We had it covered: 2022 in arts coverage, all wrapped up

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/12/2022 (629 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Music streaming service Spotify started the year-end “Wrapped” trend and we’re jumping on the bandwagon. In 2022 (as of Dec. 27), the Free Press arts and life team published 1,182 stories and digital readers spent more than 81,000 hours engaging with our work. Here are some of the most viewed stories from the last year:

Visual Art

Picture This — Ben Waldman captures a rare moment of online serenity in this story about Canadian Paintings, a popular Twitter account that shares work by Canadian artists sans commentary.

Theatre & Dance

Dramatic Dialogue — In this season preview, Jill Wilson talked with Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre artistic director Kelly Thornton about programming a diverse “all-you-can-eat buffet” of shows for 2022-23.

Music

Change of Key — Forgot how to festival? Ahead of the first in-person Winnipeg Folk Festival since 2019, Eva Wasney walked readers through what to expect, how to dress and where to pitch a tent at Birds Hill Park.

TV & Film

Actress Edi Patterson foiled by famously frigid Winnipeg intersection — We all love a good Winnipeg celebrity story. Even better? A highly relatable story about a film star trying to walk across Portage and Main in the dead of winter. Randall King recounted actress Edi Patterson’s local filming experience, which she shared during an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden.

Reviews

Took it to the limit, one more time — Eagles’ performance in September was a five-star experience for concertgoers and digital readers alike. Alan Small reviewed the cinematic show, which included backing by members of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

Food & Drink

Part science, part madness, all meat — David Sanderson profiled the proprietors of Boulevard Meats & Deli, a Southdale butcher shop run by a trio of sisters that specializes in bacon shots and pig wings.

Books

Banning books stifles important classroom conversations — After local author David A. Robertson’s YA novel, The Great Bear, was banned by Ontario’s Durham School Board, Jen Zoratti laid bare the harmful hypocrisy of the decision.

Life

Clicking with colony culture — Ahead of an exhibit at the MHC Gallery, Alan Small spoke with photographer Tim Smith about his years-long project documenting life on the Deerboine Hutterite colony in western Manitoba.