Gallery Reviews

Katelyn Di Giulio has been going at it since age 3 and she’s certainly not stopping now. The girl who once glued herself--figuratively speaking--to her Playskool easel will be setting up shop on Friday in Nathan Phillips Square for the 48th annual Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition.

One look at Di Giulio’s website (http://www.katelyndigiulio.com) and you’ll notice that she’s wildly prolific. She works in photography, painting, sculpture, mixed media, collage, and creates her iconic hoops (http://www.katelyndigiulio.com/hoops).

Di Giulio’s work at the TOAE will play with the idea of the feminine, incorporating craft work, pop culture and film, fabrics and fashion, vintage and kitsch. Because she has been mulling over these themes for so long, and so much of the works’ creation involves mixed-media and collage, Di Giulio’s art is highly process-based, and the pieces are mostly series-oriented.

“Each piece is somehow connected to the others…and ideas are recycled to create a practically literal thread running between the works,” explains the artiste.

To create her works, Di Giulio relies on both happenstance and nostalgia. “Part of my process is the collecting of these materials. I save fabrics with sentimental meaning, and incorporate old costume jewelry of my mother and grandmothers.”

Check Katelyn—and the rest of the artists at the TOAE— she’ll be hangin out in Booth Green 374.

By: Anna Cipollone

If you’ve ever casually popped into the Harbourfront Centre while strolling the boardwalk or hanging water’s edge, you know how big and busy this cultural hub can be. With so many festivals, art exhibits, concerts and plays on offer, the sheer selection can be overwhelming. Whether it’s a passion for indigenous cultures or a long-repressed desire to break into hula dancing at your next luau, the Harbourfront Centre boasts a bundle of events that will keep you busy this summer without breaking your budget. If you’re feeling starved for the arts, check out these free picks for a cultural smorgasbord that will satisfy your senses.

EVENT: Universal Code
WHY IT'S COOL: The exhibit presents a slew of contemporary artists’ response to themes like globalization, surveillance in the information age, and cosmology. Katie Paterson created her piece by launching a Morse code version of Moonlight Sonata into space via moon bounce and welcoming it home with missing notes. A self-playing piano serenades visitors with a fragmented remix of the Beethoven classic.
CHECK IT OUT IF YOU LIKE: To trip out on theories of infinite space with fellow art geeks.
WHEN/WHERE: June 12-August 30, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, 231 Queens Quay West
http://www.thepowerplant.org/exhibitions/summer09/universalcode/info.htm

EVENT: Orfea and the Golden Harp
WHY IT’S COOL: With music arranged by Greg Robic, this play incorporates soprano, bass baritone, bassoon, oboe and piano to tell the tale of Orfea, a young girl grappling with her grandfather’s death. Using a magical harp to travel to the underworld, Orfea meets literary icons like Dr. Faust and Dionysus along the way. This story of life and death culminates in an Opera Idol competition, bringing the mixture of classical themes and modern musical trends full circle.
CHECK IT OUT IF YOU LIKE: Mozart meets American Idol, if you hold a fondness for fairy tales or if you’re looking to entertain the little ones for an afternoon.
WHEN/WHERE: Sunday July 5, 4:00pm, Toronto Music Garden, 475 Queens Quay West
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/whatson/today.cfm?id=1154
http://www.theatrecottonrobes.com/

EVENT: Winter Gloves
WHY IT'S COOL: This Montreal-based four piece plays toe-tapping tunes drenched in synth-pop. Their debut album’s poetic lyrics have them sitting pretty with the public, having earned them the 2008 title of Best New Artist from iTunes Canada.
CHECK IT OUT IF YOU LIKE: Swaying to dreamy, heart-tugging pop with your honey.
WHEN/WHERE: Friday July 10, 8:00pm, Sirius Stage, 235 Queens Quay West
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/worldroutes/festivals.cfm?id=1206
http://www.myspace.com/wintergloves
http://www.winterglovesmusic.com

EVENT: MixMotion
WHY IT'S COOL: Toronto-based design group that mixes and cuts live video with graphics and music for a mishmash of visual cues.
CHECK IT OUT IF YOU LIKE: Interactive design installations, performance art and dancing to the beat of a different drum.
WHEN/WHERE: Friday July 10, 10:00pm and Saturday July 11, 10:30pm, Brigantine Room, York Quay Centre at 235 Queens Quay West
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/worldroutes/festivals.cfm?id=1418
http://www.mixmotion.com/web2/

EVENT: Oiseaux Interurbains/Migratory Songflutes
WHY IT'S COOL: Alison Melville performs works spanning the 12th to the 21st Centuries on various flutes with harpsichord accompaniment in this quaint, outdoor concert.
CHECK IT OUT IF YOU LIKE: Garden parties, blue skies and butterflies.
WHEN/WHERE: Sunday July 26, 4:00pm, Toronto Music Garden at 475 Queens
Quay West
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/whatson/torontomusicgarden.cfm?id=1158
http://www.alisonmelville.com

EVENT: Parallels
WHY IT'S COOL: This Toronto-trio plays synth-heavy beats lead by vocalist Holly Dodson’s angelic ode to 80s icons.
CHECK IT OUT IF YOU LIKE: Digital dance parties or if Crystal Castles, Eurythmics and Blondie have been known to groove you and move you.
WHEN/WHERE: Saturday July 11, 7:30pm, Redpath Stage at 235 Queens Quay West
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/worldroutes/festivals.cfm?id=1338
http://www.myspace.com/parallelsfm

EVENT: Amy Millan
WHY IT'S COOL: With Stars and Broken Social Scene on her resume, this Montreal-born crooner adapted songs written in her heartbreak-heavy twenties for her 2006 debut album, Honey from the Tomb. Expect to hear a preview of her upcoming record at this performance.
CHECK IT OUT IF YOU LIKE: Country-pop songs that tear a hole in your heart.
WHEN/WHERE: Saturday July 25, 9:30pm, Sirius Stage at 235 Queens Quay West
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/worldroutes/festivals.cfm?id=1230
http://www.myspace.com/amymillan
http://www.arts-crafts.ca/amymillan/index2.html

EVENT: Failure to Comply: Shorts from the Underground
WHY IT'S COOL: Curated by Danis Goulet, an after dark screening of his collection of short, racy films on indigenous cultures.
CHECK IT OUT IF YOU LIKE: Flicks with naughty nuances that leave your cheeks pink.
WHEN/WHERE: Friday August 14, 11:00pm, Studio Theatre, York Quay Centre at 235 Queens Quay West
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/worldroutes/festivals.cfm?id=1368

EVENT: Halau Ka Wekiu
WHY IT'S COOL: Casupang and Baker offer 30 years of expertise in the art of hula as they lead groups ages 13 and up in a workshop on this Hawaiian tradition.
CHECK IT OUT IF YOU LIKE: Swaying your hips to a ukulele beat.
WHEN/WHERE: Sunday August 23, 1:30pm, Redpath Stage at 235 Queens Quay West
http://www.halauikawekiu.com/
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/whatson/today.cfm?id=1264

EVENT: Fashion and Fire LIVE 2009
WHY IT'S COOL: Fashion, fire and music combine to create a spectacle that will dazzle onlookers with its take on indigenous cultures.
CHECK IT OUT IF YOU LIKE: Flamboyant fashion shows with over-the-top festivities.
WHEN/WHERE: Saturday August 22, 8:00pm, Natrel Pond at 235 Queens Quay West
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/worldroutes/festivals.cfm?id=1404

EVENT: Camp Kegedonce
WHY IT'S COOL: Late-night debauchery, from body painting to burlesque, in celebration of sexual diversity.
CHECK IT OUT IF YOU LIKE: Playful erotica and everything indigenous.
WHEN/WHERE: Saturday August 22, 11:00pm, Lakeside Terrace, York Quay Centre
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/worldroutes/festivals.cfm?id=1405

EVENT: Beats, Breaks and Grafitti
WHY IT'S COOL: A live grafitti contest featuring four of Toronto’s hippest street artists, each given the same word and materials, who will be judged on their creative interpretations of the chosen theme.
CHECK IT OUT IF YOU LIKE: Grafitti culture and under pressure-painting.
WHEN/WHERE: Saturday July 11, 2:00pm, Sculpture Court at 235 Queens Quay West
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/whatson/visualarts.cfm?id=1205

With sweaty garbage, unattended wading pools, and the death of That Pop Icon Who Shall Not Be Named, isn’t it time for some good news? Well folks, we’ve got it riiiiight here. Now you don’t even need to think through the trash fumes in order to rustle up something snazzy to do today/tonight/next week. So fill up your hydration helmets with some good ol’ H-Twenty, snap your fave fanny pack and Bermuda shirt, and get out there, kids!

Concerts

The Lovely Killbots , the Paint Movement and Provincial Parks

From bigbeat/grindcore, to delicious rockin riffs all the way over to some truly hypno-relaxo folk, this show promises something for everyone

July 1, Drake Underground

http://www.myspace.com/lovelykillbots
http://www.myspace.com/thepaintmovement
http://www.myspace.com/provincialparks

Indie Week Fight Night

Head over to Clinton’s to watch a crew of big-hearted bands duke it out for a much-coveted spot playing in October’s Indie Week

July 2, Clinton’s

http://www.myspace.com/indieweek

Broken Social Scene

Now cemented firmly into the upper stratosphere of the Canadian music scene, BSS hardly needs an introduction. Live the legend with this free show at Harbourfront, and try not to think about the fact that Olympic Island got cancelled because of the stupid Indy.

July 11, Harbourfront

http://www.myspace.com/brokensocialscene

Neko Case

Case has been kicking around for a while, as both solo artist and fly-by-night member of New Pornographers, but only recently receiving the notoriety that she deserves for her mad belting ability. This rockin' redhead will undoubtedly serve up a surreal sonic experience.

July 14 (Massey Hall)

http://www.myspace.com/nekocase

Boys like Girls, Never Shout Never, The Ready Set

Pretty boys and guitars? Yesplease. If you’re into Dashboard Confessional and Brand New but looking for something edgier, this trifecta of tunage is not a night to miss.

July 15, Phoenix

http://www.myspace.com/boyslikegirls
http://www.myspace.com/nevershoutnever
http://www.myspace.com/thereadyset

Beyonce

Come on, she invented the term “bootylicious.” This woman is irreplaceable, so to speak. WHERE MY SINGLE LADIES AT?

July 20, Molson Amphitheatre

http://www.myspace.com/beyonce

Depeche Mode, Peter, Bjorn & John

Oh, what’s that? One of the most influential groups of the 80s playing with one of the hottest of today? Be prepared for a LOT of skinny jeans, neon Wayfarer-esque shades, and scene ‘dos.

July 24, Molson Amphitheatre

http://www.myspace.com/depechemode
http://www.myspace.com/peterbjornandjohn

Crystal Castles, Jeff Mills, A-Trak

A night of bone-grinding techno, this triumvirate of the tables are collectively so hot right now in the world of beat juggling and hydroplaning.

July 25 Sound Academy

http://www.myspace.com/crystalcastles
http://www.myspace.com/jeffmillsofficialspace
http://www.myspace.com/djatrak

Katy Perry

Love her or hate her, this chick will undoubtedly put on a show…snogging girls or otherwise

July 26 (Molson Amphitheatre)

http://www.myspace.com/katyperry

Shows and Fiestas:

Dream in High Park: The Tempest

Shakespeare in the Park! Purported to be--by people in the know--Billy Shakes’ swan song to the stage. Some pic-nic fare and smuggled-in wine makes for a ragin’ Renaissance night.

http://www.canstage.com/dream

June 26- September 6, High Park

Toronto Fringe Festival

Toronto's annual summer festival of off-beat, adventurous and untested stage shows.

http://www.fringetoronto.com

July 1st - July 12th, All Over Town!

The Scream Literary Festival: The Book is Dead

The annual Scream in High Park (not to be confused with the annual theatre production of a similar name) celebrates books and their lovers, an ironic nod at the “death” of the medium. Readings and parties galore!

http://www.thescream.ca

July 2-13, High Park

Summerlicious

The city’s restaurants fling open their doors and put forth affordable, prix-fixe menus. The best time to try out a place that your stomach—and your wallet--could otherwise only dream of.

http://www.toronto.com/summerlicious

July 3-19, all over town

Harbourfront Summer Festivals: The Hot Spot

A new Harbourfront festival of hottt international music. For more details, see our Harbourfront scoop!

http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/worldroutes/thehotspot.cfm

July 3-5, Harbourfront

Casa Loma's Renaissance Festival

Always wanted to fall for someone in pantaloons? Now’s your chance! Head to Casa Loma for archery, falconry, and hand-to-hand knight fights. The garbage strike will even provide a historically accurate odour!

July 4 - July 6, Casa Loma

http://www.casaloma.org/Seasonal

Beaches International Jazz Fest

Woodbine Park, Kew Gardens, Queen St. E. and environs light up with one of the city’s best outdoor music festivals. AND it’s free, yo!

July 17-27

http://www.beachesjazz.com

Afrofest

African food, dance, theatre, music and culture spills out onto Queen’s Park for a mad-beatin’ free for all.

http://www.musicafrica.org

July 11th - July 12th, Queen’s Park

Salsa on St. Clair

Aye Caramba! Free Latin culture street party—strap on yo’ dancing shoes, foo!

http://www.tlntv.com/events/salsa09/

July 11-12, St. Clair between Winona Drive and Wychwood Ave

Caribana Festival

In the heat of summer, nothing—no, NOTHING—spices things up more than Caribana. Carribbean food, music, dance, art, and performance. AND DON’T FORGET THE CITY’S SASSIEST PARADE!

http://www.caribana.com

July 14-August 1, Everywhere.

Festival of India

I don’t know how a mantra meditation parade works, but I’m willing to find out at 11 am on the 19th! The fest also boasts a yoga meldown, vegetarian feast, and South Asian bazaar.

http://www.feedyoursoul.to

July 18-19, Yonge Dundas Square and Centre Island

Frugal Fashion Week

West Queen West’s frugalistas unite to make some proverbial lemonade out of the economic lemons of our time. No fashion week is complete without a launch party, fashion shows, and more; this one is no exception.

http://frugalfashionweek.com

July 23-26

Live Green Toronto Festival

Stumped on how to live greener and better? Never fear! All the tools, products, services, and info you ever wanted to help you live more sustainably will be assembled at Y-D Square this weekend!

http://www.toronto.ca/greentorontofestival

July 25- July 26, Yonge Dundas Square

Young Canada is bringing the voices of the country's most exciting young artists to LE Gallery, loud and clear. Five artists are featured in the inaugural exhibition, Melanie Authier, Sarah Clifford-Rashotte, Kristi Malakoff, Amanda Nedham, and Katie Pretti. Their works are drastically different, but all possess one thing in common: their pieces harness amazing energy. The show aims to create a dialogue between new artists and the establishment.
July 8-Aug 2
LE Gallery , 1183 Dundas St. W.

For the next five days, The Stephen Bulger Gallery (1026 Queen St. W) will be open all night long-they're keeping the gallery open 24 hours a day, in celebration of their exhibition of Gerry Deiter's Give Peace A Chance. The photographs capture John Lennon and Yoko Ono's bed-in at a hotel in Montreal, and what better way to enjoy them then with a cup of cocoa at 4 in the morning, considering the images in the company of the silent streets and other insomniacs-then making your way home for a bed-in of your own. Imagine on vinyl, a book of Lao Tzu poetry, and some candles. Sounds like a lovely way to spend the night to us.

http://www.bulgergallery.com/

Shhh, are you listening? Are you thinking about what you're hearing? Maybe you should. A poet with a stutter and a band of merry musicians are coming together to make you think about words and sound. Vancouver poet Jordan Scott presents a performance that weaves together his work, music, and expectations to create an experience that is beyond words-elevating his poetry to a sensory level. Scott reads his poems in a separate location, and they are transmitted to the performance space in The Music Gallery, where improv musicians respond to his verses.

Often, music is used as therapy for people who stutter, to help create fluency in their speech. Scott's location, at an indoor swimming pool, further connects to that concept of fluidity. Water, like sound, is capable of both jarring inconsistency and soothing calm. This dichotomy is embodied by the disconnect between the poetic nature of Scott's thoughts and his inability to express them with the same rhythm. This audio is fed into an oscilloscope, and the images created are projected onto screens around the musicians. They take cues from these images, as well as spotlights controlled by a conductor. The result? A fascinating exploration of the work of an artist, confronting the process of creation, and how the creator effects how his work is perceived. Sure to be an intriguing evening.

Stutter : Featuring Poet Jordan Scott with The Element Choir.
Thursday May 21st at 7 PM at the Music Gallery 197 John St.
$10 at the Door ( Student and Starving Artist discount applies)

50 emerging Toronto artists have gathered their work for a unique exhibit in Parkdale at the Barbershop Gallery (1718 Queen St. W.) Presented by blogto.com, the exhibit was curated by some of the city's best Photobloggers, and the party, at 7 pm tonight, features some of the city's best DJs, including Dave Binette from Shit La Merde and Bang The Party's Gang of Two. The best part? All of the proceeds from sales of the photos go to Sketch, a fantastic non-profit that creates opportunities for street-involved young adults to engage in the arts. The photos are sure to be fantastic, and with $3 dranks and tiny, tiny cupcakes, the party is sure to be as well.

Thought-provoking, awe-inspiring, always intriguing. There's a plethora of excellent art happenings going on all over the city this weekend. Here, our guide to the highlights.

May 7-10

Discover OCAD+: 94th Annual Graduate Exhibition
Student art shows are charged with new ideas, experimental efforts, and unique vision. This collection is sure to be no disappointment.

Main Building and Sharp Centre for Design, 100 McCaul Street (at Dundas)
OCAD Student Gallery, 285 Dundas Street West (at McCaul)
Exhibition hours: Opening Night — Thursday, May 7, 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. (remarks at 7:30 p.m.)
Friday, May 8, 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 9 and Sunday, May 10, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

May 8th

Walnut Studios Open House
83 Walnut Ave. has been made into a stunning studio space, and this weekend they're opening the doors to the public. Come see the creation space of 40 artists, under one roof.
http://www.walnutstudios.com
Walnut Studios, 83 Walnut Ave. 8 pm

CONTACT does the West End
Some of the coolest CONTACT exhibits are hiding around corners in Parkdale, Ronces, and West Queen West. Explore a few of the shows we're most excited about:

Give Peace a Chance
Gerry Deiter photographed John Lennon and Yoko Ono's eight-day Bed-In in 1969, in Montreal. Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the protest for peace, these iconic photos will be on display for an eight-day, 24 hour exhibition.
Stephen Bulger Gallery, 1026 Queen St. W.
www.bulgergallery.com

In May (After October)
A collective of photographers immortalize political change, with a title taken from Russia's October Revolution of 1917, and the 1968 French student protests. The exhibit also speaks to our current hope for change: this international collection of works from various artists considers the possibility of finding new ways to say 'no.'
Gallery TPW, 56 Ossington Ave.
Tue-Sat 12-5pm

Still Water
Andrew Wright bends our expectations, creating photographic installations outside the boundaries of traditional photography.
Peak Gallery
23 Morrow Ave.
Tues-Sat, 11am-6pm.

Opening May 9th

Sin Island
Romeo Gongora, a Berlin-based Canadian/Guatemalan artist, will debut these new works, inspired by 19th Century Amsterdam. Anything involving a papier mache crocodile is worth showing up for.
Pari Nadimi Gallery, 254 Niagara St.
Wednesday-Saturday 11am-5pm. Performance 6 pm, May 9th.

by Heather Christie
June 2, 9, 16 at the ROM www.rom.on.ca 

Adding three new commandments to the top ten that Moses relayed from God to the Israelites would be like adding three new rail liquors to the sacred five: a controversial, though nonetheless thought-provoking endeavour.  But if making a good mixed drink is comparable to living a good life, should the rules be the same now as they were over 2000 years ago when the stone tablets were served up to people? 

That’s the question that the ROM’s lecture series The Three New Commandments, in honour of the museum’s upcoming exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls, is going to throw around and maybe even answer on three consecutive Tuesdays in June. 

To highlight the relevance of the ancient scrolls in modern day life, the ROM has invited provocative authours Christopher Hitchens, A.J. Jacobs and Camille Paglia to the museum to chat about the Ten Commandments and their impact and/or irrelevance to daily life. 

Christopher Hitchens began his career as a foreign correspondent in Cyprus and was closely aligned with the radical political left throughout much of his life as a writer.  He’s an atheist, anti-religious and wrote the controversial and acclaimed book God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. After claiming waterboarding was not torture, he volunteered to experience it for himself and quickly changed his mind.   

A.J. Jacobs wrote the book The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible in which he discovered that stoning adulterers was a rather socially difficult task.  Jacobs lives his life as a series of experiments which he then writes about. Some of these experiments have included outsourcing the minutiae his life to India, attempting to become the smartest man on earth, and living life with radical honesty. 

Camille Paglia is a religion-respecting atheist and a cultural studies, sex, and feminism aficionado.  She wrote the barnburner Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Neferiti to Emily Dickinson. While embracing homosexuality, fetishism, prostitution, and pornography, Paglia has been critical of the feminist movement stating that women within the movement have been typically ignorant of history, art, and science, teaching women to see themselves as victims. In other news, Paglia has openly condemned Michel Foucault for deliberately spreading HIV.  

While perhaps not as party-inducing as the liquor rail, the ROM’s lecture series will nonetheless get you knocking back and metabolizing the Big Questions, illuminated by these opinionated and lively speakers.

by Keri O'Meara
In his one man/one woman show “Will You B My FBF?” Toronto artist Jeff Szuc explores the “superficiality of online communities and friendships,” and leaves us wondering who the @#$* our Facebook friends really are. 

Months ago, Szuc appropriated an alter ego on Facebook; Roxane Xeres, a hot 22 year old woman who likes to ‘pawtee!!!!’ Roxane easily befriended over three hundred people-none of whom actually know her because she doesn’t actually exist. Following this, Szuc painted some of his/her new friends who stood out, “personalities expressed strongly enough that I felt they could be transferred to canvas.” While the concept provides an explicit commentary on 21st century friendships, Szuc says that “there is nothing exploitative or mocking in this project.” His portraits are a reflection of how his subjects portray themselves on Facebook.  

Jeff Szuc and Roxane Xeres: WILL U B MY FBF: Identity Theft: Portraits of People I Don't Know by Someone Who Doesn't Exist Using Facebook

Runs from April 14th to May 10th

O'Connor Gallery, 145 Berkeley St.
T: 416-921-7149
Open Tue-Thu; Sat 10:30am-6pm; Fri 10:30am-7pm; Sun 1pm-5pm