LIVE: MANIFESTO Festival: Made Ya Look Art Show, Toronto

Written by DJ O.S.U.M (@djosum). Photos by Melissa Moffat (@MelissaMoffat). Please support.

The day before the Manifesto's Made Ya Look event took place, the location for the art show was moved from the Distillery District to 99 Sudbury in the Liberty Village area. Fortunately everything still went off without a hitch because this was the one night I was looking forward to the most, and I’m glad to say my expectations were surpassed. It was nothing but positive vibes from the time I walked in the door. Bodies were packed tight with drinks in hand, beats bumping loudly over the speakers and the painting from local celebs in the art world like EGR, Mark “Kurupt” Stoddart and Elicsr graced the walls.

The exhibit’s main attractions included works from NYC based photographer, hip hop pioneer and Zulu Nation member Ernie Paniccioli, whose photo tribute to the women in hip hop took you on a trip down memory lane. Dubelyoo, aka ATL’s Art Bishop had several colorful paintings on display, including his take on well-known comic book characters that had everybody wide open. But hands down it was Cubeworks 30 ft installation that paid homage to Canadian hip hop pioneers like Michie Mee and Maestro, all the way up to hometown hero, Drake that caught everyone’s attention.

Other works of note on display that night included paintings by Omen from Montreal, Adrian Hayles from Toronto and some powerful photography from event organizer, Che. Performances throughout the night by Smash Brovaz, Circle Research and PTR recording artist Sarah Linhares also kept the energy high and added a whole other level to the experience. If you’re in the Toronto area, and still want to check out the exhibit, it remains open until Oct 2 to coincide with Nuit Blanche, when there will be a closing party.