Arts and culture can be a lifeline of positivity, inspiration, and connection. Our incredible Bloor St Culture Corridor organizations are working to bring more joy and creativity into your home in imaginative new ways with these activities and events.

Royal Ontario Museum

Tune in to the ROM’s popular Curator Conversations series this month. July 13 at 11am is New Lives of Indian Chintz, an exploration of the post-independence revival of India's craft industries with ninth-generation block printer and dyer Abduljabbar M. Khatri, and scholar Eiluned Edwards. On July 29 at 10:30am is Blue Whales Revisited, a conversation on new research into the blue whale populations in the Indian Ocean. Both events are free, and require RSVP - please visit their site to register today!

Bata Shoe Museum

Join the BSM for all their summer programming beginning this July! On Saturday, July 11, their popular Sketching in the Galleries returns virtually.  Each session will focus on a different exhibition and participants will be able to listen to stories about the artefacts from one of their amazing docents while sketching their favourites. If art is not your thing, you can also join them for online tours of their galleries, including their newest exhibition, The Great Divide: Footwear in the Age of Enlightenment. Keep up with their social media as they return to their series, Off the Shelf, launch some exciting new video content and so much more! There is something for everyone to enjoy. Keep up to date by visiting their website.

Museum of Estonians Abroad/VEMU

VEMU is extending two open calls for submissions to their collection campaigns. The Estonian school lore memory collection competition will be extended until Nov 30th, 2021 for which Estonian-Canadians of all ages are invited to participate and share their school age memories. VEMU is also still collecting submissions for the Baltic Canadian Imprints Collection Initiative: COVID-19 - “We Are All in This Together”, calling on Baltic-Canadians to share their thoughts and experiences regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. All event info can be found at their website. 

Istituto Italiano di Cultura

The Istituto Italiano di Cultura Toronto continues its collaboration with ICFF – The Italian Contemporary Film Festival which runs until July 18. On July 27, IIC hosts a fascinating online presentation, “The History of Perfume” with a virtual visit to the Perfume Museum in the heart of Venice located in Palazzo Mocenigo. With international travel now on the horizon, join IIC and ICCO – the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Ontario - starting July 5th, in a series of presentations created just for the curious Italophile, “Italy a Place to Go”. Find out everything about the peninsula, from its design and architecture to its fashion industry, from its tourism and culture to its economy. Check the IIC website for more events.

The Royal Conservatory

The Royal Conservatory of Music continues to present exciting new content on their RoyalConservatory.Live digital platform. The second season of the Music of My Life series features conversations with stars of the stage and screen, including Andrea Martin, Steve Paikin, Adrienne Clarkson, and Mervon Mehta, among others. You can also watch fantastic free concerts from their online archives featuring extraordinary artists like the Breithaupt Brothers, Jane Bunnett and Heather Bambrick, Zakir Hussain, John Patitucci, Thompson Egbo-Egbo, Joanna Majoko, and many more. Head to their website to learn more.

Women's Art Association of Canada

WAAC's 2021 member exhibition, Summertime, continues in Dignam Gallery and online until September 3. From July 1 to 31, WAAC presents Vital Signs, an exchange exhibition between WAAC's Ruth Upjohn Gallery and Seoul's Hello Space Gallery. The international collaboration introduces works by South Korean and Canadian artists within the theme of the impacts of climate change. Open by appointment only Monday to Thursday 9am-4pm. Call the WAAC office, read more at their website, oremail waac@womensartofcanada.ca to register for all events.

Toronto Reference Library

Toronto Reference Library continues offering high-quality programming you can enjoy at home and outdoors this summer. TPL’s new virtual Summer Books Series features fascinating ideas and engaging conversations with authors of some of the hottest books of the summer. Upcoming events in the series include a discussion on July 14 with New York Times bestselling author Lisa Taddeo about her new book, Animal; a conversation with Joe Ide on July 16 about Smoke, the latest instalment in his IQ series; and on July 21, Megan Nolan talks about her debut novel, Acts of Desperation, and the interlinked nature of desire and power where love can open dark parts of us we never knew existed. Explore all of TPL’s Live & Online programs at tpl.ca.

Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre

Summer learning continues throughout July at the Miles Nadal JCC. Learn Hebrew online and invite a friend or family member to join you! They offer four levels of fun and engaging language learning, from the comfort of wherever you are. Check out two programs designed for young adults 18-35 with ASD and/or development disabilities, (and open to all): Podcasting 101 beginning July 24, and a two-day self portrait workshop, Piecing Yourself Together with Pencil, with visual artist Lacie Williamson, July 10 & 11. On Tuesday afternoons in July, drop-in to their virtual Daytime Choir and sing Canadian folk songs with conductor Asher Farber, July 6-27. Our Pride virtual exhibit, queer at the root, has extended to July 31. Find out more about more inspiring programs at their website.

Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema

This July on Hot Docs at Home, join them for a cinematic quest to find the "52 Hertz Whale," which scientists believe has spent its entire life in solitude in the premiere doc, The Loneliest Whale. Also premiering is All the Streets Are Silent, a look back at the vibrant collision of the skateboarding and hip-hop subcultures in 80s and 90s New York. Audiences can enjoy new Curious Minds Speaker Series on the people, movements (and hairstyles) of the 1970s, and Rebel Women throughout history, as well as live Curious Minds Author Talk with former Obama adviser Ben Rhodes, and a timely new curated program Celebrating Indigenous Storytelling, which includes a free illustrated lecture from Traditional Indigenous Knowledge Consultant, Fred Martin. Playing for free for Hot Docs Members this month is their Spotlight on Newfoundland and Labrador series, featuring Katatjanik Utippalianinga: The Return of Throat Singing, My Left Breast and more. Find out more at their website.

The Japan Foundation, Toronto

This month, The Japan Foundation, Toronto is co-presenting an outdoor drive-in screening of the romantic comedy Your Eyes Tell with the Lavazza Drive-In Film Festival on July 11, 9pm EDT at Ontario Place. The 2020 film directed by MIKI Takahiro, is about a brooding loner who breaks out of his shell after meeting a blind, tragedy struck, vibrant young woman. The online series STAGE BEYOND BORDERS - Selection of Japanese Performances has expanded with new content that introduces you to unique Japanese traditional performing arts such as Noh, Kyogen, Bunraku, and Kabuki. For more upcoming JFT events as well as online resources, visit their website.

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir

Out now! The Music of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Tafelmusik's landmark recording devoted to the music of Joseph Bologne, the influential Black 18th-century composer, is now available on all streaming platforms. Visit tafelmusik.org to learn more about Joseph Bologne; Tafelmusik’s recording of and commitment to his work; and further reading and resources about Bologne and Black artistry in classical music today. This re-release features a newly commissioned portrait of Bologne by Toronto painter Gordon Shadrach, and an essay by American scholar Marlon Daniel. Tafelmusik also invites you to gather with them virtually as they continue to share beauty and comfort through music of the past. Keep up with Tafelmusik, and enjoy all of their free content by visiting their blog, following them on Instagram and Facebook, and subscribe to their YouTube channel. Visit their website for more information.

Soundstreams

As part of Soundstreams’ free digital offerings, they present a free broadcast, Encounters: Indigenous Voices on July 15. Encounters is an accessible music and discussion experience designed as a chance virtual engagement with some of Canada’s most interesting musicians, composers, and artists. Métis composer Ian Cusson has written songs both poignant and provocative that are inspired by his own and other Indigenous heritages. He has curated this program of contemporary Indigenous songs, performed by mezzo-soprano Rebecca Cuddy (Métis). Visit their website for more information.

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