Stage Door News
Stage Door News
This Month on the Bloor St. Culture Corridor
Bloor St. is stirring with movement as the warm weather sets in and people set out to explore the city. Special events this month include the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, Doors Open Toronto, and Mother's Day. That's not all! There are new exhibitions opening including the Bata Shoe Museum's Manolo Blahnik exhibition, the new Estonian Music Week festival, The Royal Conservatory's fifth annual 21C Music Festival, the Miles Nadal JCC's All Night Jewish Learning Festival and the ReelAbilities Film Festival. There are plenty of live concerts, opportunities to learn at fascinating talks and docs, and other events, too - more than 250 arts and culture events every month - right here on the Bloor St. Culture Corridor. Enjoy!
Museum of Estonians Abroad/VEMU
In May at the Museum of Estonians Abroad/VEMU the photo exhibits Two Edges of a Lifespan will be on display until May 20, part of the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. May 9 at 7pm, Estonian Music Week will be screening a documentary about the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt: Arvo Pärt- Even if I Lose Everything (2015), as part of its exclusive pre-programming. In Estonian with English subtitles. May 16 at 7pm, a guest from the Estonian National Archive, Sven Lepa will be giving a lecture on the topic How to Use the National Archive Collections From Home. In Estonian. No admission fee for both events, a small donation is appreciated. Estonian Music Week, May 24-29, will be featuring artists from Estonia and Canada to celebrate Estonia's 100th birthday. There will also be two exhibits featuring Estonian music. May 25 at Tartu College, Tõnu Tormis' photo exhibit On Pärt and May 26 at Koerner Hall, the exhibit Arvo Pärt - Known and Unknown by the Estonian Theatre and Music Museum. This exhibit will move to Tartu College on May 28. Both exhibits will be on display at Tartu College until September. Visit estonianmusicweek.ca for information on Estonian Music Week artists, concerts, venues, and tickets. For more information please visit vemu.ca.
Alliance Française Toronto
May begins at Alliance Française with a photo exhibition as part of the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival: Lost and found by Julia Nemfield opens May 2, on display through May 31. The Movie Thursday series continues on May 3 with Berlin 1936, Hitler's Games by Jérôme Prieur, La Pirogue by Moussa Touré on May 17, Carnet d'un grand détour by Catherine Hébert on May 24, and The Dancer by Stéphanie Di Gusto on May 31. Talks in May include a bilingual talk with Toronto Comics Art Festival on May 10, What was so scandalous about The Rite of Spring with Sarah Gutsche-Miller on May 16, Reevaluating Toronto's Alleyways with Michelle Senayah on May 23, and Building Egypt in the West with Sherine El Sebaie on May 30. On May 11 a family concert Ce qu'à vu le vent d'Ouest - Fantastic Impressions on Edgar Allan Poe and Claude Debussy will be presented, and the concert Griot Traditions of Mali on May 26, with Tapa Diarra. For more information please visit alliance-francaise.ca.
A Different Booklist Cultural Centre
This May at A Different Booklist Cultural Centre, Join Edison T. Williams May 23 for the launch of Prickett's Well: A Barbados Murder Mystery. Discover the Socialist Project: Drawing the Left exhibit highlighting cartoonists of the Union Art Service (UAS) collective. The exhibition opens May 1, 6:30 pm and closes May 13. Join R.I.S.E in residence for the spoken word, May 3. StoryFusion Cabaret presents Surinam born writer, poet, and storyteller Hilli Arduin on May 7. Stephen Gowans launches Patriots, Traitors and Empires: The story of Korea's struggle for Freedom on May 16 and continue to chase the spirit of new beginnings at Ladies Paint Night with the amazing Nicole Alexander on May 20. For more information please visit adifferentbooklist.com.
The Music Gallery
The Music Gallery brings two great shows to 918 Bathurst in May. On May 5, the season concludes with Emergents series by inviting beatmakers' collective Subtle Blend to curate. For their fifth anniversary show they've secured Pursuit Grooves (whose latest record received 4Ns in NOW Magazine), 2nd Son and Naman Cale alongside visualist Toi Whakairo. Expect nonstop sights and sounds from the moment you walk in. May 26 features a doubleheader: the day begins with Anne Bourne leading a free Deep Listening Intensive inspired by the late Pauline Oliveros' listening and sounding exercises. The main event stars gong maker Tatsuya Nakatani conducting a bowed gong orchestra drawn from a wide variety of local players ranging from reggae to country to free improvising musicians. These are the people in your neighbourhood! The rich harmonies produced from multiple layers of bowed gongs are transformative, engaging and inspiring for both players and audiences. For more information please visit musicgallery.org.
Japan Foundation, Toronto
Celebrate Asian Heritage Month by visiting the Japan Foundation gallery and library, and enjoy some Japanese film screenings! Learn to speak Japanese in the monthly BYOBento free lunchtime Japanese class on May 9. The Tokyo Before/After Photography Exhibition features eighty works by classic and contemporary Japanese photographers. For more information please visit jftor.org.
University of Toronto Faculty of Music
This May, the University of Toronto Faculty of Music is excited to welcome visitors to the Edward Johnson Building for Doors Open Toronto! On Sunday, May 27, 10-5 (last entry 4:30pm), come explore the Edward Johnson Building at 80 Queen's Park, including access to the MacMillian Theatre stage to experience a performer's view. Faculty and staff will be available to talk about all of the activities that take place in the Edward Johnson Building and plans for the Faculty's 100th anniversary during the 2018-19 season. U of T Opera and other performance memorabilia, as well as the building's architectural drawings, will be on display. Event is free. For more information please visit music.utoronto.ca.
Bata Shoe Museum
May is an exciting month as the Bata Shoe Museum welcomes the travelling exhibition Manolo Blahnik: The Art of Shoes, a retrospective of one of the world's most iconic shoemakers. Accompanying the exhibit is Exclusively Manolo, a programming series welcoming experts from a variety of backgrounds to cover topics related to the exhibit, the brand, and the man behind it. It kicks off with Guest Guides, guided tours of the exhibit by fashion industry professionals. Randi Bergman - writer, editor and host of the podcast Capsule '98 - will guide the first tour inspired by Manolo Blahnik's work in the 1990s, the era in which, thanks to Sex and the City, he became a household name. The BSM is a perfect destination for Mother's Day this year with a fun afternoon of arts and crafts for the whole family on May 13. Tickets $10. For more information please visit batashoemuseum.ca.
Tafelmusik
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra welcomes spring with Beethoven Pastoral Symphony, May 3-6 at Koerner Hall. For the grand 2017/18 season finale, long-time Tafelmusik collaborator Bruno Weil returns to conduct the orchestra alongside Jeanne Lamon as concertmaster, with Elisa Citterio's much-anticipated performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto, one of the world's best-known and best-loved concertos. In a newly added concert, Tafelmusik Chamber Choir is featured in Bach Motets, May 12, 8pm at Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul's Centre. The Chamber Choir is showcased in this program of some of Johann Sebastian Bach's most expressive and intimate choral music, combined with music written by his mentor and cousin, the enigmatic Johann Christoph. Interspersed with this sublime choral music, Cristina Zacharias will perform movements from Bach's sonatas and partitas for solo violin. For tickets and more information please visit tafelmusik.org.
for Culture, Arts, Media and Education
918 Bathurst hosts the Phototrio Symposium May 10-13, a weekend of photography workshops, exhibitions and more. Wednesday May 16, De Bouche à oreille and Théâtre la Tangente invite you to a transdisciplinary encounter between three artists: Véronique Pestel, Sylvie Bouchard, and Louise Naubert. These three performers weave together their respective practices to shed new light on a number of works, including Les marteaux de Camille, a text by Philippe Noireaut set to music by Véronique Pestel. Friday May 18, TorQ Percussion Ensemble return to 918 Bathurst with Light Years & Dark Matter. Friday May 25, Sick Muse Art Projects returns for a fundraiser to help kids in Latin America create art. May 31, join The Riches' performance and art exhibition in the 918 Gallery. For more information please visit 918bathurst.com.
Royal Ontario Museum (The ROM)
The new spring season of Friday Night Live at the ROM #FNLROM kicks off on May 4 with Bollywood Beats, featuring vibrant vocal and dance performances from Zista Arts Society. #FNLROM continues with Superheroes on May 11, Cottage Country on May 18, and DinoNite on May 25 ($17 Adults, $15.50 Post-Secondary Students/Seniors, $5 ROM Members). Explore the history, architecture, arts, and education of Toronto's diverse neighbourhoods with ROMWalks starting on May 6 (free, no reservation required). Explore the life of William Shakespeare through the ROM's collections at ROM U: Shakespeare and the ROM on May 6, with the opportunity to handle authentic objects ($80 General, $72 ROM Members, teachers, & students). Celebrate Museum Month with art historian Noah Charney at ROM Speaks: The Museum of Lost Art on May 15, as he delves into the vast museum of lost art, which has more masterpieces than all the world's museums combined. Dr. Charney's new book The Museum of Lost Art will be available for sales and signing during the reception ($20 General, $18 ROM Members, teachers, & students). Discover the traditions and celebrations of Judaism with an in-depth look at Jewish history and culture and a tour of the recently renovated Dr. Fred Weinberg & Joy Cherry Weinberg Collection of Judaica at ROM U: Life and Celebration in the Jewish World on May 27 ($80 General, $72 ROM Members, teachers, & students). The ROM is Canada's pre-eminent museum of art, culture, and nature. Become a ROM member and enjoy unlimited free admission to special exhibitions and more. For more information please visit rom.on.ca.
Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema
Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema springs into the new season with awe-inspiring docs about renowned artists Jean-Michel Basquiat: Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat, and about Andy Goldsworthy, Leaning into the Wind. Explore some of the world's most stunning gardens in the Docs in Bloom series, featuring Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf, and enjoy delish food and film pairings with Grand Cru, May 11, and Soufra featuring Newcomer Kitchen, May 29. Discover the new lineup of Curious Minds Morning Speaker Series courses, and experience London's Royal Opera house on our big screen with broadcasts of the Royal Opera's Macbeth and the Royal Ballet's Bernstein Centenary and Manon. For more information please visit hotdocscinema.ca.
Toronto Reference Library
The Toronto Reference Library Appel Salon series continues with writer Meg Wolitzer visiting the Bram & Bluma Appel Salon on May 4. Check out the full Appel Salon line-up with upcoming events featuring Teju Cole, Anne Carson and more. On May 7, the Toronto Reference Library hosts the annual June Callwood Lecture, which honours the life, work and legacy of journalist, author and social activist June Callwood (1924-2007). Tim Hague Sr., this year's speaker, shares the story of how he went from being diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's to becoming one of the foremost international advocates for Parkinson's awareness. On May 31, the Toronto Reference Library hosts a celebration of the Toronto Public Library's Chinese-Canadian Archive, featuring writers Madeleine Thien, Katherine Luo and Jan Wong. The writers will discuss fictional and non-fictional stories inspired by experiences during China's Cultural Revolution. For more information please visit torontopubliclibrary.ca.
The Royal Conservatory of Music
21C Music Festival at The Royal Conservatory, May 23-27, once again welcomes musicians and composers who push the boundaries of contemporary music. 8 concerts over 5 days will feature 5 world, 16 Canadian, 12 Ontario, and 3 Toronto premieres. Highlights include Kronos Quartet with Jherek Bischoff, pianist Anthony de Mare's project Liaisons: Re-Imagining Sondheim From the Piano, pianist Simone Dinnerstein with A Far Cry juxtaposing works by J.S. Bach and Philip Glass, original arrangements and adventurous improvisations by pianist Dinuk Wijeratne and clarinetist Kinan Azmeh, Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Vox Clamantis, violinist/singer Maarja Nuut and electronic composer Hendrik Kaljujärv, sibling pianists Katia and Marielle Labèque with the original two-piano version of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring alongside works by Bryce Dessner and Philip Glass, and New Music Concerts closes the Festival with Zipangu! Save the Date for The Royal Conservatory's 5th Annual Wide Open House on Sunday, June 24, 2018. For more information and tickets please visit rcmusic.com/performance.
Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre
May blooms Arts and Culture at the MNjcc, starting with Safari, an exhibit featuring wildlife photographs by Mark L. Freedman, opening May 1. On May 10, attend spoken word poet David Silverberg's production, Jewnique: How 7 extraordinary Jewish Canadians rekindled my relationship to Judaism, then on May 14, Micah Barnes at the Sands, a tribute to the classic era of Vegas with special guests in the Al Green Theatre. Come to two daytime presentations: on May 17, join Douglas Gibson performing in 150 Years of Great Canadian Storytellers, and on May 24 writer Beth Kaplan discusses her memoire She Loves You: Confessions of a Lifelong Beatlemaniac. Participate in the annual All Night Jewish Learning Festival on May 19, from dusk to dawn. ReelAbilities Film Festival starts May 29, at venues across the GTA. For more information please visit mnjcc.org.
Istituto Italiano di Cultura
On May 11, 8pm at Heliconian Hall, the Vesuvius Ensemble concludes its season with a concert of popular songs from the nineteenth century. Many of these melodies accompanied immigrants traveling towards the Americas. Full of hope but also sadness, these passionate songs speak of promised love, long voyages, and nostalgia for the Old World. The IIC presents two lectures on the Roman origins of Tuscany held by Dr. McKenzie Lewis: on May 18, The Economy of a Roman Villa: Excavations in Northern Tuscany's Arno River Valley, and on May 25, How Old Is the City of Florence?. Lectures in English. For more information please visit iictoronto.esteri.it.
Doors Open Toronto
The weekend of May 25 & 26, 10am-5pm, join the Bloor St. Culture Corridor to explore the historic buildings, creative architecture, and cultural venues along Bloor Street West, incuding the Toronto Reference Library, Japan Foundation, The Royal Conservatory of Music, Bata Shoe Museum, Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema (Saturday only), Alliance Francaise (Saturday only), and the U of T Faculty of Music (Sunday only). Join us for Doors Open Toronto tours of the Bloor St. Culture Corridor at 11am and 2pm each day! Registration is required for tours. CLICK HERE for more information.
Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival
Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival takes place city-wide throughout the month of May, and there is a cluster of photo-based exhibitions to see along the Bloor St. Culture Corridor. Highlights include:
•Allan Cullen's Reality at the Toronto Reference Library, where the photographer and disability activist Cullen turns to homelessness, poverty, and disability. Reality is curated by Irene Gotz and Bill Vrantsidis.
•At the Gardiner Museum, Ingenuity, Pam Purves's multimedia series reflects on the ingenious human use of nature and interaction with the basic building blocks of material design: sand, water, and clay.
•Two Edges of a Lifespan, curated by Piret Noorhani at the Museum Of Estonians Abroad, presents Kristin Dobbin's nostalgic series on Estonian summer camp, and Toomas Volkmann's triptychs of Estonian-Canadians born in Estonia 1918 - 1923, alongside written personal reflections on their lives in two countries.
•Julia Nemfield's Lost and Found at Alliance Française Gallery explores the projected value assigned to objects through ownership, and the subsequent loss of this value when an item has been separated from its owner.
•At the Miles Nadal JCC, Mark L. Freedman's Safari is a collection of intimate wildlife images captured during several photographic expeditions to East Africa. The Serengeti's annual migration is often described as the greatest wildlife show on earth, and the subject matter perfectly complements the carbon transfer printing process.
•918 Bathurst Centre presents Phototrio Symposium, a weekend of photography workshops and exhibitions, May 10-13.
•The Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema hosts a free Nikon Lecture Series & Gallery Night on May 30, a gallery showing of photographs will be followed by an inspirational hour of photographic stories and tips from Nikon Ambassadors Michelle Valberg and Craig Minielly.
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2018-05-01
Toronto: Events on the Bloor Street Culture Corridor in May 2018