Meta (meaning ‘after’ or ‘beyond’) is a celebration of art and the advancements moving it forward.

META is a celebration of art and the advancements moving it forward. The festival aims to capture variations of digital and modern art all in one place and bring an experience unlike any other to the Peel Region and the world. Back for its third year, META has expanded from META Brampton which will be held from August 4th-13th, to the first ever META Sauga to be held from August 18th-27th. The artists involved this year reflect the diversity that exists within the peel region. “A key focus when putting this line-up together was diversity/inclusion within the Arts and Culture space. With everything that’s happening in the world right now, we wanted to ensure that our platform was showcasing representation, while also emphasizing originality and creativity. Every artist brings something unique to the table, and bringing that to the forefront was important for this year's festival” - Nav Nanwa, Programming Curator.

Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, META has shifted to purely digital via live-streamed content on YouTube, Twitch and Facebook Live @MetaArtsFest.

META is organized by the Arts & Culture Initiative of South Asia (ACISA), a non-profit organization that curates other renowned festivals like Vibrant Brampton and V.A.S.A Arts Festival.

The festival will now run every Tuesday and Thursday for the entire month of August. Tuesdays will be devoted to workshops/panels featuring local creators and partners. In partnership with the Brampton Library, META will stream the acclaimed podcast ‘The Immigrant Hustle’ with Noyz and B-Magic. Visual Arts Mississauga will host a discussion with their Creative Resident alum Amrita Virdi. Mississauga Music will host How to Break Out of Your Hometown featuring touring artists. Additional panels and support will be provided by Beaux Arts Brampton and PAMA.

Thursdays will feature live-streamed performances from world-renowned and local-renowned artists including STORRY, a 2020 JUNO nominated artist in the category of Reggae Recording of the Year (the JUNOs have yet to be awarded, due to the COVID-19 pandemic). As well as R&B singer/beatboxer Balu, an artist with roots in South Asia and Toronto, who was recently recognized in Rolling Stone India as the next global artist to watch out for. As well as This year META will also feature a performance from Jamaican-Canadian musical artist, Lexxicon. With music that sounds like a crossbreed between PartyNextDoor and Swae Lee merged with a strong artistic vision, to push the boundaries of the industry, Lexxicon is quickly rising through the ranks to become a household name. META 2020 will also feature artists from Mississauga including HeyBombay, Brianna Corona, and The Identity Crisis.

Partners for META this year include Canada Council of Arts, City of Mississauga, Brampton Library, Mississauga Music, Beaux Arts Brampton and Visual Arts Mississauga.

Go Beyond....Go META.

ABOUT ACISA
Arts & Culture Initiative of South Asia (ACISA) is a non- profit organization with a vision to promote cross-cultural understanding with the aim of bringing a diverse community together in celebration of life, culture, art and tradition. The organization’s mission is to promote the diversity of South Asian art forms by showcasing local artists and providing them with an opportunity to present their work to a wide audience; break cultural barriers and encourage participation, allowing all communities from Brampton to experience the different forms of South Asian Arts and culture; showcase South Asian heritage as it continues to evolve imbibing the cultural values of Canada and communicate key messages that share the philosophy of diversity with residents of Brampton. For more information, visit www.acisa.ca