The City of Brampton has announced it’s latest round of inductees to the Brampton Arts Walk of Fame.
This year’s list includes acclaimed film and music video director, Director X. The 42-year-old has been active since 1998, and is one of the most celebrated video directors in the game. His recent credits include “God’s Plan,” French Montana’s “Famous,” Bebe Rexha’s “The Way I Are (Dance with Somebody)” featuring Lil Wayne, Miguel and Travis Scott’s Sky Walker, and DJ Snake’s “The Half.” He’s also the director behind Drake’s smash hit, “Hotline Bling.”
X will be honored at an event in Brampton in the near future, but the date has yet to be announced. You can find the full list of inductees below in the official Arts Walk of Fame press release.
Brampton Announces Arts Walk of Fame Inductees
Internationally renowned Director X, New York Times bestselling author Rupi Kaur, CBC’s The Morning Edition host Zarqa Nawaz, and historian and royal descendant William Perkins Bull to join the list of famous Brampton residents and past inductees including Russell Peters and Michael Cera
Director X – Born Julien Christian Lutz, Director X has been noted for directing high-budget, visually distinctive videos for popular artists such as Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Justin Bieber, Kanye West and many more. His work has been nominated and awarded by the MTV Music Video Awards and Much Music Video Awards. In 2015, X won Best Feature at the Atlantic Film Festival for his directorial debut, ‘ACROSS THE LINE’, and recently directed the highly anticipated film “Superfly” for Sony, Columbia Pictures, hitting theatres in June 2018. Visit DirectorXFilms.com for more information.
Rupi Kaur – Rupi Kaur is a poet, artist and performer. Her artistic journey began as early as the age of 5 when her mother handed her a paintbrush and said, “draw your heart out.” While studying at the University of Waterloo, Rupi wrote, illustrated, and self-published her first collection, Milk and Honey, which has since sold over 3 million copies, translated into more than 35 languages, and landed as a #1 New York Times Bestseller for more than 100 consecutive weeks. Rupi’s long-awaited second collection The Sun and Her Flowers was published in 2017 and debuted as a #1 global bestseller. She’s a Forbes 30 under 30 and named one of BBC’s 100 Women of 2017. Visit Rupikaur.com for more information.
Zarqa Nawaz – Zarqa Nawaz is the creator of the 2005 ground-breaking documentary Me and the Mosque, and the hit comedy series, Little Mosque on the Prairie that ran on CBC Television between 2007 and 2012. Most recently she has written a bestselling comedic memoir, Laughing All the Way to the Mosque, in which she explores what it was like to grow up as a Canadian of Muslim faith. Nawaz currently hosts CBC’s The Morning Edition. Visit ZarqaNawaz.com for more information.
William Perkins Bull, Literature (posthumous) – Wm. Perkins Bull was a successful lawyer, financier, philanthropist and historian. In the early 1930s he began a comprehensive study of Peel County’s history that eventually grew into thirteen published volumes on Peel’s cultural and natural history. Bull’s history project also resulted in a very large collection of artifacts, archival records and artworks. In 2006, the Peel Heritage Complex (now the Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives) officially renamed the archives reading room the Wm. Perkins Bull Reading Room and in 2007 the Ontario Heritage Trust honoured Mr. Bull for establishing provincial historic significance.
The artistic work of the inductees will be featured and celebrated in individual presentation events, followed by their recognition as part of the Arts Walk of Fame. The first of these presentation events will be An Evening with Rupi Kaur, planned for Thursday April 26, 2018 at The Rose. Details and tickets are available at RoseTheatre.ca.
The new inductees will bring the total number of stars to 21 since the Arts Walk of Fame’s inception in 2014. Past inductees include Russell Peters, Michael Cera, Othalie Graham, Keshia Chanté, Exco Levi, Rohinton Mistry, and more. The Arts Walk of Fame is located in Garden Square in Downtown Brampton. Due to construction in the area, the installation of markers for 2017 inductees will be deferred to a future time. For a complete list of inductees and more information on this year’s presentation events, visit brampton.ca/artswalkoffame.
The Arts Walk of Fame is one of the City of Brampton’s key recognition programs, celebrating and building connections with the incredible artistic and creative talent emerging from Brampton, while inspiring the next generation of artists and creators in Brampton to follow in their footsteps.
“A vibrant arts and culture community makes a city stronger. Amazingly talented people who have roots in Brampton are a source of great pride for us here and across the country. The Arts Walk of Fame is a way for us to celebrate artists who not only excel in their field, but are also connected to our City. On behalf of Council and residents, we are delighted to recognize their achievements.” – Mayor Linda Jeffrey
