This month we're welcoming spring and two new Bloor St. Culture Corridor organizations! The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library and Women's Art Association of Canada (WAAC) are joining Toronto's most diverse arts and culture district. We're now proudly 22 organizations strong, with more exhibitions and arts events for you to enjoy. Also check out Doors Open Toronto at the end of the month, and explore Bloor St. Culture Corridor organizations and neighbourhood sites for free!

Women's Art Association of Canada

This May, visit the Women's Art Association of Canada (WAAC), for classes, talks and exhibitions. Their Dignam Gallery is showing Beauty Is Where You Find It, May 1 - 31, part of the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. This includes 13 photographer members of WAAC, who find beauty in obscure places in this stereotype-breaking exhibition. Opening reception is May 9. This month's classes include photography and app-based editing in The Artist's Hand, a Women's Art Spring Workshop Series with Judith Davidson-Palmer. Learn about the evolution of teaching from Sheridan College professor/Artist John Armstrong in  The Artist's Voice, a Women's Art Spring Speaker Series. For more information, visit womensartofcanada.ca.

Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library

The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library is the largest repository of publicly accessible rare books and manuscripts in Canada, located on University of Toronto Campus. On May 21, the Fisher Library's latest exhibition opens. Uncovering the Book: An exhibition in honour of Greta Golick, features the covers or the bindings of books as a reflection of their production and consumption - or, in other words, the material book as witness to its manufacture, use and survival. Highlights will include not only examples of the art of bookbinding, but also bindings that reflect the presence of books in our lives for purposes of religious observance, reference, recording and leisure. The books will broadly illustrate the processes of their construction and their afterlives in the hands of readers, collectors, and libraries. The exhibition runs until August 16. Also on exhibit in May will be a display featuring watercolours from travel narratives held in the Fisher's collections. The library will be open for Doors Open on Saturday May 25. For more information, please visit fisher.library.utoronto.ca.

918 Bathurst Centre for Culture, Arts, Media + Education

There's something for everyone in May at 918 Bathurst!  We are pleased to announce our partnership with R.I.S.E Edutainmentfor their Rise Thursdays open mic.  It all starts Thursday May 2and continues the first Thursday of every month.  May 5, Spur of the Moment Shakespeare Collective return to 918 Bathurst for this year's Shakesbeers Showdown: Revenge of the 5th. Shakespeare, beer, and more than a few Star Wars references!  On May 8, we've partnered with the Istituto Italiano di Cultura to bring Le Muse from Italy to celebrate Italian film composer, Ennio Morricone.  May 23, SymphRONica's season at 918 wraps up with The Instrumental Music Liberation Front!. May 25-26 Echo Chamber Toronto presents their unique blend of dance and classical music with Une Soirée au Chat Noir.  Finally, May 29-June 1, join us for Muse Arts HAPPENING Multicultural festival.  It's bigger than ever this year with music, dance and visual art, plus workshops for artists and newcomers. For more information visit 918bathurst.com.

Museum of Estonians Abroad (VEMU)

In May at the Museum of Estonians Abroad/VEMU, the Kihnu Island photography exhibit by Estonian photographer Silvia Soide will be on display until mid-September. May 9 at 7pm, the launch for Estonian Music Week and Latitude44 will take place. The organizers of the event will introduce the musical plans for EMW and the new initiative, Latitude44, a tech conference highlighting Estonia's digital achievements. Special performance by EMW favourite local Canadian Estonian Kaili Kinnon. In English. May 15 at 7pm, Eerik Purje's newly translated book Fabric of Life Defiled will be launched (Elukanga karmid mustrid English translation by Tarmo Heyduck). In English. Admission by donation. For more information visit: vemu.ca.

Toronto Reference Library

Visit Toronto Reference Library from May 18 to July 28 to experience our latest TD Gallery exhibit, Retro Futures. The 50th anniversary of NASA's first successful lunar landing, the Apollo 11 mission of 1969, is the inspiration for this nostalgic trip back to futures-that-might-have-been, as seen from the starry eyes of early science fiction writers. The exhibit features rare books, magazines, artwork and ephemera from the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy and includes related programming, reading and guided tours. On May 11 and 12, TCAF: Toronto Comic Arts Festivalfeatures author interviews, on-stage panel discussions, artist live-drawing events, readings and workshops. May is also Asian Heritage Month at the library. Join us for special programming, experiences, and celebrations. Visit tpl.ca for more information.

The Royal Conservatory

The Koerner Hall 10th anniversary concert season at The Royal Conservatory closes with Season Finale Festival. While most of the concerts in the festival are sold out, such as Peter Serkin on May 1, Anoushka Shankar on May 2, Robi Botos and Friends on May 4, and Lighthouse: 50 Years of Sunny Days on May 14, tickets are available for Art of Time Ensemble: Doghouse Roses on May 3. Steve Earle's writing and music has captured the spirit - and the struggle - of contemporary America. Singers Andy Maize (Skydiggers), Susie Ungerleider (Oh Susanna), Tom Wilson (Junkhouse, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings), and Gregory Hoskins perform Earle's music with the Art of Time Ensemble, while celebrated author Michael Ondaatje and actor Rick Roberts read his words. This concert highlights Earle's brilliant storytelling and presents his songs in new arrangements that honour and celebrate his music. For more information and tickets, please visit rcmusic.com/performance.

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir end their 40th anniversary season with Bach Magnificat from May 9-12, 2019 at Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre. The concert begins with the burst of exuberance and invention that is Bach's Magnificat, a timeless musical description of devotion and grace. High on Bach's list of favourite composers was Jan Dismas Zelenka, a Bohemian immigrant to Saxony. They continue their exploration of Zelenka's music with their debut performance of his Mass Missa Divi Xaverii, a work of miraculous beauty and dazzling joy. Then Tafelmusik gets intimate with their final Close Encounters chamber series concert, Fantasticus, on Saturday, May 25, 2019 at Temerty Theatre, TELUS Centre. The Stylus fantasticus ("fantastic style") was all the rage in the 17th century: instrumental music written in a bold, unrestrained, and extravagant manner. The performers were urged to embrace an unbridled style of playing, virtuosic and spontaneous. For tickets, visit tafelmusik.org.

Alliance Française Toronto

Many events will take place at Alliance Française in May! From May 1 to May 12, discover the Heroïnes exhibition as part of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival and join us for the opening night on May 9 which will be followed by a talk led by European cartoonists. Then, enjoy Pierre Guitard's pop-folk concert at Pierre Guitard and Georgian Bay on May 24 with the last concert of Georgian Bay as opening act. There will be one lecture in French on May 15: St Pierre and Miquelon: History of France or of America? by Marc Albert Cormier. Three Movie Thursdays will take place in May, Le sens de la fête on May 16, then Le Hérisson on May 23 and finally Vers la Lumière on May 30. For more information, please visit alliance-francaise.ca.

The Japan Foundation, Toronto

Celebrate Asian Heritage Month with interesting activities at The Japan Foundation, Toronto. On May 1 at 6:30 p.m., get insight into Cross Cultural Socialization: Raising Children in a Bicultural Environment in the lecture by Dr. Kano Podolsky. Learn to speak Japanese at the monthly free Bring Your Own Bento - Drop-in Lunchtime Language Lesson on May 8 at 12:15 p.m.Immerse yourself in the serene, meditative images of the Four Seasons of Gardens in Kyoto: Photographs by Mizuno Katsuhiko exhibition that runs to July 31 in the gallery. From May 10 to 16, JFT will be presenting the series Ryusuke Hamaguchi Special Screenings which includes three films and a Master Class by the prolific Japanese director, who will be in attendance for Q+A. On Saturday May 11 & 25 the gallery and library is open 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Together with vibrant Bloor Street Culture Corridor partners, JFT will be taking part in Doors Open 2019 on May 25 & 26! More details at jftor.org.

Gardiner Museum

There are more opportunities than ever to get involved with the Gardiner Museum through the revamped Gardiner Friends program. Join today to get unlimited access to Ai Weiwei: Unbroken, the city's most talked about exhibition! The museum also features a response exhibition by Toronto-based sculptor Nurielle Stern: Unswept Floor (Tesserae). These smaller-scale ceramic sculptures reflect on the grand scope of the themes of Ai Weiwei's works by focusing on the intimacy of a daily studio practice. Opening May 1 as part of the Contact Photography Festival is Glenn Lewis: The Poetic Process, a conceptual work that opens a space for conversation between two media: ceramics and photography. Learn something new by exploring summer clay classes, now on sale. For more information visit gardinermuseum.on.ca.

Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival screenings continue to delight documentary fans until May 5.Post-festival, experience never-before-seen footage of the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, as she stands with a choir at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Amazing Grace; observe the process of renowned installation artist Christo in Walking on Water, and follow the musical evolution of a beloved Canadian icon in Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind. Curious Minds returns for its spring semester with four fascinating courses for lifelong learners, including The Toronto Sound, a whirlwind tour of the musical culture that flourished on Yonge Street and in Yorkville in the 1960s. Series and special events are abound with a talk with David Crombie and Ken Greenberg and a rare screening of the restored Rod Stewart film Rod the Mod, followed by a discussion with legendary Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham. For more information, please visit hotdocscinema.ca.

Miles Nadal JCC

May blooms with Arts and Culture at the Miles Nadal JCC.  In the Al Green Theatre, Momentum Dance presents Tune In and New Israel Fund of Canada presents Israel Story -- Live! The Wall - A Look At The Barriers That Separate Us, And Those That Bring Us Together: A live podcast performance of stories and music. Come to three fascinating daytime lectures: The Shoah, Jewish Refugees and the Creation of Israel with Howard Adelman on May 2; Golda Meir: The Iron Lady of Israeli Politics with Hana Werner on May 9; and The Poetry of Simcha Simchovitch on May 16. Starting May 27, dance critic Michael Crabb discusses Dance at the Movies in a four-part series. On May 10, join celebrated author and illustrator Nora Krug: Graphic Novelist for a free presentation on her graphic novel, Belonging. May 4 is the submission deadline for the Under 35 Short Film Competition, presented by the Toronto Jewish Film Society. For more information visit mnjcc.org.

Istituto Italiano di Cultura

Two great events are coming up at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura this May. On May 8, they're partnering with 918 Bathurst for Tribute to Ennio Morricone at 7 p.m, a concert by the Ensemble Le Muse. An inspiring journey through the music and the atmospheres created by the great Italian composer, a unique tribute that brings the most famous soundtracks back to the theatres. Music selected is a repertoire among the best productions of Ennio Morricone and includes well-known soundtracks from the '60s to present time, including "The Hateful Eight" which won numerous awards including the Academy Award in 2016. Then, join them at the Isituto on May 10 at 10 a.m. for Italian Opera Libretti: from Rinuccini's Dafne to Illica and Giacosa's La Boheme, Words Weaving Wonder. Literary specificity of the Italian opera libretto considering historical, political, and literary contexts, to fully comprehend the development of its form. It will address questions such as the literary dignity of the libretti, poetry vs music and the changing role of the librettists through time. For more information visit www.iictoronto.esteri.it.

The Toronto Consort

Nothing is too gauche for this season's grand finale! Join The Toronto Consort in welcoming master commedia dell'arte director, actor, dancer Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière for Night Games, an irreverent evening of madrigal comedy. Featuring works by 16th-century composer Orazio Vecchi and Adriano Banchieri, and a colourful array of singers, players, and dancers, nothing is off-topic, and no-one is safe during this old-school musical roast! Running May 3, 4, 5, at Trinity-St.Paul's Centre, 427 Bloor St. West. Tickets start at only $29. Buy online at TorontoConsort.org.

Royal Ontario Museum

Friday Night Live is back at the Royal Ontario Museum this spring! From May 3 to June 28, experience art, culture, and nature remixed every Friday night. On May 9, explore the power and potential of seeing art as a means of transformation in Tibetan Buddhism with Dr. Sarah Richardson at ROM Daytime: Tibetan Art and the Promise of Sacred Vision. Celebrate International Museum Day, and explore popular 17th century Chinese prints with Clarissa von Spee, at the ROM Speaks lecture, Greeting the Spring: Chinese Colour Prints from Suzhou, on May 14. On May 18, witness the unveiling of a spectacular Romano-Egyptian Mummy portrait at, ROM Connects: Faces for Eternity: Romano-Egyptian Mummy Portraits at the ROM. Speaker Curator Paul Denis will place the ROM's mummy portraits in their historical context, then trace the portrait's long journey from the Fayum region of Egypt to Toronto. For more information, visit rom.on.ca.

Bata Shoe Museum

On May 18, don't miss your last chance to enjoy the Bata Shoe Museum's Music in the Museum series as musicians from the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music perform a selection of 1930s jazz.  This free program is inspired by the current exhibition WANT: Desire, Design and Depression Era Footwear. On May 12 spend the afternoon celebrating Mother's Day at the BSM with a special session of craft activities fun for the whole family. If you prefer quiet time in the museum, then sign up for the May 10 session of Sketching Friday. The BSM will be open from 5:30pm to 7:30pm to a small number of participants who can 'draw' inspiration from the galleries after the museum has closed to the public. And don't forget, every weekend at the BSM there is drop-in Weekend Family Fun, featuring shoe-themed activities which are included with museum admission. Visit batashoemuseum.ca for more information.

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