From Sarah Polley’s Women Talking to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, this year was full of cultural highlights. But how well were you paying attention? Take our year-end arts and culture quiz to find out.
1 Sarah Polley won an Oscar this year for her film Women Talking. In which category did she win?
a. Best Director
b. Best Screenplay
c. Best Adapted Screenplay
d. Best Actress
2 A biography of Elon Musk, written by Walter Isaacson, was released this year. The book shares insights from Musk’s childhood, including the time he spent in Canada. Which Canadian university did he attend?
a. University of Toronto
b. Queen’s University
c. Carleton University
d. University of British Columbia
3 When and where did Taylor Swift’s Eras tour kick off?
a. March 17 in Glendale, Ariz.
b. March 1 in New York
c. Aug. 1 in Pittsburgh
d. May 17 in Glendale, Ariz.
4 Which Canadian poet declined an invitation to the White House over the Biden administration’s funding of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza?
a. Dionne Brand
b. Al Purdy
c. Rupi Kaur
d. Jovette Bernier
5 Who won this year’s Giller Prize? Hint: The author was also shortlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize.
a. Sarah Bernstein
b. Esi Eduygan
c. Anne Carson
d. Paul Harding
6 Aerosmith postponed their concert in Toronto because Steven Tyler was suffering from what condition?
a. Peptic ulcer
b. Strained vocal cords
c. Herniated disc
d. Old age
7 Paul Gross played King Lear at Stratford this year. During which year was his previous – and only other – Stratford appearance?
a. 1999
b. 2000
c. 2010
d. Gross had never previously appeared at Stratford
8 Irish rock icons U2 began a residency this year at which Las Vegas venue?
a. Sphere
b. MGM Grand
c. House of Blues
d. The Colosseum
9 Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, was one of the best-selling books of the year. How long is the audiobook version, which is narrated by Harry himself?
a. 15 hours
b. 24 hours
c. 33 hours
d. 5 hours
15 hours. “Throughout the book, Prince Harry’s past is very much alive,” Globe reviewer Wendy Kaur wrote of Spare. “The book is, ultimately, a portrait of an angry young man struggling to make peace with his past, in the hopes that he may live a brighter future.”
10 This year, the Vancouver Art Gallery mounted an exhibition of 10 oil sketches previously attributed to Group of Seven member J.E.H. MacDonald but determined to be fake. Where had the paintings been stored before they were found?
a. In an attic
b. Buried underground in a backyard
c. In a barn
d. In a safe
Buried underground in a backyard. The exhibition, “J.E.H. MacDonald? A Tangled Garden,” includes coverage by The Globe and Mail, which first publicized the skepticism around their authenticity in 2015.
How well did you do?
Answer all of the questions to see your result
Congratulations, you stayed up to speed on Arts news this year.