A Week of Culture

Last week, Marcia and I attended three cultural events around the City.
The first one was at Daniels Spectrum on Dundas Street East. 
This new venue was rebuilt as part of the Regent Park development project.
Not only is it a community centre, but a work space, gallery and an exhibit space.

Earlier this month, I acquired free tickets for "Fractured Land" and "Keepers of the Water", which was part of the "Water Docs".
So, on Tuesday, we braved the rain, and enjoyed two documentaries. Afterwards, there was some free appetizers for the film goers.

On Wednesday, we had lunch at the New Yorker Deli, and then walked over to the Gardiner Museum. I had a MAP (Museum and Arts Pass) from the Toronto Library, so this visit was free. 
Since we arrived just before 2 o'clock, we were able to take advantage of the FREE guided tour.

The exhibit was called "Beneath the Surface".
According to our guide, there was a flood that exposed a host of artifacts on the banks of the Rio Grande Coclé in Panama around 1940.
Some of these artifacts were an display at the Museum.

Then on Thursday, we enjoyed a free documentary called "Painted Land: In Search of the Group of Seven", at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema.

This film chronicled the travels by train, canoe and by foot of four people in Northern Ontario who searched for the exact spots where some of the Group of Seven painters (Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, J.E.H. MacDonald, R.H. Thomson, Arthur Lismer and A.J. Carson) had stopped to sketch the Canadian landscapes.
This is the poster from the film. 

The painting is titled "Solemn Land, Algoma" by J.E.H. MacDonald.
Well, I think we had our fill of "Culture" for this week.
The nice part was not needing to spend a lot of money for our outings.

 

The Aga Kham Museum

The Aga Khan Museum opened in September of 2014, and both Marcia and I decided we needed to visit this new place.
This is an aerial view of the cultural centre located in Don Mills.

Once again the Toronto Library gave us passes (MAP) to the Museum.
The building itself was designed by Fumihiko Maki, while the surrounding garden was designed by Vladimir Djurovic.

"The architect (F. Maki) used light as his inspiration by ensuring that light was ever-present in the building".
                    Quote is from the Aga Khan web site.

The landscape designer, on the other hand, based the garden on a traditional Persian and Mughal (a four part garden).
Beyond the edges of the formal garden is a park area with Silver Birch, Magnolia and Aspens, to name a few.
A lot of the shrubs and plants are favourites of our local birds and will attract butterflies, as well as honey bees.

 
 This will give you an idea of the Museum and the reflecting pond.

Inside, we were greeted by a chatty Muslim woman, who gave us some idea of the current exhibits that we could see.

This is a picture I took of a huge Persian rug in one of the exhibit rooms.

Here we have a beggar's bowl (Kashkul).
It is a beautifully engraved ceremonial object with dragon heads at each end.
It was used by wandering mystics, who had renounced all of their worldly possessions and subsisted only on alms.

I tried to get a picture of these two ceramic birds, but it did not turn out.
So I nabbed it from cyberspace.

All in all we were suitably impressed with not only the artifacts and the building, but also the surrounding landscape. We both agreed that we should visit again, since they do change the exhibits, much like other museums.

They also do tours (for a price), Check the web site for any more info.
 

The Market Gallery

Last weekend, my friend Marcia and I attended the opening reception for an exhibit at The Market Gallery called "Tunnel Vision: The Story of Toronto's Subway".

This particular venue has exhibits put on by the City, and they are free!

The exhibit was about the digging and planning of the TTC.
There were photographs, maps, plans and artifacts (including someone's collection of transfers).

Guest curators were Adam Zhelko and Robert Lubinski. 
Andy Byford and Steve Munro were also in attendance.
Mr. Byford spoke about the future projects for Toronto's transit system.
After the introductions and speeches, we were invited to the Miele Kitchen on the second floor for refreshments,

Here at the south end of this kitchen, is a view of the market below.
So I took the opportunity, and snapped a few photos of the bright lights and colourful banners of the stalls below.

Afterwards, we went down to the Esplanade and wandered through the "Farmers' Market", just south of the St. Lawrence market, prime.

This is a huge pile of Kale, on display, just inside the Farmers' Market.

The York Mechanic's Institute

At the North-East corner of Church and Adelaide Streets sits a heritage plaque:

 

This was not a former automobile garage, nor was it a training facility for mechanics. It was more a place for teaching new methods of manufacturing and craftsmanship.
It sponsored lectures, held classes and operated a lending library.
This was one of the many steps that eventually led to the present Toronto Library System.
It wasn't until the early 1900's that borrowers were allowed to retrieve books for themselves, instead of asking the staff.
Over the years, the City received enough money from Andrew Carnegie to build ten libraries.
As well, the Library has been the recipient of a number of private collections from a few philanthropists.
One such gift was over 4,000 pictures and pictorial material from John Ross Robertson. This Toronto resident was the founder of the Toronto Telegram, and a fervent advocate of amateur hockey. There is a plaque in front of his home on Sherbourne Street and there is a Public School named after him.
Another donation came from a British librarian back in 1934 (the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books). As well, the is a Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection housed on the second floor of the Lillian H. Smith Library. This collection was donated by Judith Merrill, a fiction writer herself. It is a non-circulating research collection of over 72,000 items.
Her life story is something that I should blog about in the near future.
While the world was celebrating the arrival of the Millennium, the Toronto Public Library received a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This allowed the library to purchase 400 internet workstations.
On going sponsor-ships from companies such as the Toronto Star and Toronto Dominion Bank, have allowed the Toronto Reference Library to display some of their collections.

Royal Ontario Museum Rotunda

The intricate designs in the mosaic ceiling of the ROM are probably overlooked by most visitors.
I happened to be on an "Insider's Tour" one afternoon, when the guide stopped to point out the various symbols that adorn the museum's rotunda.

The writing says "That All Men Shall Know His Work".
The rotunda was designed by the ROM architects as part of the 1932 addition to the main building.
Italian craftsmen from Connolly Marble and Tile, worked for eight months to assemble and install the tiles from more than 4,000 12inch by 18 inch Venetian glass.

It was meant to reflect the breadth of the collections contained within.
Above the arches, and in the four corners of the base, are representations of four different styles of architecture:

• Mesopotamian ziggurat
• Egyptian pylon or gateway
• Classic Greek temple
• Mayan temple

 

Between the arches, are four panels; each containing symbols of the early culture.
Some examples are:

• A bison - reminding us of the early cave drawings
•  The winged Lion of St Mark (from Venice)
• The Sacred White Elephant, from India
• The Egyptian Falcon, grasping the symbol for the fullness of Life.

 In total, the symbolism of the dome's pictures suggests a unity of spirit for all work through the ages.