Partners along the Bloor St. Culture Corridor continue to re-open their doors, announce their seasons, and welcome the back the public! At the same time, there are a host of digital events you can enjoy from the comfort of your home. Whether you're interested in learning new languages, seeing concerts and talks, or learning new skills, the Bloor St. Culture Corridor partners have something for all!

• Estonian Music Week returns with the Museum of Estonians Abroad/VEMU
• A new season is launched at the Alliance Française de Toronto
• Learn how ancient Jewish wisdom can help with the post-pandemic return to the workplace at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre
• The making of Dante Guarneriano at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura
• A new exhibition Breaking the Frame at the Royal Ontario Museum
• The world of dolls from the 18th century to today at the Bata Shoe Museum
• Numerous events and exhibitions at the Women's Art Association of Canada
• Music & Magic combine at Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra & Chamber Choir
• The Koerner Hall Season Gala at The Royal Conservatory
• Performances return to the University of Toronto, Faculty of Music
• The newly reopened TD Gallery presents a collection of speculative fiction at the Toronto Reference Library
• Newly added books, audiobooks, and films at The Japan Foundation, Toronto
• Celebrate World Food Day at Ted Rogers Hot Docs Cinema
• Supporting emerging composers at Soundstreams

We continue to share the content of our partners through our social media channels - Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Linkdin. You never know what you'll discover next!

Museum of Estonians Abroad/VEMU

On October 7, VEMU in collaboration with Fenno-Ugria (Estonia) and the Chair of Estonian Studies at UofT, will be holding an online conference dedicated to Finno-Ugric and North American Indigenous Peoples. Continuing this theme on October 10, there will be a virtual tour of the Estonian National Museum exhibition “Echo of the Urals” by museum educator Anti Lillak. From October 22-24 Estonian Music Week festival will return with a hybrid (digital and live) program of concerts. Limited live tickets will be available. Finally on October 27, Dwight Storring will be giving a lecture about making the documentary “Anna Kaljas: The Untold Story”.

Alliance Française de Toronto

What’s going on at Alliance Française Toronto in October? (spoiler: our Season Launch is on October 12!) October begins with a new series of talks led by Ophélie Delacour, an art lover and graduate of the École du Louvre. On Saturday, October 2 at 2pm, dive into the world of Manet in French. Keep enjoying their online talks on October 13 at 7pm to learn more about Francophone migration without leaving home. Their Sofa-Thursdays are back on October 14 with an audacious and moving movie; Au revoir là-haut. Full of humor and poetry, this film will seduce you!

And they'll be back in their Spadina Theatre! On October 22 at 8pm, don't miss their first concert: you'll love Laura Anglade's catchy jazzy voice.

Finally, join them for the first Movie-Thursday of the season with the animated film Funan on October 28 at 7:30pm: a movie night is always a good night! 

Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre

The MNjcc is bursting with arts and culture programs this October! Join Jordan Klapman for a new daytime lecture series on Broadway’s Legendary Jewish Composers starting October 4. Learn the Suzuki method from early childhood music, to group lessons for kids and teens to adult ukulele and strings, starting October 5! Their daytime choir, directed by Asher Farber has dedicated this fall to Jazz, beginning October 5. Attend a free trial rehearsal for their Community Choir under new director, Ariel Shetzen on October 13. On October 14 celebrated filmmaker and author Tiffany Shlain discusses how ancient Jewish wisdom can prepare us for a post-pandemic workplace with author David Weitzner, for a book launch of Connected Capitalism: How Jewish Wisdom Can Transform Work. On October 17, join Rabbi Gilberto Ventura for The Hidden Jews of Brazil - a lecture.

Istituto Italiano di Cultura

The Istituto Italiano di Cultura celebrates the Week of the Italian Language in the World.  Events include: the IIC hosts the European Book Club with a discussion about Italian Journey by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; it then joins the Department of Italian Studies at UofT, St. Michael’s College and Massey College in the presentation of A Journey through the Centuries: The Making of Dante Guarneriano, a series of events celebrating Dante Alighieri where a magnificent handmade, illuminated, anastatic copy of the Inferno, known as Dante Guarneriano, will travel to Toronto from Italy. The series will also include a calligraphy workshop and a live-streamed virtual tour of the Opificium Librorum and Biblioteca Guarneriana, live from San Daniele (Friuli) to explore, “in real-time”, the making of a Medieval manuscript and its century-old tradition. And you still have time to register for Italian courses!

Royal Ontario Museum

Experience the unexpected in the North American debut of Breaking the Frame, featuring one of the earliest photographs taken by a female artist, unusual subject matter from the biggest names in photography, and portraits from photo studios in West Africa and India. Explore more than 90 original and vintage prints from the Solander collection that inspire new and unconventional approaches to photo history.

Bata Shoe Museum

The Bata Shoe Museum’s newest exhibition All Dolled Up: Fashioning Cultural Expectations is now OPEN! From dolls that teach gendered expectations to dolls that depict cultural differences, this exhibition explores the world of dolls from the 18th century to today and considers how these miniature marvels reflect the larger world. Toronto’s favourite shoebox is also offering FREE admission every Sunday. Save the date for their next Salon event on October 27 with Canadian novelist Derek McCormack. Can’t visit the museum soon? Check out their online programs like virtual tours in celebration of the 12^th annual Culture Days. Get creative with the family and watch Camp in a Shoebox, a fun craft video series. Go inside the vault with their weekly Off the Shelf TikTok/Reels. Discover shoe-themed gifts in the museum shop, inspired by the collection and created by local artisans. Keep up to date with everything #BSMFromHome by signing up to their weekly e-news!

Women's Art Association of Canada

Here are the Women’s Art October Events and Exhibitions! Are We Epicormic, Paper Works by Susan Farquhar in the Ruth Upjohn Gallery, October 1 to 26; Her Century at Last: 21st Century Artists Celebrate Mary Heister Reid in the Dignam Gallery, October 8 to 30. Author Molly Peacock signs her new book Flower Diary on October 8, from 5-8pm; Anita Kunz's luncheon lecture, Amazing Women on October 6 at 1pm; Dorothy Caldwell's Artist Voice lecture, Exploration of the Unfamiliar on October 21 at 1pm; Art History Series with Margaret Rodgers, Famous Art Couples, Fridays, October 15 to November 19 at 10am; and Artist Hand Workshop The Ontario Landscape in Acrylics will be led by Andrew Cheddie Sookrah on October 27 at 1pm.

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir

Tafelmusik tries something new—and magical—with Music & Magic on October 28. Musicians and magicians may use different tools to create their art, but for both, the goal is to delight, spark our imaginations, and create startling moments of intense emotion. Inspired by his lifelong fascination with magicians, Tafelmusik oboist and visual artist Marco Cera has conjured up Music & Magic, a mesmerizing new digital program for all ages featuring the award-winning magician, Nicholas Wallace. This concert film combines magic vignettes with music by Bach, Handel, and Purcell, along with a performance of Spring from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. Single tickets available October 7—or reserve today with a Digital Season Pass, to gain access to all concerts and receive extended viewing.

The Royal Conservatory

he Royal Conservatory of Music kicks off their new 2021.22 concert season this month. Conductor Andrei Feher will conduct the Royal Conservatory Orchestra in a program of works by Ludwig van Beethoven and others. The Koerner Hall Season Gala on October 16 and 17 features an all-star cast of Canadian theatrical icons performing the legendary Stephen Sondheim musical, Follies, including hit songs like "Losing My Mind", "I'm Still Here", and "Broadway Baby". Starring Cynthia Dale, Ma-Anne Dionisio, Eric McCormack, and Marcus Nance, with Jackie Richardson, Mary Lou Fallis, and more. The American Dover Quartet will perform works by Schubert, Beethoven, and more with operatic bass-baritone Davóne Tines on October 24. Latvian violinist Gidon Kremer will celebrate his 75th birthday and the 100th Anniversary of Astor Piazzolla with Kremerata Baltica on October 31. 

University of Toronto, Faculty of Music

The University of Toronto Faculty of Music is thrilled to open its 2021-22 season October 7-9 with Dialogues: Analysis and Performance, a free symposium featuring keynote papers, recitals, and workshops. Signature lunchtime series Thursdays at Noon returns virtually with three exciting concerts featuring students, faculty members and alumni: Dialogues: Analysis and Performance Opening Concert October 7 (*Note: This concert will take place outside on Philosopher’s Walk located behind the Edward Johnson Building); Juno Award-winning harpist Angela Schwarzkopf October 14; and Piano Laureates with current student Naomi Wong, recipient of the 2021 Hnatyshyn Foundation Developing Artist Grant, October 28. Lastly, October 18-20, Voice Studies is delighted to welcome mezzo-soprano Susan Graham for a series of master classes livestreamed from Walter Hall. All events are online only, except where noted, and will be available on the Faculty of Music YouTube channel.

Toronto Reference Library

The first new exhibit in the newly reopened TD Gallery at Toronto Reference Library opens on October 9. Spaced Out: 50 Years of the Merril Collection celebrates the 50th anniversary of Toronto Public Library’s Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation & Fantasy and showcases rare editions of classic tales and modern favourites, original artwork, and some of the exciting, strange and wonderful oddities held in this collection. The Merril Collection dates back to 1970, when science-fiction author and editor Judith Merril donated 5,000 books to Toronto Public Library to found what was at first called the "Spaced Out Library". Visit the exhibit to learn more about the collection and speculative fiction, the literature of the "what-if." 

The Japan Foundation, Toronto

Check out the newly added ebooks, films and audiobooks on the Japan Foundation, Toronto’s online library JFT OverDrive. New titles include the thrilling fantasy novel The Beast Warrior by UEHASHI Nahoko, the critically-acclaimed manga A Silent Voice by OIMA Yoshitoki, and many more! Great resources—all available for free! 

Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema

This month, head back to Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema for this season’s biggest and most visually spectacular docs on the big screen. Take a deep dive with Jacques Cousteau, the undersea explorer who tried decades ago to warn the world about the climate crisis. Get the story on the Salvator Mundi, believed to be a long-forgotten masterwork by Leonardo Da Vinci in the gripping real-life thriller: The Lost Leonardo. Join us for an immersive portrait of dance pioneer Alvin Ailey, told through his own words and a new dance inspired by his life. Celebrate World Food Day October 13 with a screening of Food for the Rest of Us, featuring four stories of people leading a culinary revolution from the ground up. Partial proceeds go to FoodShare Toronto. Delve into the lives, on and off stage of the Dover Quartet in the new season of Music on Film with the Royal Conservatory. 

Soundstreams

Join Soundstreams for the world premieres of six new choral works, and support the next generation of composers with the RBC Bridges Showcase, premiering October 14 at 8pm! Their six participants have worked throughout the pandemic with mentor composer Sarah Kirkland Snider (“one of the decade’s more gifted, up-and-coming modern classical composers” (Pitchfork)), and have created new works for vocal ensemble and instrumentalists.

The Bloor St. Culture Corridor, Toronto's most diverse arts and culture district, is a true creative cluster, an arts and culture destination, and a collaboration between some of Toronto's most dynamic arts and culture organizations.

bloorstculturecorridor.com.