School is out, the sun is shining, and arts and culture are active on the Bloor St. Culture Corridor! Spend your long weekend at our museums, art exhibitions, or see a film screening. There are also free events at our organizations and classes where you can enjoy learning a new language or arts skill. This month's highlights from our organizations are below, and visit BloorStCultureCorridor.com for more details and additional events. 

A Different Booklist Cultural Centre

Summer is here again and A Different Booklist Cultural Centre has some exciting events for you! Join them for Harriet Tubman: Past, Present, Future, an exhibition curated by Ahmad Jordan, featuring artists from 10 countries around the world, capturing the interpretation of Harriet Tubman's legacy within their own unique style. The artists pay careful attention to exploring the power of this legend by imagining the freedom fighter as if she were alive today and projecting her legacy into the future. The exhibition runs from July 4 to August 6.Yolanda Marshall launches her book, Miles Away in the Caribbean on July 6. Also, you cannot miss out on the 7th annual Emancipation Underground Freedom Train Ride! Join at 10:30 p.m. on July 31 to commemorate the abolition of slavery and celebrate our emancipation at midnight, August 1. Please visit adbcc.org for more information and the complete calendar of events.

Toronto Reference Library

Visit Toronto Reference Library on Fridays at 12 noon during July and August to enjoy free Summer Concerts at the Library, presented in partnership with Music Can Heal. The live performance series kicks off on July 5 with a program of meditative dance and trance-dance medieval modal music by Andrea Gerhardt and Michael Franklin, inspired by the work of Hildegard of Bingen. Toronto musicians Ori Dagan and Jordan O'Connor share new takes on classic tunes and hidden gems from the be-bop songbook and beyond on July 12. Enjoy the peaceful, ethereal and meditative music of master Shakuhachi flute player Debbie Danbrook on July 19. Internationally acclaimed guitarist, pianist and composer Brian Katz bridges modern jazz, classical and world music in an orchestral approach to solo guitar playing, with a performance on July 26. Explore all the library's upcoming programs, exhibits and events at tpl.ca.

Istituto Italiano di Cultura

At the Istituto Italian di Cultura in July is ONTHEMOVE. Toronto-Cortona. This is an exhibit of a photography exchange program between Canada and Italy with Voices in the Wilderness by Ryan Walker and La strada blu. 7458km along the Italian coastline by Marco Rigamonti. Ferrante Fever by Giacomo Durzi at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema until July 4. Italian novelist Elena Ferrante has become a global literary sensation thanks to her bestselling Neapolitan Quartet, which have sold 5 million copies and recently spawned an acclaimed miniseries on HBO. The whole world has Ferrante Fever and documentary filmmaker Giacomo Durzi digs into why, taking us on a journey from New York City to Naples to uncover the secrets of the pseudonymous writer and the story behind her success and the power of her words. Some of the author's closest collaborators and world-renowned writers offer insight into the books, the mysterious person behind them, and the word's love affair with Ferrante. For more information visit iictoronto.esteri.it.

The Japan Foundation, Toronto

If you are keen to communicate in Japanese immediately, join the intensive 2 week Japanese Boot Camp at the Japan Foundation, Toronto from July 22 (adults) and August 12 (teens). Check out the Tanabata Festival on Saturday July 6 in the library from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., with lots of activities for the family: Yukata, Kendama, Kirigami, Origami and Tanzaku! The free Bring Your Own Bento - Drop-in Lunchtime Language Lesson continues on July 10 at 12:15 PM. Also on July 10, there will be a lecture by Japanese garden expert Hugo Torii, Japanese Gardens: Visions and Practices of a Kyoto Gardener. Cool down in our gallery by enjoying meditative landscapes in the Four Seasons of Gardens in Kyoto: Photographs by Mizuno Katsuhiko exhibition that runs to July 31. We will also screen the Ikigai Film Series that explores the concept that may unlock the secret to a happy & long life. More details at jftor.org.

Bata Shoe Museum

It's the start of summer and the perfect time to walk on down to Toronto's coolest shoebox! Take a morning or afternoon to explore the Bata Shoe Museum where you can peek into their storage rooms in Behind the Scenes or journey through 4,500 years of footwear history in the permanent gallery All About Shoes. If you need to cool off, check out the Arctic gallery, Art & Innovation, take a trip through the tumultuous decade of the 1930s in WANT and be inspired by glittering treasures in The Gold Standard. With four exciting galleries, fun activities for the kids and a unique shop to peruse, there's something for everyone at the BSM! Explore batashoemuseum.ca to plan your visit!

Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema

This July at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, uncover the life and work of Toni Morrison, Nobel Prize-winning and history-making author who made space in the literary canon for stories about the African American experience. Discover Babylon, an incendiary 1980s cult classic about South London's underground reggae scene that went unreleased for decades for being too controversial. Be inspired by the real-life superheroes like Nina Simone, Michelangelo and Orson Welles who have pointed the way forward at Game Changers. Newly restored in glorious 4K, join Hot Docs for a 50th anniversary screening of The Queen, "the mother of all drag documentaries", and a special drag brunch with Toronto's original pageant queen, Fontaine! For more information, please visit hotdocscinema.ca.

Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library

The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library's monthly exhibition for July is titled Mirabile Visu, and features early illustrated editions of Latin poetry. The great Latin poems of the Classical past were among the first works of literature to find their way into print, and it was not long before early editions of these works were adorned with woodcut illustrations. The epics of Virgil, Lucan, and Valerius Flaccus, which are rich in mythological and historical detail, lend themselves in particular to illustration, as do the plays of Terence, with their vividly drawn characters and lively plots. Also continuing is the exhibition Uncovering the Book: An exhibition in honour of Greta Golick, which runs until August 16. It 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. More information can be found on the Fisher's website fisher.library.utoronto.ca.

Women's Art Association of Canada

July marks the beginning of a run of Women's Art Association of Canada's scholarship student exhibitions. Each year WAAC turns over the Dignam Gallery to scholarship recipients from Ryerson University School Image Arts, OCADU and Sheridan/U of T Art and Art History collaborative program for two weeks each. Students curate, organize and hang their own shows. On display will be contemporary art work that speaks to the times we are living in. Leading off this year is Ryerson Image Arts with WAAC Scholarship Recipient Lauren Bruyn. Her exhibit Oh the Places I've Been will take place between July 8 and July 13 with an Opening Reception on July 11, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Starting July 15 until July 26 is Sheridan/U of T displaying a selection of works with their Opening Reception on July 18, 5:00-8:00pm. Then OCADU will have their recipients display works from July 29 until August 8. As well throughout the month of July two WAAC artists Kathleen Gabriel, and Sharon MacLennan will exhibit their work, Colour Space & Time, in the Ruth Upjohn Gallery with the Opening Reception on July 11, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Please check the website For details and hours, visit womensartofcanada.ca.

Miles Nadal JCC

Learn a new language at the Miles Nadal JCC this summer! Take Hebrew for Beginners or join a Hebrew Conversation group - 10 week classes start Monday July 3. Join the MNJCC for Twice Blessed in the Gallery at the Miles Nadal JCC, Opening Reception: July 4, 7 - 9 p.m. A photo exhibition that celebrates and documents a Toronto Jewish queer community in the 1980s and 1990s through the collections of Johnny Abush. Closes August 5. From July 8 - 12, intermediate to advanced adult string musicians can join our Summer Adult String Ensemble one week intensive. For budding or established playwrights: The Canadian Jewish Playwriting Competition submission deadline is July 3. The winning playwright will receive $1000 and a professional play reading! Speaking of theatre, the Al Green Theatre in the Miles Nadal JCC is an official Toronto Fringe venue from July 3 - 14! Find out more at mnjcc.org.

918 Bathurst Centre for Culture, Arts, Media + Education 

As you look towards summer and the warm weather, come see a show at 918 Bathurst. July starts with RISE Thursdays, a monthly open mic for musicians, poets & MCs. Co-presented with 918 Bathurst and RISE Edutainment.  Sunday, July 7, come see neo-gospel artist Sean C. Johnson, all the way from New York! July 15-20, in a special co-presentation, Cadence will host their annual A Capella Bootcamp at 918 Bathurst. July 17, all the way from Uganada, we have the Subi Fusion Troop who will bring their unique blend of dance and traditional African music to the 918 stage. July 25, Awkwaba Cultural Exchange will bring an African dance workshop and performance to 918.  July 22-August 16, Purple Carrots Drama Studio will be holding weekly day camps for children with special needs. Registration open now. More info available at 918bathurst.com.

Museum of Estonians Abroad (VEMU)

In June at the Museum of Estonians Abroad/VEMU, the Kihnu island photography exhibit by Estonian photographer Silvia Soide will be on display until mid-September. For more information visit: vemu.ca.

Royal Ontario Museum

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has created one of the world's most extraordinary collections of classic horror and sci-fi movie posters from 20th-century cinema. Discover this collection and the connection between artistry, emotion, and pop culture whenIt's Alive! Classic Horror and Sci-Fi Art from the Kirk Hammett Collection opens on July 13. On July 14, join artist and ROM Conservator Heidi Sobol in exploring one of history's most prolific and methodical painting techniques, at ROM U: Making it in Tempera. Experience impressive, beautiful paintings by major 17th century Dutch artists like Rembrandt, Frans Hals, and Jacob van Ruisdael in the special exhibition In the Age of Rembrandt: Dutch Paintings from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, on now. ROMWalks encompass the diverse aspects of Toronto's vibrant neighborhoods including history, architecture, arts of all varieties, education and more. For more details visit rom.on.ca.

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