Your May 2021 Arts Brief

By Meribeth Deen 

May 16th, 2021 is a Sunday, and in all likelihood, you will not be going anywhere, certainly not to a museum or concert. Maybe, maybe… you will go to a park. 

So why not eat carrot-zucchini bread covered in cream-cheese icing, just because you can? And because you do not have any plans to go anywhere, you may as well make it yourself. If you get on it, you can even have the expert tutelage of award-winning cookbook author and columnist Amy Rosen. Just go to the Miles Nadal JCC’s site for Tikkun Leil Shavuot, an annual festival of Jewish learning open to people of all backgrounds.

If you don’t like cream-cheese icing, carrots or zucchini, you should still check out the Tikkun Leil Shavuot site because the opportunities for learning (and enjoying) between 6pm and midnight are practically endless. 

Are you going crazy thinking about how to fight racism? Join Tema Smith in a conversation about how we can root out racism. Tema is mixed-race and Jewish, and her experience has led her to work towards creating a more racially inclusive and equitable Jewish community. If a conversation on queering Jewishness, or queering families is more your speed, you’ll find that conversation too. Maybe you want a more general conversation on ethics? You’ll find it at Tikkun Leil Shavuot.

If your brain craves a break from conversations about community, spirituality and philosophy; devising a strategy to excavate the details of your family history; or learning Yiddish, there are also opportunities to put your hands to work. Art Therapist Or Har-Gil will lead a meditation and reflective art exercise on the theme of revelation. Participants will wander through their own wilderness before they make their way to “the sacred centre” to receive divine wisdom. 

Basic art supplies (paper/notebook, pencil crayons, markers or pastels) required! OR grab your scissors and join artist Bareket Kezwer in this hands-on workshop where you’ll learn about the lost art of Jewish paper cuts. 

And if all of that just sounds like a bit much for your pandemic weary mind, head over to the JCC’s virtual gallery and cruise through the photos in Dream Scenes. 

Running until June 30, this exhibit takes portraiture to a new level by empowering senior citizens to fulfill their dreams virtually, using the magic of the green screen. Don’t we all need a reminder that dreams really do come true – but in the strangest ways?

The Miles Nadal JCC is just ONE of 22 organizations that make up the Bloor Street Culture Corridor, and each one of them is working hard to keep making life interesting, despite restrictions. 

Make a point of browsing the listings and keep “getting out there” in whatever ways you can.