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-24th. META is a celebration of art and the advancements moving it forward and 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.

The artists involved this year reflect the diversity that exists within the Region of Peel. Naturally, 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 locally-renowned artists including SofiaFly, a DJ/Producer/Vocalist from Toronto. A Trans Woman and Queer nightlife Queen, she frequently DJs at some of the biggest Queer parties in Toronto and recently started her own party series called ‘Bitchcraft.’ Named one of NOW Magazine’s “artists to watch in 2020”, her songs feature poetic party-girl lyrics set to a Latin-inspired fusion of trap and house music. 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.

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 previous META artists musician Gurpreet Chana, music producer HeyBombay and renowned dancer and DJ FlyLadyDi.

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

Learn more at METAartsfest.ca.

Feature Images from Instagrams of SofiaFly, Lexxicon, and Immigrant Hustle Podcast.