A wildlife photography exhibit, a holiday craft fair, and five other things to do in Toronto this week
A wildlife photography exhibit
1If you need a break from the endless bad-news cycle, head to the ROM. The museum’s current exhibit showcases snaps of stunning landscapes and animals caught in acts of survival or affection. They’re all entrants in Wildlife Photographer of the Year, the world’s longest-running and most prestigious photography competition. The shots in the exhibition were selected from thousands of submissions, and categories include urban wildlife, animal portraits and behaviour of birds. November 23 to March 29, Royal Ontario Museum.
A crafty shopping event
2More than 800 artisans will crowd the Enercare Centre this weekend for the holiday shopping frenzy at the One of a Kind Show. Show-goers will go down a rabbit hole of crafts, including leopard-print baby onesies, butter chicken–flavoured popcorn, neon dinosaur succulent pots, multi-coloured chocolate truffles and large-format prints of a wily raccoon driving the 506 streetcar. November 21 to December 1, Enercare Centre.
A seedy exhibit
3Art In Use is a series of exhibits at MOCA that aims to show the ways museums can play a direct role in social and political life. In this installation, Dornith Doherty, an internationally exhibited artist whose work focuses on environmental issues, is exhibiting x-ray images of 5,000 seeds—guests are invited to swap the images with envelopes containing seeds from common Canadian crops (soy, beans, corn, native wild plants, etc.). For the duration of the five-month exhibit, visitors will see how the display physically changes and afterwards, the seeds will find a new home at the Toronto Botanical Seed Library. November 20 to May 3, MOCA.
A night of throwback hits
4This week, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame celebrates influential Toronto songs from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s with Decades, a musical journey through Toronto’s late–20th century musical landscape. Songs on the program include Maestro Fresh Wes’s “Let Your Backbone Slide,” Mandala’s “Opportunity,” and Parachute Club’s “Rise Up,” all of which will be added to the official canon. November 21, Phoenix Concert Theatre.
A collection of short films
5If Netflix gives you decision-making anxiety, then a program of short films might soothe your soul. The 2019 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour features seven films from Canada and the U.S., as well as Sweden, Hong Kong and Estonia. The mix includes Brotherhood, a film about an estranged son who mysteriously returns home to his family, and Fast Horse, a Canadian documentary that examines the Blackfoot tradition of bareback horse racing. November 20, TIFF Bell Lightbox.
A Black Mirror homage
6We’ve gotten to the point where our apps and gadgets not only document our memories, but amplify them. Tap: Ex Augmented Opera, a new production from Tapestry Opera, is about Elysium, a Silicon Valley app that reimagines the afterlife as a curation of your best memories. The experimental opera challenges our notions of reality and explores the distorted ways we reminisce and re-experience our memories online—some hurt, some haunt, others change as time goes on. November 20 to 23, Sidewalk Labs.
An award-winning narrative
7Earlier this year, the French filmmaker Mati Diop won the Jury Grand Prize at Cannes for her debut film, Atlantics, becoming the first black woman to receive an award in the festival’s 72-year history. The film premieres in Toronto this week, following two young lovers in Dakar, Senegal, as they embark on a doomed relationship: Ada will soon marry another man, while Souleiman has to leave Dakar to seek financial opportunities elsewhere. November 22 to 28, TIFF Bell Lightbox.
. For the duration of the five-month exhibit, visitors will see how the display physically changes and afterwards, the seeds will find a new home at the Toronto Botanical Seed Library. November 20 to May 3, MOCA.
A night of throwback hits
4This week, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame celebrates influential Toronto songs from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s with Decades, a musical journey through Toronto's late–20th century musical landscape. Songs on the program include Maestro Fresh Wes’s "Let Your Backbone Slide," Mandala’s "Opportunity," and Parachute Club’s "Rise Up," all of which will be added to the official canon. November 21, Phoenix Concert Theatre.
A collection of short films
5If Netflix gives you decision-making anxiety, then a program of short films might soothe your soul. The 2019 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour features seven films from Canada and the U.S., as well as Sweden, Hong Kong and Estonia. The mix includes Brotherhood, a film about an estranged son who mysteriously returns home to his family, and Fast Horse, a Canadian documentary that examines the Blackfoot tradition of bareback horse racing. November 20, TIFF Bell Lightbox.
A Black Mirror homage
6We’ve gotten to the point where our apps and gadgets not only document our memories, but amplify them. Tap: Ex Augmented Opera, a new production from Tapestry Opera, is about Elysium, a Silicon Valley app that reimagines the afterlife as a curation of your best memories. The experimental opera challenges our notions of reality and explores the distorted ways we reminisce and re-experience our memories online—some hurt, some haunt, others change as time goes on. November 20 to 23, Sidewalk Labs.
An award-winning narrative
7Earlier this year, the French filmmaker Mati Diop won the Jury Grand Prize at Cannes for her debut film, Atlantics, becoming the first black woman to receive an award in the festival’s 72-year history. The film premieres in Toronto this week, following two young lovers in Dakar, Senegal, as they embark on a doomed relationship: Ada will soon marry another man, while Souleiman has to leave Dakar to seek financial opportunities elsewhere. November 22 to 28, TIFF Bell Lightbox.){kind=link}