What to see, do, read and hear in Toronto this November
Including a made-in-Canada holiday shopping party and the $15.5-million renovation of the Gardiner Museum
An Indigenous art show that stars the land as its own canvas
Back in the ’60s and ’70s, the earthwork art movement rejected the easy commodification of paintings and illustrations by creating huge, landscape-spanning works: spirals of rocks across shallow lakes, huge slabs of stone covering hillsides and temples to the stars in desert mountains. Now, a new exhibition is critically reassessing this movement through an Indigenous lens, one that conceives of earthwork as less about monument-building and more about stewardship of the land. Curated by professor and Anishinaabe visual artist Mikinaak Migwans, the exhibition examines land defence movements, plant cultivation and prescribed burns as heretofore unrecognized forms of art. September 4 to December 20, Art Museum at the University of Toronto
Related: These paintings being auctioned off by the Hudson’s Bay Company will incite bidding wars
A made-in-Canada holiday shopping party
The holidays are coming, and that means shopping. For one special Saturday, the Bentway will host more than 140 Canadian artists and crafty types hawking art, photography, sculptures, jewellery and more, all looking for a home in boxes with bows. Also there: food vendors and a DJ to bring the party. November 1, the Bentway
A play about loneliness and many, many boxes
There’s always been something quietly unsettling about Amazon’s name for its distribution warehouses, and this Obie Award–winning play dives right into those vaguely dystopian vibes. Fulfillment Centre follows a folk singer who takes a job at one such place, where she becomes acquainted with a young manager, his girlfriend and a drifter. Fulfillment is hard to find as the characters struggle to get their payloads—both emotional and physical—to their destinations. November 16 to December 7, Coal Mine Theatre
Related: “Canadian comedy is some of the best in the world”—Comedian Vic Michaelis wants to be a hometown kid
An anniversary concert for an iconic movie
In addition to its famous theme song, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” 1995’s Toy Story featured a whole original score of orchestral bangers. The universe that film spawned is turning 30, and to mark the occasion, Canada’s Filmharmonique Orchestra will play Randy Newman’s classic score live as the movie is shown on the big screen above. Montreal wunderkind Francis Choinière will be conducting. November 21 to 22, Meridian Hall
A comedy show that doesn’t skimp on drama
Hot on the heels of her stand-up special Father, in which she spins growing up as an undocumented immigrant into comedy gold, Atsuko Okatsuka is bringing her signature bowl haircut to town IRL. November 8 to 9, Meridian Hall
A new vessel for Toronto’s ceramic treasures
Like the clay-fired pieces it holds, the Gardiner has been spending some time in the oven. It went through an extensive $15.5-million renovation over the past year and is reopening much transformed. There’s a new focus on Indigenous history, both with the addition of the museum’s first-ever gallery of Indigenous ceramics and in the design of the building itself. The museum’s main hall is now structured around Oneida architect Chris Cornelius’s huge walk-in sculpture, Yelákhwa. From there, the halls branch off into exhibitions of ceramics both modern and ancient, plus a clay studio where visitors can muddy their hands and watch professionals at work. Gardiner Museum, November 6
Anthony Milton is a freelance journalist based in Toronto specializing in long-form magazine writing. He previously worked as an assistant editor at Toronto Life, where he launched the Front Row newsletter. He regularly contributes all sorts of stories to the magazine, including deep dives on sports, business and housing as well as short-form commentary on our ever-changing city, from its obsession with cherry blossoms to its maddening NIMBYism. His work has also appeared in Maclean’s, Ricochet, TVO, the Trillium and more.
