August 7th, 2020 · Comments Off on NEWS: Big-hearted barber gives back (July 2020)
Jack Shewahy provides free haircuts &?a meal to homeless
The Barber House at 791 Bathurst St. has reopened and welcomes back clients. TANYA IELYSEIEVA/GLEANER NEWS
This feature was created pre-COVID closures. We waited to publish it until the Barber House has re-opened. It’s helpful to remember that before the pandemic many front-line professionals, like Jack Shewahy, could also be credited with giving back to their commuities. Now they are open again for business, practicising safe protocols, and still trying to be a “good example for people”.
By Tanya Ielyseieva
Jack Shewahy believes that every man deserves to feel like a gentleman. His shop, The Barber House at 791 Bathurst Street specializes in traditional Turkish techniques including hot towel shaves.
When Shewahy, who has worked as a barber in the UK, Turkey and New York City, says “everyone,” he means it. Prior to being shut down, Shewahy and his employees started giving free hair trims to anyone in need, and offered a hot meal and clean clothes on top of that.
“I’m not just working to earn money. I want to be a good example for people in the area,” said Shewahy in a pre-Covid interview. “I don’t mind giving free haircuts and a hot meal to four or five people a day if they can’t afford it.”
Shewahy added that his father, who also happens to be his barbering mentor, was the reason he started helping people. Together they used to go to the families in need to give money to people who weren’t fortunate enough and had to struggle over money issues.
“My father used to go to the houses very early in the morning, like 3 or 4 a.m., so people won’t see him, and drop vegetables, fruits and envelopes with money on their porch. And here, in my barbershop I want to do the same thing,” Shewahy said.
Shewahy opened the Barber House in 2018 but prior to that he used to give free haircuts at the shelters once a month and every Christmas.
Now Shewahy helps people in The Barber House.
“When you get a fresh haircut and fill your stomach with delicious food you boost your confidence to a higher level and it gives you a hope that you can change your life,” Shewahy said.
“I let people know that it is nice to give something back, not just working and earning money. I want to be a good example for people in the area. I don’t do it for anything I do it from my heart for the people,” Shewahy said.
“I keep my door and my heart open for everybody. Some people don’t have houses, some people don’t have jobs, some people just got in a bad situation. Everybody has a different story but what they have in common is the need to figure out the way to overcome the obstacles. People are looking for a better life and our main goal here is to support them.”
Besides Shewahy there are four more barbers at his barber shop who share his views and passion to help the community.
Peter Ndiaye is one of the barbers. When he is on the subway, bus or any community transport he gives a Barber House card to people in need and offers a free haircut.
“I think it is a great initiative and I really like this place because of all the help we can offer to people,” he said.
Comments Off on NEWS: Big-hearted barber gives back (July 2020)Tags:Annex · News
Rosalyn Martel (left), and Philip Gevik (right) flank Sally’s Fright (1968). The exuberant colour-field landscape by Canadian abstract art pioneer, William Ronald, belonged to Martel’s grandfather, Paul Martel. The painting was recently purchased by Gevik Gallery in Yorkville. NICOLE STOFFMAN/GLEANER NEWS
Yorkville’s Gallery Gevik has acquired, Sally’s Fright (1968), a rare colour-field landscape painting by William Ronald from the collection of Paul and Joan-Wilsher Martel. Ronald was a trailblazer, founding Painters Eleven in 1953, a collective of artists that introduced abstract art to Canada. The 9×12 foot work was a birthday gift for Mrs. Martel, a modern artist in her own right, from her husband in 1968. Mr. Martel, an architect who led many greening projects in the Annex, passed away on April 3, 2020. Joan predeceased him in 2017.
William Ronald painted very few such landscapes, composed of strips of exuberant colours. Ronald’s work can be found in the collections of the National Gallery in Ottawa and the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa. Gallery owner, Philip Gevik, who represented Mrs. Martel for a decade in the nineties, said he had to buy Sally’s Fright when he saw it at auction at Waddington’s in June, after admiring it over the years during visits to Joan’s home studio.
The Martels had a passion for great Canadian Art, and Sally’s Fright was part of their Painters Eleven collection. The painting holds a special place in granddaughter Rosalyn Martel’s heart.
“I feel all of my memories just flowing through the piece,” she says. “All the vibrant colours of the years that have gone by.”
Here’s hoping this important work finds its rightful place in a new setting.
August 7th, 2020 · Comments Off on NEWS: St. Peter’s Church’s pastor succombs to COVID-19 (July 2020)
Paulist Father Richard Colgan, 68, died of complications from COVID-19 at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. on Monday, May 25. A former pastor at St. Peter’s Church on Bathurst St., Father Colgan served as a director of novices at the Paulist Fathers’ formation house of studies in Washington D.C.
“With great sadness, we announce that our brother, Paulist Fr. Richard Colgan, has entered eternal life,” the Paulist Fathers’ statement reads. “We pray that Fr. Rich, and all those around the world who have died from COVID-19, are now in God’s warm embrace.”
Not long before Fr. Rich left Toronto in 2008, he was diagnosed with cancer and recieved treatment. The cancer returned while he was in Washington D.C., making his immunity very low.
“When COVID-19 got into the seminary, I think some of the young men who are training to be priests there got it but it wasn’t the same for them. So, Fr. Rich fairly quickly went into the hospital and he went on the ventilator. He was on the ventilator for about a week and I don’t know whether he had pre-planned it, I’m sure he had, but at a certain point the decision was made to turn off the ventilator,” said Heather McClory, coordinator of Toronto Paulist Associates.
Colgan served the Paulist community for 46 years and as a priest for 41 years.
“He was such a kind and patient and wise man,” said McClory. “You could tell by his demeanor that he loved being a priest. And he really was very giving and kind, very good advice, very patient and calm.”
—Tanya Ielyseieva, Gleaner News
Comments Off on NEWS: St. Peter’s Church’s pastor succombs to COVID-19 (July 2020)Tags:Annex · News
August 7th, 2020 · Comments Off on CHATTER: Virus-killing tech used at check-out counter (July 2020)
COURTESY DARA GALLINGER
Between May 20 and June 1, a grocery store on Bathurst St took part in a cutting edge experiment to make sure customers took virus-free goods home from their store. The Summerhill Market (1014 Bathurst) worked on a pilot project of a machine called the X-Germinator which uses non-toxic UV light to damage the molecular structure of viruses in less than 30 seconds.
Real estate agent Alyssa Mincer and Dara Gallinger, a co-founder of the Toronto mill and bakery Brodflour, partnered with a medical startup called Prescientx, to develop the machine.
“We had a UV light machine to disinfect cellphones so I was wondering if that could be applied to groceries,” says Gallinger. “We did some research and found the Prescientx, the company which is developing the UV machines to sanitize N95 masks. We discussed the idea and developed the X-Germinator.”
According to the manager of the Summerhill Market, Brad McMullen, there was a lot of interest in the machine from the customers, and people were excited see it in use.
The cashier would scan the grocery items then place them on a closed conveyer belt. On the belt they were passed through a UV-C tunnel where they were then exposed to the germicidal light. While the effectiveness of this process left little to be desired and left customers very pleased, manager McMullen took issue with the size of the machine and the amount of space it required in the grocery store environment.
Gallinger says a second prototype for the X-Germinator is currently in the works, and when it arrives in stores this August, it will be half the size of the original.
—Tanya Ielyseieva, Gleaner News
Comments Off on CHATTER: Virus-killing tech used at check-out counter (July 2020)Tags:Annex · News
August 7th, 2020 · Comments Off on EDITORIAL: Ford turns on tenants (July 2020)
One of the strangest things to happen over the course of this very strange spring was the apparent transformation of Premier Doug Ford into to a caring, compassionate leader. This illusion is fading quickly, as his government rams Bill 184 through the Ontario legislature. The new law will almost surely result in mass residential evictions of tenants who were unable to pay full rent during the COVID-19 lockdown.
In March, Premier Ford promised Ontario tenants that he had their backs and they would be protected from evictions during the pandemic. It turns out his actions don’t match that promise. Across Canada, provincial governments have provided rent support for struggling tenants, in Ontario not one cent.
For Torontonians who pay some of the highest rents in the country, the problem is particularly acute. The lack of rent relief from the province hurts tenants and landlords alike.
Governments of every political stripe do this at least once during their time in office: create a law that helps one side but harms another and name the new law in such a way to make it sound like the opposite is true. What Doug Ford is trying to do with Bill 184 is a perfect example of this as the, “Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act,” will do nothing of the sort. This is right out of former Premier Mike Harris’s playbook.
Harris, in 1997 crafted legislation which stripped away tenant rights in the “Landlord and Tenant Act,” but not before clearly re-naming it the “Tenant Protection Act”. The parallels are eerie.
Essentially, this new law, which is expected to be enacted soon, will allow landlords to bypass the Landlord Tenant Board (LTB) who currently must be involved in a quasi-judicial capacity when a renter falls behind. At the LTB a repayment plan must be crafted or an eviction may be granted.
Other issues can be discussed there too: utility disruptions, broken elevators, and soon. Bill 184 allows the landlord to craft his or her own arrangements with the tenant. On the face of it, this may seem reasonable enough but tenants may feel pressured into agreements they can’t afford. Tenants whose first language is not English (highly likely here in the most diverse city in the world) will be at a distinct disadvantage.
Under the proposed rules if the tenant agrees to the rent re-payment terms, and for whatever reason falls behind on the repayment – even a single payment – the landlord can then ask the sheriff to evict the tenant.
Most shockingly, Bill 184 is back-dated to March 17 – the very day Ontario declared a state of emergency. It’s a perfect storm for tenants: unemployment, illness and an overall sense of economic uncertainty. Rent arrears may have accumulated and now the province has come up with tools for landlords to quickly remedy that problem.
Vulnerable tenants, who used to have the LTB as the regulatory referee in the middle, will no longer enjoy that protection. In many cases, the landlords will be thrilled to have their tenants evicted so they can take advantage of the rental market and raise the rents. It almost seems that was Ford’s plan all along: hook the tenants in on debt they could not repay and give the landlord lobby the tools to get rid of below market rent payers.
This all sets the stage for evictions to take place as early as August 1. After all, what better way to stay afloat during a pandemic than to add to the homeless population? Doug Ford, in all his meanness and bluster, is back.
August 7th, 2020 · Comments Off on FORUM: Finding positive outcomes (July 2020)
Rapidly expanding bike lanes a healthy solution
By Mike Layton
As Torontonians diligently work together to progress to the next stage of the recovery plan, we are collectively coming to terms with the fact that we are learning to live with a new normal. This period of rapid change has brought with it a number of difficult issues, and has highlighted the many ways in which we need to do better. However, it has also opened the door for us to imagine new ways forward. Toronto has always been a place where people with vision have put in the work to build their communities, and my recent communications with residents have shown that our city’s passion for progress is only getting stronger.
An integral part of our pandemic recovery response is reviewing our highest single expense, the police budget, to see if there are improved ways to deliver services that ensure the safety of all residents. At the first opportunity, I will work to reallocate resources from the police budget into services to promote anti-oppressive practices in consultation with Black and other racialized communities.
It is imperative that we continue to address systemic racism through the provision of services. We know that racism manifests in poverty, housing discrimination, in cuts to social and community programs, and in negative health outcomes—especially as being observed through the current pandemic. We must take action and invest our resources to address these inequities head on. The city works to apply an equity lens on every budget decision it makes, which is a good first step, but more must be done, starting with properly funding city services.
Learning to live with the COVID-19 pandemic means recognizing that people need to be able to get where they need to go while maintaining a safe physical distance. As retail stores that have a public entrance door that opens onto a street or sidewalk have been allowed to reopen, the opportunity to revive our main streets is possible, with protective measures in place. This also means that many of us will need to consider alternate methods of transportation.
In early June, we welcomed the installation of new protected bike lanes on University Avenue, through Queen’s Park Crescent. These lanes are part of 25 kilometres of new cycling infrastructure. This was approved by city council at the end of May, as part of the city’s ActiveTO program. The bike lanes on University Avenue will connect to existing lanes on Bloor, College, Adelaide, and Richmond Streets, making continuous, protected trips possible. They provide an alternative to the Line 1 subway for commuters, while opening up more space on the subway for those who need to take public transit.
The community has long advocated for safe, protected bike lanes on University Avenue, alongside major hospitals in the area, including SickKids and the University Health Network, who released letters in support of the University bike lanes. Members of the group Doctors for Safe Cycling, some of whom work in the area’s hospitals, have also highlighted the importance of the lanes in enabling health care workers, staff, and clients to safely get to work and access the area’s health care facilities.
The lanes are ready to change the way that many residents get around this summer, and are just the beginning of what’s possible. With this change, Toronto has joined the ranks of London, New York, and Mexico City, all of which have responded to COVID-19 by expanding cycling infrastructure. Going forward, how people get around will continue to be a major public health issue. These new lanes are a step in the right direction towards keeping each other healthy, and keeping our city moving.
I am committed to building an equitable and just Toronto, and I am grateful to work with you to make it happen.
Mike Layton is Councillor for Ward 11, University—Rosedale
August 7th, 2020 · Comments Off on FORUM: Ford failing to address homelessness, racism, schooling (July 2020)
Telling parents to prepare for every eventuality is not a plan
By Jessica Bell
As the pandemic drags on, the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable are getting worse. I want to draw attention to three communities that need our help.
Toronto’s homelessness crisis is a ticking time bomb. The city has spent nearly $200 million on housing and supporting 7,000 people in community centres, hotels, and schools. Now, these schools and community centres are reopening, and the four to six-month contracts the city has with hotels are beginning to expire. People have nowhere to go. At the same time, Doug Ford is close to approving Bill 184, which will make it easier for landlords to evict renters. More people will be living and dying on our streets if we don’t take action.
On June 26, I joined Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam to call on the Ford Government to help the City of Toronto provide basic support to our homeless. We’re talking about food, water, medication, and portable toilets. We have a moral responsibility to help our most vulnerable.
Since April, 9 Black, Indigenous or racialized people in Canada have died in interactions with police. They were loved and should be here today. Their names are: Regis Korchinski-Paquet, Rodney Levi, Chantel Moore, Stewart Kevin Andrews, Jason Collins, Eishia Hudson, Caleb Tubila Njoko, D’Andre Campbell and Ejaz Choudry.
These deaths are not isolated incidents. They are due to a pattern of brutal policing and racism. On June 22, we laid out our commitments to tackling police brutality, these include overhauling police oversight so police are accountable, reinvesting funding into community programs and alternative first responders, demilitarizing the police, ending carding, and heavily investing resources in racialized and poor neighbourhoods to improve quality of life.
The Ford Government is refusing to truly address racism and police brutality. I believe public momentum is so strong that Ford will have no choice but to reverse course.
Just over a week ago, the Ontario Government announced its plan for kids returning to classrooms in September. School boards are being asked to plan three different scenarios for the classroom which will depend on public health advice and the province’s COVID-19 situation in the fall: online, in-class, and a hybrid of online and in-class. Part-time school is on the cards.
As a parent of two school-age children, I know how hard the last few months have been for families. I’m confused by the government’s, “it could be everything or nothing,” plan. I know many of you don’t know what child care plans to make if school returns only part-time, or what part-time means exactly? Many of you don’t want to repeat the months of emergency remote learning we just endured and many teachers are worried about what is being done to keep kids and teachers safe in the classroom, especially individuals with co-morbidities.
On June 29, we hosted a town hall with experts to learn what school should and could look like in September. Panelist Dr. Michelle Science shared the results of her Sick Kids report on COVID-19 and children. Dr. Science’s research shows that kids are less impacted by COVID-19 and there is a real need to balance the risk of COVID-19 with the growing impacts on mental health and child development from keeping schools closed and limiting child-to-child play. TDSB teacher, Nigel Barriffe, said the Ford Government has not consulted with teachers and that teachers are asking for information on what school could look like so they can prepare, as well as what health and safety measures will be taken to keep teachers and kids safe. MPP Marit Stiles spoke to the government’s failure to provide additional funding to school boards to accommodate health and safety guidelines, including paid sick days, smaller class sizes, proper ventilation, and working sinks.
It’s going to be a tough school year. I will be writing a letter to the minister of education summarizing some of the concerns and questions that residents have raised about school re-opening. There are no easy answers. We are in a time of flux. Public health is paramount.
Please contact my office if you have any questions or concerns about these issues and more.
August 7th, 2020 · Comments Off on LIFE: Tulip Fairies surprise (July 2020)
Neighbourly love abounds in Seaton Village
The Tulip Fairy Family proved that they too, are essential workers, when, on April 2, a woman and her two children purchased all the tulips at Steven’s Convenience at Bathurst and Olive streets. They then mysteriously distributed the flowers to houses in the adjacent area. Their identity remains unknown. —Nicole Stoffman/Gleaner News, photos courtesy of Mable Chu
Comments Off on LIFE: Tulip Fairies surprise (July 2020)Tags:Annex · Life
August 7th, 2020 · Comments Off on GREENINGS: What happens if we don’t want to go back to the “before” times? (July 2020)
Pandemic shows we can live on so much less
While many of us are enjoying cleaner air in the neighbourhood, undoubtably there are people up at night worried about what happens if the air never goes back to being as toxic as it once was. Trillions of dollars are at stake if we, as a society, decide we don’t really want to go back to the “before” times where people drove hours to get to work and mindlessly went shopping for entertainment.
Thousands of people are enjoying Toronto’s streets for physical activity. The old guard at city hall must be worrying, ‘What if voters decide they like this?’ Just letting us plebes see the light is a dangerous peek into Pandora’s box.
That old guard has been protecting the car lobby interests for decades. They resist everything from bike lanes to increases in parking rates. Since I’ve been in Toronto, TTC fares have increased from $2 to $3.25, a whopping 63% increase while the upper end of street parking has increased a corresponding 43%. The $2 an hour street parking that existed a decade ago still exists now.
These are not circumstantial decisions. Policy has a very direct impact on how a city runs and every decision maker knows it. More expensive transit and cheaper parking spots pushes people to drive more. This is a very simple supply and demand equation every student learns by 9th grade. Our policies have very intentionally kept congestion high. None of the politicians are so stupid that they don’t understand this. We live in a world where profits have always come at the expense of health and happiness.
What happens if everyone enjoying the streets for the fresh air, physical activity, and other social, yet socially-distant activities that were meant to be the heart of living in a city, decide they don’t want to go back to the way things were? What happens if these reclaimed streets stay reclaimed?
Fewer Canadians will die of air pollution and related illnesses. Fewer Canadians will die of car accidents. All this is terrible news for oil companies like Shell, who have openly admitted that they don’t know if oil will ever recover. Cars are getting 3 weeks to the litre right now and our new reality is a frightening time for those who depended on us being trapped in a cycle of consumption. Cleaner air means lower profits among the top tier of society in the economic system we have in place.
The longer we stay in lockdown, the lower the appetite will be to go back to our once wasteful ways. This partially explains the rush to reopen despite the nearly 200 new cases of COVID 19 a day still being posted.
What the world might look like post-pandemic is a scary thought for many, many people who depended on the way things were. These were the same people who insisted we can’t tackle the climate crisis because of, “the economy .”
This pandemic is showing us that we can indeed live on so much less. We must not be afraid of telling the political class that we want to put people first. We must not be afraid of saying we want the streets for kids, not cars. We need an economy that doesn’t depend on compromising our health and safety to be strong. Teaching my daughter to ride a bike on nearly empty streets has been such an enjoyable experience. As frightening as the new reality may sound, I don’t want to go back.
Terri Chu is an engineer committed to practical environmentalism. This column is dedicated to helping the community reduce energy use, and help distinguish environmental truths from myths. Send questions, comments, and ideas for future columns to Terri at terri.chu@whyshouldicare.ca.
August 7th, 2020 · Comments Off on LIFE: How to arrange flowers in less than 10 easy steps (July 2020)
Flowers in the home relax the mind and nourish the spirit
COURTESY LISA LOMAX
In May 2020, the Annex Gleaner celebrated 25 years of publishing. In acknowledgement of this history we are republishing highlights of our past; this feature, How to arrange flowers in 10 easy steps by gardening columnist Bardi Vorster, is from July 2000. Some guidance still relevant to enjoy summer’s flowery bounty indoors.
By Bardi Vorster
Now that the garden is in full bloom, there comes an irresistable moment when one needs to gaze intimately at its contents.
The beauty of a single lily has been known to inspire novels, paintings or launch crusades, so getting up close and personal with your flowers seems like a good idea.
Whether it’s the fragrance, the colours, the shape, or all three, fresh flowers in the home make wonderful decorations to relax the mind and nourish the spirit.
Personally, I have often found it frustrating to arrange flowers as the arrangement never seems to be as perfect as the subject. Nonetheless, perseverance and practice as well as a lot of reading on the subject has helped. I now have a system.
Choice of Material
There is such an enormous amount of material available in cut flowers, including greenery and fruits or nuts that it’s easy to become confused, give up and buy a pot of mums.
Much depends on your personal preferences for colour, and types of flowers.
But consciously identifying this makes arrangements design easier. (I hate dyed flowers and prefer flowers in season to tulips in July.)
Florists or experienced amateurs can produce amazing bouquets using the “few-of-many types of flowers” approach, but I find it difficult.
I think it’s easier to eliminate some things and narrow the focus before you go to the store.
Here is my system:
Choose a feature flower, it can be whatever strikes your fancy.
Choose a “line” material; this could be twigs, or a flower of contrasting shape.
Choose ‘filler’ material. This would be greens such as ferns or eucalyptus or Baby’s Breath; something which adds bulk to the arrangement.
If you have a lot of something in your garden, a popular approach is to compose a bouquet of all one type of flower in short containers; this is easy to do but it takes a lot of blooms and is expensive to purchase.
Style
Plan ahead, if only vaguely, where the arrangement will be located and what container will be used.
The selection of vase, pot or jam jar seems to influence harmonious outcomes the most.
Mind you, anything goes: a single rose in a beer bottle with a string tie is perfect for someone, somewhere, and granny’s antique crystal vase will look great with wildflowers or exotic orchids.
Tools of the Trade
The following is a basic list of the most useful equipment. Most important is a very sharp knife with a short blade.
Professionals use one with a curved blade but I haven’t mastered the stroke.
Floral foam is good for use in ceramic or other non-see-through containers. This is available from florists or craft shops and really is a snap to use because stems stay exactly where you put them, whatever the angle.
Different formulations of foam are available for fresh, dried or silk flowers.
For fresh flowers, soak the block- perforations up — but cut off what you need and store the remainder in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for next time. Partially fill the container with foam, mounding the top; anchor to the container if necessary with tape. Proceed to place greens and flowers.
Then there’s the floral food, the powder in small packs that often comes with purchased flowers.
It contains food and an antibacterial agent that makes flowers last longer. (it is better than pennies or other old-wives formulas.)
Pruners are useful for heavy stems or twigs. Small sharp scissors are useful for snipping off errant leaves.
Procedures Oversimplified
There is much other information on conditioning and handling flowers that I must omit for space reasons, but here are the bare bones. Start by filling your container with lukewarm water and adding the floral-life product. Next, add the greenery, crossing the stems so that they will support the flowers.
Alternatively, use invisible tape criss-crossed over the top of your container. Begin your design with the feature flower in the topmost position and add the others one at a time for balance or colour, rhythm and mass.
Hundreds of books have been written about how to achieve this minor miracle and the best are well illustrated. The most important thing is to make a fresh, clean, diagonal cut on the stem before inserting in the vase. The objective is to expose the greatest area of cells to the water so that the stem can drink. Don’t use scissors as this compresses the cells.
Try to enjoy the process: however perfect or imperfect the arrangement is, the flowers will be just as beautiful.
Comments Off on LIFE: How to arrange flowers in less than 10 easy steps (July 2020)Tags:Annex · Life
August 7th, 2020 · Comments Off on ARTS: Coronavirus arts update:?Stay engaged (July 2020)
A crisis is a terrible thing to waste
By Meribeth Deen
Welcome to the Bloor St. Arts Corridor monthly Covid-events column number… 4? But who is counting anyways? With a virus in our midst, we are all doing the best we can to stay safe, keep others safe, and to keep enjoying life and the world as best we can. The artists in our midst have not stopped creating, so we offer to you just a few ways to keep connecting to their work, to the world and to be part of shaping it.
The library, or at least the online version of it, is as lively as ever. While schools may be fully closed for the summer, the TPL’s Summer Reading Club, Wonder Wall and Mini Wonder Workshops will keep your kiddo reading learning, discovering and creating all summer long. These online programs even give your kids the chance to ask questions, and make new friends. Digital Innovation Classes can get you programming, making electronic music, designing webpages and more. If it’s books you’re into… they still do that! Just google TPL Live & Online program.
Live music is clearly not a thing anymore, and sadly, like many other venues, Soundstreams has canceled its 2020/21 season. Soundstreams is a global leader in the presentation of innovative, carefully curated, and immersive musical experiences, and has been introducing Canadian audiences to groundbreaking composers since its founding in 1982. They’ve recently launched the Soundstreams Insider Program to help determine a course for the future of the organization and to create a roadmap for future, live concerts. By participating, you’ll get an invitation to town halls and access to concerts before they go on sale for the general public.
Head to Hot Docs Curious Minds at Home to escape to other worlds. Dr. Peter Harris, the former Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science of the University of Toronto, leads courses on The Age of Upheaval (between the wars) and The Age of Re-Invention (after the World War II). Music historian Dr. Mike Daley will guide you through Neil Young’s life and career with his course, Words and Music. All three courses are open for registration now, and begin July 30.
For a shorter journey, check out the Lavazza Drive-In Film Festival. A film from a different country will be featured each night at Ontario Place with a special “Focus on Italy” series, presented in collaboration with the Istituto Italiano di Cultura Toronto. The festival is meant to offer families a safe and comfortable manner of re-integrating into social events. A portion of ticket sales will go directly to the Canadian Red Cross to assist with COVID-19 relief efforts.
Celebrate the gradual re-opening of the city with the official re-opening of the Gardiner Museum this month. If you pop by for a visit, you’ll have more space than ever to view Raw, an extended exhibition featuring works made with unfired clay. Artists Cassils, Magdolene Dykstra, Azza El Siddique, and Linda Swanson—invite you to discover new possibilities in an ancient medium. For a sneak peek, check out Cassils video “Up to and Including Their Limits,” on Youtube.
While you figure out how to re-shape the world you are re-entering, pop in to the re-opened A Different Booklist where you’ll find all the tools you need to re-shape your own mind. Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter, published in February 2020 is available in the store now. This book, “busts myths of Canadian politeness and niceness, myths that prevent Canadians from properly fulfilling its dream of multiculturalism and from challenging systemic racism, including the everyday assaults on black and brown bodies. This book needs to be read and put into practice by everyone,” says author Vershawn Young.
Get reading, get learning, get engaged: because a crisis is a terrible thing to waste.
Comments Off on ARTS: Coronavirus arts update:?Stay engaged (July 2020)Tags:Annex · Arts
