I was going to tell you about the genesis of this online magazine, dedicated to Canadian artists, but I will keep that mystery to myself from now. However, let me tell you the story about this incredible issue; an issue I never planned to make but, when the story of Gaby G fell on my lap, I knew I had to do it.
ASKEDUS is a magazine for artists with inspiring stories. For example, I directed and produced an award winning documentary on Canada’s 150th anniversary. Our May 2022 issue, the 1st ever, was about my journey, from a kid with dreams to a man with goals. For our second issue, I needed another fascinating tell to bring YOU.
“With friends in diverse creative fields, it will only take me 5 minutes to create a list.” I told myself.
And so, on a summer evening, in my home office, with soul music playing in the background and a perfectly mixed cocktail on my desk, I typed the names of all my talented buddies, on an excel sheet. For every name, I could visualize the magazine. My graphic-design-experienced mind leapt from photoshoots with the artists to their final magazine layout. Like Nostradamus, I could see it all. When I was done, I saved my work and went to bed. But by the morning, everything would change.
So the following day, like every day, I jumped on Instagram for my daily dose of “who did what, when!” One of the first Insta stories that flashed on my screen was from Gaby G, a comedian I had started following for a couple of weeks only. A friend had shared with me one of her sketches and I had laughed hard enough to follow her.
Her Instagram story that caught my attention named my cousin, Clélia Diamani-Mianda, as the writer of an article on Gaby. I had to read it. To my surprise, the first line hooked me. By the time I finished reading the article, I knew what would be our next issue… And the rest, as they say, is herstory…
