For SNAP! Magazine’s 15th issue, contributors were given the opportunity to explore the idea of Embellishment. An endlessly broad subject, the issue looks at everything from accessories and adornments like tattoos and jewelry, to embellishment in painting, photo and sculpture, to manipulation of the intangible, like memory.

Highlights include a feature on nine emerging artists from Canada and beyond who are investigating embellishment in their method and motif, among them New York based painter, illustrator and photographer Andrea Mary Marshall. As always the photo contributions are exceptionally strong, with submissions by Maxyme G. Delisle, Mathieu Fortin, Raphael Ouellet, Karin Demeyer and Sandrine Castellan, along with new bloods Etienne Saint-Denis, Vinna Laudico and Tobin Belanger.

Essays include a discussion of nudity and art from SNAP! editor Shayl Prisk (fitting for this issue, replete with nude forms throughout) and an interview with internationally renowned purveyor of designer vintage eye-wear Corey Shapiro.

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We love free Montreal-based street magazine, SNAP!, which takes an insidery peek at the creative happenings in that lofty city. They’ve just released of Issue 9, in which contributors were invited to submit work based on one or a series of Three-Letter Words. The cover image is one of a series of photo-booth shots by Canadian photographer Robin Hart Hiltz, built around the word EAT. Inside, you have the vintage-y centerfold, featuring a scantily clad Mexican himbo holding a tequila bottle (MEX), an apocalyptic illustration by mixed media artist Alex Sebag (THE END), an eight page photo essay by American photographer Maxim Ryazansky (KID USA) and a four page review of the 2009 installment of one of Montreal’s biggest music festivals (POP MTL).

Made-in-Montreal independent art magazine SNAP! brings out its eighth issue this month and gets a little bit gritty and pensive with their SURVIVAL theme. Reflections on war, prison, personal struggle and surviving life in the city are some of what you will find in the Fall issue, alongside a dark warrior aesthetic and a strong photo lineup including an on-location shoot with five of Montreal’s best graffiti artists and a series on indoor office plants. Definitely worth checking out, and featuring a sick ad for Lost At E Minor designed by Montreal mixed-media artist Jeremy Dabrowski (it’s on page 15).

I used to edit a free street mag in Australia called STU, so I was impressed when I came across a similarly sized one out of Montreal called SNAP!, which expertly covers fashion, art, music and other creative pursuits with a healthy focus on spotlighting local creatives. We checked in with Hannah Byrne, who along with Shayl Prisk is one of the two founders of the publication, and asked her about the spark behind the launch of SNAP! ‘Initially the spark came when Shayl and I sat down after a long day in our kitchen jobs and decided we wanted to do something different, more creative. Over the course of several months we brainstormed over lattes and pints and talked about exactly what kind of magazine we would want to read and what kind of stories we would want to tell. It was a really exciting time, starting this thing from scratch and deciding where it was going to go’.

Have you found a place already amongst Montreal’s creative community?
‘We’ve worked with so many talented artists based here in Montreal. Many of our creative friends were willing to contribute work from the beginning but as we grow we have more and more people approaching us at our events or online asking how they can submit and get involved in what we do. We try and thank all the people that work with us by hosting regular parties and art events, and hand out free beer for our fellow starving artist friends! Our sponsor Bierbrier is great for that. We really love to have fun and to get local artists and writers published, and they seem to like that too! We are receiving more and more emails from people every day, which is really encouraging!’

How hard is it sustaining a free magazine?
‘Well, we both still work day jobs, as well as play a lot of online poker (haha). We’re slowly starting to build a strong base of advertisers but it’s hard for any new business at the moment. It takes time but for now we are also working on different projects around the magazine to explore other ways to keep it all funded.

‘Shayl and I were always adamant that our magazine would be free- yes the print world is in a crisis right now, but magazines still have that tangible appeal and when the access is free and the content is rich and local, we really believe that the product will be picked up. That’s valuable to an advertiser, our main source of revenue, so we’ll just keep fighting and hope that our hard work pays off soon’.

What’s coming up in SNAP! world?
‘We recently launched the SNAP! tee-a-thon: an ongoing t-shirt design competition through our website and the magazine. We’ve got some great prize packs up for grabs and are trying to draw in some great artists and designers. We’re happy to ship prizes and the competition is open to anyone in any country. Eternal glory awaits the winners!

‘Once our purse strings are a little looser, we’ll increase our distribution and possibly even try SNAP! in a few other cities. We’re excited about what lies ahead.’

Our friends over at SNAP!, Montreal’s only free and independent arts and lifestyle publication, have just put out their sixth issue — Vagabonds — which, fittingly, celebrates all things foreign, with tales from seasoned travelers as well as new arrivals now calling Montreal home. It also explores the international quartiers of the city and profiles some of the quirkier locals. Eclectic and colourful, it really is the perfect companion for afternoons spent dreaming of where we’d rather be and what we’d rather be doing.

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