Check out these events this coming weekend! For 20% off Books & Brunch events, for Cecil Foster’s event use code: DIASPORASATURDAY and for Sean Michael’s event use code: DIASPORASUNDAY.
For full listings of events visit here.
Thank you to everybody who came out and all our participants of the 905 Road Show!
The Road Show was a hit, and we loved venturing out to the 905 neighbourhoods, which were all so welcoming. Our first stop was in Brampton at Davis Campus, Sheridan College. The evening was full of talent with readings from Ian Williams and Sarah Tsiang, including students from the Creative Writing Program; musical entertainment by guitarist Jarek Dabrowski and Musical Theatre students who performed Broadway numbers; on the spot art by visual artist Tazeen Qayyum; stand-up comedian Zabrina Chevannes brought the house down with the final performance.
The most unique aspect of the evening was seeing Tazeen create her art piece in real time projected onto the screen onstage alongside everybody’s performances. We were all impressed by the flawless performances and the upbeat energy of the performers and audience.
The next stop was at Guilty Dog Coffee House in Mississauga for an intimate gathering of writers and poets, as well as lightening up the mood at the end with some laughter brought to us c/o Zabrina Chevannes. We appreciated how the writers, poets and musician Robert Ross set the stage by sharing the inspiration behind the pieces they’ve decided to share with us. Anupa Mistry took it a step further by inviting her brave parents to the show as she read a non-fiction piece about her teenage years and her parents’ influence. Luckily, the story was very heart-warming and revealed that her parents are individuals separate from the many titles they carry.
Our final destination was in Newmarket at Covernotes coffee and tea house. We, along with the audience members, thoroughly enjoyed the intimate setup of coffee houses, which provides a warm, welcoming and cozy feel like you’re being entertained in the privacy of your own home.
Visual artist Henna Kim started the evening off by sharing one of her art pieces from her collection I Come to the Garden Alone (2009).
Local writer Mollie Coles Tonn did a fantastic job hosting the evening at one of her favourite spots in Newmarket. Anna Yin and Keith Garebian returned for another night reciting their very touching and powerful poetry. Spoken word artist Sheniz Janmohamed composed a piece about her frustrations of having to answer the question of “where are you from? ” which she shared showing that she comes from a lot of different places: Canada, Kenya, India; and that there is no simple one answer destination. The evening was broken off into segments with readings and musical performances by musician Steve Porter and grade 11 student Kyle Sarjeant.
The combination of different art forms coming together was a real treat and we hope to bring this format to other neighbourhoods in the future.
Earlier this fall, we participated in the highly successful Scotiabank Nuit Blanche premiering our installation Lexicon. Thousands of Torontonians dropped by and wrote poems based on a twenty-word lexicon taken from TOK: Writing the New Toronto. Audiences were engaged and had fun with our interactive installation, where people stepped into the spotlight and shared their personal works.
Building on this momentum, we will be bringing this project to a community near you!
Lexicon is a community cabaret, where we are inviting patrons to use the same twenty words that gave rise to the poems created at Scotiabank Nuit Blanche to co-produce—alongside spoken word artist Andrea Thompson, musician David Celia and actors Beryl Bain and Ash Knight—a one-of-a-kind multi-media presentation about how language informs our sense of community.
Hosted by Rhoma Spencer.
When: Wednesday, November 20; doors open at 6:15 pm
Where: Daniels Spectrum, Artscape Lounge, 585 Dundas St. E.
Cost: Free!
When: Thursday, November 28; doors open at 6:30 pm
Where: S. Walter Stewart Library, Auditorium, 170 Memorial Park Ave.
Cost: Free!
When: Thursday, December 5; doors open at 7 pm
Where: Assembly Hall, 1 Colonel Samuel Smith Park Dr.
Cost: Free!
Actors at the events appear with the permission of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association.
On Saturday, October 5th from sunset to sunrise, we celebrated contemporary art at Scotiabank Nuit Blanche. And, boy, was it an exhilarating night with thousands of Torontonians roaming the streets to revel in artistic expression.
We opened the doors at the majestic Metropolitan United Church located in the heart of Toronto by Queen St. E. and Church St. Our installation, Lexicon, invited audience members to share short poems about the city using words taken directly from our anthology series TOK: Writing the New Toronto. We saw over 15,000 people come through and share what they love, hate, feel about this diverse metropolis.
Throughout the night, participants were surprised by performances that include spoken word, theatre and music, where performers interacted with the audience who were invited to share the stage. We were delighted by the brave guests who stepped up to the open-mic and read their own poems or others’ poems whom they felt inspired by.
All in all, it was a fantastic and successful night where Torontonians let us into their creative side and opened up collectively speaking in one poetic voice reflecting the mosaic culture this great city has to offer.
Early morning when everyone has finally cleared out, and the church is once again peaceful.
Are you ready for a full night of contemporary art from sunset to sunrise? DD’s pleased to announce that we will be participating in this year’s Scotiabank Nuit Blanche. Our installation Lexicon invites audiences to create a special vocabulary that evokes the city that we live in through poetry using a specially selected list of words taken from our anthology series TOK.
Participants will get a chance to contribute their work, read others’ works, as well as see it all come to life throughout the night as artists perform original pieces that include improv, spoken word and music.
When: October 5-6; 7 pm–7 am
Where: Metropolitan United Church, 56 Queen Street East
Cost: Free!
Have you ever wanted to attend a dinner party with some of Toronto’s most innovative poets? Share a glass of prosecco and debate the merits of lyric poetry or the perfect line break? DD would like to invite you to be a guest at the Poet’s Dinner Party, a special intimate dinner series featuring readings, performances and moderated conversations with some of the city’s most creative people. Each night guests will also be entertained by a live acoustic performance by Jarek Dabrowski.
When: Thursday, September 26; doors open at 6:30 pm
Who: Sara Peters and Hoa Nguyen, moderated by Meaghan Strimas.
Where: Grano restaurant, 2035 Yonge Street
Cost: $50; includes dinner, a book and glass of prosecco
When: Thursday, October 10; doors open at 6:30 pm
Who: Ann Shin and Linda Besner, moderated by Dani Couture.
Where: Grano restaurant, 2035 Yonge Street
Cost: $50; includes dinner, a book and glass of prosecco
When: Thursday, November 7; doors open at 6:30 pm
Who: Ian Williams and Michael Lista, moderated by Damian Rogers.
Where: Grano restaurant, 2035 Yonge Street
Cost: $50; includes dinner, a book and glass of prosecco
Why not attend all three dinners for $120? (That’s a 20% savings and priceless conversations and merriment!)
To purchase tickets online for September 26, click here or October 10, click here or November 7, click here, or even better yet, for all three evenings click here.
Hope to see you there!
