Leigha Stiles: Art, mental health & endless becomings at the Ottawa Art Gallery

The Mental Health of Fathers-to-Be: Dr. Ryan Van Lieshout on a New McMaster Study

Becoming a parent can be a major life change, and mental health during this time does not get enough attention. In this episode of Strictly Creative, Garmamie speaks with Dr. Ryan Van Lieshout about paternal perinatal depression — what it is, why it matters, and why it is still not talked about enough. Dr. Van Lieshout is a professor at McMaster University and a perinatal psychiatrist whose research focuses on mental health during pregnancy and the early postpartum period.   The conversation also looks at a McMaster-led pilot study exploring group cognitive behavioural therapy for fathers and fathers-to-be experiencing perinatal depression. The study is designed to test whether this kind of support is practical and acceptable before a larger study is done. Participants are randomly assigned either to a 9-week online evening CBT group plus standard care or to standard care alone, with follow-up questionnaires and interviews over time.   This episode is about fatherhood, mental health, support, and the importance of recognizing that asking for help is part of becoming stronger for yourself and your family. Hosted by Garmamie, Strictly Creative is available wherever you get your podcasts. Relevant links: Dr. Ryan Van Lieshout – McMaster Experts [https://experts.mcmaster.ca/people/vanlierj] * Scholarly Works [https://experts.mcmaster.ca/people/vanlierj/scholarly-works] Mental Health for Fathers [https://www.parentinginottawa.ca/en/becoming-a-parent-and-pregnancy/mental-health-for-fathers.aspx] Santé mentale pour les pères [https://www.etreparentaottawa.ca/fr/becoming-a-parent-and-pregnancy/mental-health-for-fathers.aspx]

Endless Becomings: Co-Curator Elisa Jiménez Robles

In the final episode of our Endless Becomings series, Strictly Creative's host Garmamie speaks with Elisa Jiménez Robles, co-curator of the exhibition. Endless Becomings brings together eleven visionary artists shaping the future of contemporary art, united by a commitment to continuous transformation — across identity, memory, resistance, displacement, care, and change. The exhibition runs until March 15, 2026 — go see it. Exhibition details: ENDLESS BECOMINGS: EXPLORATIONS IN CONTEMPORARY ART September 20, 2025 – March 15, 2026 Spencerville Gallery | Level 3 Curators: Elisa Jiménez Robles (Co-Curator), Shems Benmosbah (Co-Curator) Artists: Aylin Abbasi, Annie Bérubé, Armand Diansambu, Elaine Diguer, Sophie El-Assaad, Emily Escoffery, Lea Hamilton, Sarah Hughes, Éric Mailloux, Shiva Nasiri, Leigha Stiles Previous interviews (listen next): • Leigha Stiles [https://open.spotify.com/episode/7n46DKxnsMhsh8mXHSA4Pc?si=iEYOB3r3RCG79ectFVvoIw&nd=1&dlsi=4cb967bb0896488d] • Armand Diansambu [https://open.spotify.com/episode/7zvdHbaGS5otrd2qJUspen?si=tQZBF1rwQSiHuzU9-exJWw&nd=1&dlsi=0724e900c7af4868]

Armand Diansambu | Art contemporain, mémoire ancestrale et identité | Entrevue (FR)

Dans cet épisode de Strictly Creative, Garmamie s’entretient avec Armand Diansambu, artiste multidisciplinaire et chercheur bantou, dont le travail est présenté à la Galerie d’art d’Ottawa dans le cadre de l’exposition Redevenirs : Explorations en art contemporain. L’entrevue aborde son parcours créatif, sa pratique artistique et les thèmes qui traversent son travail, notamment l’identité, la mémoire ancestrale et les héritages postcoloniaux. 📌 Entrevue menée en français. 🔗 En savoir plus sur l’artiste : armanddiansambu.com [armanddiansambu.com] 🔗 Détails sur l’exposition à la Galerie d’art d’Ottawa : https://oaggao.ca/fr/a-laffiche/exposition/redevenirs-explorations-en-art-contemporain/ [https://oaggao.ca/fr/a-laffiche/exposition/redevenirs-explorations-en-art-contemporain/]

Documentary film: “What does judo mean to you?”

In this episode of Strictly Creative, judoka and filmmaker Luke Thomson talks about how a tendon injury became the starting point for his first documentary. Unable to compete at the Quebec Open and Canada Cup in Montréal, he stayed mat-side with a camera instead of a judogi. Luke filmed fights and interviewed 27 people from the Canadian judo community—athletes, Olympians, coaches, and staff—including Christa Deguchi, Jessica Klimkait, Antoine Valois-Fortier, and Janusz Pawlowski. To all of them, he asked one simple question: “What does judo mean to you?” Their answers go beyond results and medals, into stories about routine, sacrifice, family, identity, and how judo can shape an entire life. In this conversation, we walk through how the project came together and what Luke learned by listening to the people who live this sport every day. Watch the full documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7f5VosP7iU

Leigha Stiles: Art, mental health & endless becomings at the Ottawa Art Gallery

In this episode of Strictly Creative, Garmamie visits the Ottawa Art Gallery with multidisciplinary artist Leigha Stiles, whose work is featured in the exhibition Endless Becomings: Explorations in Contemporary Art. Leigha walks us through three of her pieces — Melancholy, SAD, and I can’t do this anymore — and shares the deeply personal experiences behind them. Recorded inside the Spencerville Gallery of the Ottawa Art Gallery, this conversation dives into mental health, wearable sculpture, memory, softness and weight, movement, and unfinished stories. Endless Becomings runs from September 20, 2025 to March 15, 2026 at the Ottawa Art Gallery [https://oaggao.ca/] — and admission is free.