The Bloor St. Culture Corridor, Toronto’s most diverse arts and culture district, celebrates its second anniversary in April with a weekend of events that starts on April 15 with Bloor St Culture Corridor: The Architecture of a Toronto Arts District, an on-stage roundtable panel discussion exploring one of the most diverse and important cultural destinations in Toronto. Dean Richard Sommer (University of Toronto John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape) will moderate the discussion withChristopher Hume (Toronto Star); Brett Raymond (Ontario Association of Landscape Architects); Brent Raymond (DTAH & Ontario Association of Landscape Architects), Siamak Hariri (Hariri Pontarini Architects, architect of Alliance Française de Toronto, Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, and the forthcoming ROM Bloor St. plaza); Bob Sims (KPMB Architects, architects of The Royal Conservatory’s TELUS Centre, including Koerner Hall); John Lorinc (Senior Editor, Spacing Magazine ); and Toronto City Councillor Joe Cressy. The discussion will address the history of Bloor St and the architecture of its cultural buildings, how the recent cultural organization renovations have revitalized Bloor St West and led to the creation of the Bloor St Culture Corridor arts district, and the Bloor St Culture Corridor’s importance in the City of Toronto.The on-stage discussion will be followed by a wine reception. Bloor St. Culture Corridor: The Architecture of a Toronto Arts District takes place Friday, April 15 at 6pm at Alliance Francaise Toronto. Information is available at 416.922.2014 ext. 37 or culturel@alliance-francaise.ca.
As part of Bloor St Culture Corridor’s anniversary celebrations, all 19 arts and culture organizations that together create the arts district will be sharing stories that reflect on the past and present of the thriving cultural scene along Bloor Street between Avenue Road and Bathurst. Bloor St. Culture Stories, #BCCStories, will showcase some of the unique voices and programming that has taken place over the years at Bloor St Culture Corridor venues, and will be posted online at www.bloorstculturecorridor.com.
In April, the ROM launches the new exhibition Tattoos: Ritual. Identity. Obsession. Art., exploring the multifaceted world of tattooing and the complex relationship between tattoo artists and tattooed. On Tuesday, April 5 at 7pm, the Art of Ink lecture features the ROM’s Ann Webb, tattoo artist and author Henk Schiffmacher “Hanky Panky,” and musée du quai Branly curators Anne & Julien. Tickets are available online and include a post-event reception. On Thursday, April 14 at 11am, ROM Daytime: Earth Day: Bird Research and Conservation takes place with Mark Peck, ROM Ornithologist. Free with RSVP. The ROM’s Modern Mexico: Fusions, Fashion and Folk Art takes place on Saturday, April 16, 9:30am – 4:30pm, with a discussion on Mexican visual culture. The ROM’s Annual Allan Baker Memorial Lecture, is on Tuesday, April 19 at 7pm and features Harvard’s Scott V. Edwards, talking about From Dinos to DNA: The Story of Birds. Tickets include a post-event reception. Visit rom.on.ca for details and tickets.
The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema brings Michael Moore back with the hilarious and eye-opening call to arms:WHERE TO INVADE NEXT (April 2-21). THE WINDING STREAM tells the story of the American roots music dynasty, the Carters and the Cashes (April 8-14). Made entirely of Scottish film archives, FROM SCOTLAND WITH LOVE features a transcendent score by Scottish musician King Creosote (April 15-19). Enjoy unprecedented access to the treasures of Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum with VINCENT VAN GOGH: A NEW WAY OF SEEING (April 16). HOCKNEY (April 22-27) highlights the life and career of an important contributor to the POP Art movement: David Hockney. Presented with The Royal Conservatory of Music, YO-YO MA: INSPIRED BY BACH screens as part of the Music on Film Series (April 26). Mark your calendars for the annual Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival (April 28-May 8). Visit www.bloorcinema.com for more information.
The Bata Shoe Museum welcomes April with a series of themed events On April 2, Toronto Storytelling Festival will take place 1-3pm, where an afternoon of stories, rhymes and songs will be presented with performers Rita Cox, Carol Ashton, Sally Jaeger and Erika Jaeger. Afterwards, kids can make a bookmark, hang out in the reading nook and play in the sock puppet theatre. A special Family Fun Weekend April 16 & 17 features four exciting galleries, special arts and crafts, I-Spy in the galleries, and colourful tattoos. Kids can also try on some funky footwear! The Polished Man: Dressing Your Best at the BSM will take place on April 29, 5:30-9pm. Pedro Mendes, one of Toronto’s leading men’s style experts and author of the popular site The Hogtown Rake advises on dressing well, building and maintaining a wardrobe and why it’s important to do so, and patina artist Emmanuel Farré from Maison Patina and Parisian menswear boutique, Loding, will demonstrate his unique and elegant patina technique on genuine leather goods and footwear. The evening will also include pop-up shops with premium men’s accessories, a bespoke shoemaker, shoe care demonstrations, and tours of the exhibition Standing Tall: The Curious History of Men in Heels. For more information and event tickets, visit: www.batashoemuseum.ca
The Istituto Italiano di Cultura’s highlight of the month is the exhibition Public Ambitions, the second installment in the series “Italy under Construction.” On view April 6 through May 6, the exhibition features ten works by architectsABDR (Rome); Baukuh (Milan); CeZ (Bolzano); Emanuele Fidone (Siracusa); Garofalo Miura (Rome); ifdesign (Milan); mdu architetti (Prato); MoDus architects (Bressanone); Scandurra Studio Architettura (Milan); Studio Paola Viganò (Milan). On April 5 Gaia Massai presents the lecture A cultural journey through Italian wines. More information is at www.iictoronto.esteri.it.
Alliance française Toronto welcomes painter Anne Maizia in an exhibition titled “Regards de femme(s),” on view for the month. On April 10, children will travel with storytellers Mafane and Marie-Célie Agnantand their Créole stories. On April 8 and April 23, Alliance française presents Belgian pianist Olivier de Spiegeleir for the best movie soundtracks as well as Trinity Mpho and his band for a vibrant world music concert. Every Wednesday, lecturers talk on various subjects such as politics, history, and art history with lectures on Trudeau, Monteverdi, and Acadian communities. As always, Thursdays are the day for cinema! This month, screenings include Barry Lindon directed by Stanley Kubrick, Bye Bye Blondiedirected by Virginie Despentes, Man on the train by Patrice Leconte and Tous les matins du mondedirected by Alain Corneau.
Rediscover Bach’s famous Goldberg Variations with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, as French harpsichordist Benjamin Alard makes his Tafelmusik debut, from April 1-3 at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre. Experience all 30 variations in a virtuosic solo performance by one of the world’s most exciting young keyboard players. This concert also features Grégoire Jeay, Jeanne Lamon, and Christina Mahlerin Bach’s Trio sonata from The Musical Offering.Celebrate spring as Ivars Taurins leads the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir in Zelenka & Bach. Czech composer Jan Dismas Zelenka’s exuberant Missa Omnium Sanctorum is perfectly suited for the intimate setting of Trinity-St. Paul’s, especially when paired with Bach’s Wedding Cantata, as sung by German soprano Dorothee Mields. The remaining solo roles in the Zelenka mass will be sung by the winners of the Tafelmusik Vocal Competition: Kim Leeds, mezzo-soprano, Jacques-Olivier Chartier, tenor, and Jonathan Woody, bass-baritone. Visit tafelmusik.org or call 416.964.6337 for tickets.
At the Museum of Estonians Abroad/VEMU the exhibition The Story of the Baltic University 1946-1949is on view until May 15, 2016. On April 3 at 11am, Nancy Bush, an enthusiast of Estonian handicraft from the United States will be presenting a workshop on the Three-Sided Haapsalu Scarf. She will also lecture on the topic How I Found Estonia through Knitting on April 6 at 7pm. For the Bloor St. culture Corridor anniversary celebrations April 15 to 17, visitors are invited to special building tours and a book sale. Popular cooking events will continue on April 16 at 4pm with a workshop Teaching Estos/Greeks How to Cook, Estonian chef Susi Holmberg and Master’s Buffeteria Vatikiotis family face off. On April 17 at 4pm, TCFS will be screening a brand new feature film from Estonia, Ghost Mountaineer (Kopli Kinokompanii, 2015, with English subtitles), a horror based on real life events about a hiking trip gone wrong. On April 23 at 6pm, VEMU will host its Fifth Fundraising Dinner, with Estonian musician/actor Marko Matvere performing. The event is dedicated to the Year of Sea Culture in Estonia, as are Matvere’s other two performances. On April 24 at 3pm, Matvere will share his experiences from traveling around the world on the catamaran “Nordea” in 2010-2012. On April 26 at 7:30pm, Matvere will also give a concert with accordionist Peep Raun, I Like the Land! All events take place at Museum of Estonians Abroad/VEMU atTartu College. Visit www.vemu.ca for further details.
The University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music presents the Cecilia String Quartet, Ensemble-in-Residenc, on Monday, April 4. The quartet will perform a commissioned piece by Katie Agócs, Mendelssohn’s String Quartet Op. 44 No. 2 in E Minor and Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet Op. 115 in B Minor with guest clarinetist James Campbell. More information can be found at www.music.utoronto.ca.
At the Gardiner Museum, see the special exhibition Beneath the Surface: Life, Death, Gold and Ceramics in Ancient Panama before it closes next month. Discover incredible artifacts left behind by the mysterious Coclé people-golden plaques, precious jewels, and literally tons of painted ceramics. A three-tier recreation of the largest burial site includes artifacts displayed in their original positions with interactive touchscreens allowing for further exploration. A special talk takes place Thursday, April 21 at 6pm with Dr. Andy Roddick, who will discuss his work in Bolivia and Peru, a region that evokes many of the myths that continue to haunt practicing archaeologists in the region today. As part of the Bloor St. Culture Corridor 2nd anniversary, the Gardiner is conducting architectural tours on April 16 & 17, 11am and 1pm daily. Led by knowledgeable docents, the tours will offer a glimpse of the rich history associated with the modernist building. Family Sundays 11am-4pm are when kids can take part in hands-on clay activities. Admission is free every day for children under 12 years old. For more information visit www.gardinermuseum.com.
On April 8 at the Gardiner, everyone is invited to join Soundstreams and guest teachers Jamie Drake and Dan Morphy to learn a popular piece of minimalist music and make musical history! Attendees will learn and perform Steve Reich’s Clapping Music in celebration of Reich’s 80th birthday. Free admission, with PWYC reserved seating available. Online registration is at www.soundstreams.ca/performances/salon-21/clapping-music/
The Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre, “The J,” presents an Opera For All Masterclass April 2, leading up to the Opera for All: Community Concert on April 17 when singers from across the city perform a community concert of opera choruses under the baton of conductor Alvaro Lozano Gutierrez with collaborative pianist Asher Farber. The concert takes place at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre and tickets are $10. The next day, April 18, back at The J’s Al Green Theatre, Alvaro Lozano Gutierrez performs with pianist Asher Farber in Bel Canto! Italian Songs and Opera. Iain Scott’s Opera Appreciation Monday afternoon lecture series continues with his exploration of Fathers and Mothers on April 4 and 11. The Al Green Theatre is packed with cultural events this spring, starting with the Toronto premiere of Rock in the Red Zone, The Toronto Jewish Film Society’s powerful documentary about Israeli rock music in a war zone, co-presented by the Ashkenaz Foundation on April 3. The Spur Festival is hosting two events on April 9, exploring Masculinity and Feminism, and Momentum Dance Toronto presents Under Cover April 13-16, a dance performance exploring the theme of new interpretations through cover songs. Join interpreter Arthur Gunter in a beginner’s lesson to ASL with a focus on Passover signs in ASL: Passover Edition on April 20. More information can be found at www.mnjcc.org.
A complete calendar of events and programs, including links to each presenting organization and admission and ticket information, is at www.bloorstculturecorridor.com.
