performances by Madison Sheane, the Kimberly Sunstrum Band and the Manic Mondaves, (Cult)ure’s concert fundraiser showcased impressive results!

For photos of this event, please visit local freelance photographers Ryan Davies’  and Barry Thoms’ gallery of images from the event. You can also watch the (Cult)ure concert fundraiser unfold on the May 11th episode of Ottawa Living.

Over 200 people showed up at the event, and (Cult)ure raised $2110 which will allow it to sustain its current creative momentum. Although some might argue that an organization running on the help of volunteers needs no additional funding as low set-up costs are involved, the editors have found that small donations towards the initiative will go a long way in improving the magazine’s operations.

Funds raised will help renovate and maintain the website to further enhance the interactive dimensions of the online forum. Additionally, a small honorarium for frequent contributors will be established to give back to the community of over 55 artists and writers. This volunteer community has been integral to (Cult)ure’s success as it has offered a response to the ever changing environment in an unapologetic and meaningful way. Currently, the magazine has been able to draw approximately 111,000 hits per month to the website with readers in countries like China, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Japan, US, UK and India.

Already, the magazine’s grassroots support has enabled it to build a community which is quickly expanding. Since its inception, (Cult)ure has opened up a sexuality section to explore gender identity and issues relating to sexuality. Additionally, podcasting features were launched in the literature, culture and music section to incorporate spoken word performances, regular music commentaries by M.R. Shankley and Kris Millet, as well as an in depth interview on homelessness.

So what’s next for (Cult)ure?

In the virtual world, you will soon see the creation of a visual arts section. (Cult)ure will also be participating in Art in the Park , Ottawa’s largest non-profit, non commercial outdoor arts festival. Additionally, there will be an edgy advice column offering a fresh new perspective by Miss Smarty Pants. In the real world (Cult)ure has plans to move into print in Fall 2008, offering yet another medium for unfamiliar issues to be a part of the familiar.

As Noam Chomsky once said, “Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. Even the interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation.” (Cult)ure Magazine has endeavoured to express this same intention towards free and limitless creation through offering individuals a forum for re-interpreting words and the information world around them.

On behalf of the (Cult)ure team, we'd like to thank everyone for their continuous support and ability to make (Cult)ure so relevant to the Ottawa arts community and beyond.

© 2008 An Nguyen, Photographs by Ryan Davies and Barry Thoms; licensee (Cult)ure Magazine. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 ), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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