Theatre Sheridan Heads Downtown
Posted in Theatre | Contributed by Christopher Jones | 0 comments
Michael Rubinoff was a theatre impresario before he joined Sheridan College as Associate Dean of Visual and Performing Arts; he produced the successful Love, Loss And What I Wore at the Panasonic Theatre in 2010. And now he’s back in the Yonge Street house as producer of Theatre Sheridan’s RENT, opening tonight and running until June 3.
Originally staged in December at the College’s Oakville campus, RENT has been blown up to showcase a cast of 32. The costumes, props and set were designed and built by the school’s technical/production students.
Rubinoff hesitates to call the arrangement with Mirvish Productions, which owns the theatre, a partnership, but he lauds the big time organization and says, “We couldn’t have done it without their support. There are obviously benefits to being in one of Mirvish’s theatres and we’re thrilled because they hire a lot of our alumni.” READ MORE
Making Space for Culture
The City of Toronto is convening a series of public consultations beginning next week aimed at providing City Councillors with a ward-by-ward priority list that can help guide investments in sustainable cultural infrastructure across all parts of the city.
Called Making Space for Culture, the project addresses Recommendation 1.5 in the Creative Capital Gains report endorsed by City Council in May 2011. What kind of space does your neighbourhood need to make art, music, dance? To film, play, practice and perform? We want to know what’s needed, who needs it, and how we might work together to help make space for culture in your community.
Can you attend the consultation in your ward? The initial 10 meetings are listed below, with more to follow in the fall and into 2013.
May 22, 4 – 6 pm, Ward 37, McGregor Park Public Library (2219 Lawrence Ave. East), Meeting Room
May 24, 4 – 6 pm, Ward 3, Etobicoke Civic Centre (Council Chamber)
May 24, 6:30 – 8:30 pm, Ward 5, Etobicoke Civic Centre (Council Chamber)
May 29, 4 – 6 pm, Ward 43, Cedar Ridge Creative Centre (225 Confederation Drive)
June 4, 4 – 6 pm, Ward 8, York Woods Public Library (1785 Finch Ave. West), Room 2
June 6, 4 – 6 pm, Ward 1, Rexdale Community Hub (21 Panorama Court)
June 13, 6 – 8 pm, Ward 10, Centennial Public Library (578 Finch Ave. West), Auditorium
June 14, 4 – 6 pm, Ward 33, Fairview Public Library (35 Fairview Mall Dr.), Room 2
June 18, 4 – 6 pm, Ward 40, Agincourt Public Library (155 Bonis Ave.), Auditorium
June 27, 6:30 – 8:15 pm, Ward 42, Malvern Public Library (30 Sewells Road), Auditorium
Tree Stumps and Stereotypes
Local photographer Keesic Douglas (pronounced Kee-schik) is in the spotlight at Harbourfront this spring with not one but two photo essays, a black and white series, part of the outdoor exhibition Beyond Imaginings, and a major contribution to the gallery group show, 1812 – 2012: A Contemporary Perspective. In both exhibits Douglas follows ancient routes traveled by his Aboriginal ancestors although his spin on each is markedly different.
In the 1812 bicentennial show Douglas presents a looped video of elder Don Waboose playing an honour song on a hand-drum. The video was shot at Spadina Circle with Waboose looking south to where the photographer shot a series of tree stumps (above), remains from the City’s not-always-successful efforts to sew some greenery into the urban fabric.
Douglas acknowledges that there’s an ecological subtext to the work but he’s really pointing to the indigenous custom of marking wooded trails with broken saplings. The artist’s ancestors – he was born and raised in Rama First Nation – followed a trail approximately where Spadina is today, down from their homes in Central Ontario to Fort York where they joined the fight against American invaders. (Spadina is an Ojibway word for “large hill”.)
Dufferin Underpass Becomes a Grotto
Artist Luis Jacob is on a bit of a high this week as installation progresses on his biggest work to date, a major public art piece in the Dufferin underpass (at Queen West). Three years in the making, Jacob’s Spirits of the Grotto consists of 34 large metal panels, each bearing a pair of mosaic tile discs representing eyes. Arranged within the underpass like heroes in a Hall of Fame, Spirits of the Grotto turns an otherwise dull transport corridor into a vibrant passageway.
Installation is expected to be completed by Tuesday, May 8, with a formal dedication taking place at the Dufferin Amphitheatre (1266 Queen Street West) on May 18 at 5 pm with City Councillors Ana Bailão (Ward 18) and Gord Perks (Ward 14).
Spirits of the Grotto was financed through a city policy that dedicates one per cent of capital project budgets – in this case the building of the Dufferin Street railway underpass – to a public art component. Jacob won the commission following a 2009 juried competition.
Although Jacob has created highly successful public artworks in the past – his 2005 outdoor work titled “Flashlight” was voted “Best Public Art 2005” by NOW and “Viewers’ Choice Winner 2006” by the Toronto Sculpture Garden – but Spirits of the Grotto is the artist’s first permanent installation.
Powerful Picasso at AGO
The Art Gallery of Ontario’s summer blockbuster, Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris, makes a strong case for the museum’s description of Pablo Picasso as “the most inventive and influential artist of the 20th century.” Consisting of approximately 150 works from Picasso’s own collection, the AGO show has drawn raves and crowds in Helsinki, Moscow, Sydney and San Francisco, among other lucky locales.
The largest Picasso retrospective ever mounted in Canada includes work from every period of the artist’s life and shows him to be a restless, relentless creative spirit, working in multiple styles and a variety of mediums, seemingly all at once. The show opens tomorrow (May 1) and runs thru August 26; tickets are $16.50 – $25, Wednesday evenings are $12.50 from 6 – 8:30 pm.
