We’re halfway through Summer but nowhere near done with the season’s events. Check out the places to be and the things to see below—and make sure to join us at 187 Augusta for the Diasporasian Futures Final Showcase on August 3rd!

 

1: Go Somewhere! Japanese Art Tour
The Go Somewhere! Japanese Art Tour is a series of exhibitions and events showcasing the works of five female Japanese artists, offering a unique chance for Canadians to see a diverse collection of art from across the world. This project also aims to highlight the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Canada and Japan. Featured artists include Tomoko Aso, Akiko Takeuchi, Kurumi Wakaki, Mami Yonekura, and Tsubomi Yonekura, all of whom work in different mediums and have their own unique styles. All 5 artists, for whom this tour marks their North American debut, will be in attendance along with Go Somewhere! Japanese Art Tour organizer Tony Girardin, an Award-winning Canadian filmmaker. The Toronto leg of the tour will be held at The Japanese Paper Place; for more information, be sure to visit the website!

1-25: Tessar Lo: ‘a window is also a field,’
Presented by Patel Gallery, Tessar Lo’s solo exhibition ‘a window is also a field’ is a showcase of multivalent encounters subject to time and place - the window a flat plane that provides a framed view of a wider outside, simultaneously confined and liberated - when this physical view is combined with visions and memory of secret worlds, an overlap of myriad form, prospect, and possibility appear and disappear - asking us to consider what lies beyond the frame. Lo creates intimate, yet expansive narratives and spaces that weave in and out of linear timelines by utilizing recurring symbols and imagery. His works converge contemporary, historic, and imaginative cultural and aesthetic influences through processes that value organic discovery, sincere expression, and transformation. Lo’s work has been exhibited internationally in Paris, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Barcelona, Tokyo, in multiple cities across the United States, and in Canada at the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of Ontario. He is currently represented by Jaski Art Gallery in Amsterdam and Patel Gallery in Toronto.

3: Diasporasian Futures Final Showcase
Join us at 187 Augusta as we celebrate our month-long incubator residency, featuring art explorations and artist talks by our Art-Making stream participants, and project pitches and presentations from our Space-Making stream participants! We’ll be serving snacks and drinks, with lounging in the park across the street on the day’s agenda. Come through!

8: Qawwali Music in Contemporary Pakistan With Umair Jaffar
Join Umair Jaffar, a cultural anthropologist, performing arts curator, and producer, at Aga Khan Museum as he explores the evolution of qawwali, a devotional genre of music thought to have originated in Sufi shrines. Today, qawwali music is increasingly performed outside of its sacred milieu — at weddings, corporate events, and social gatherings. How does this align with its sacred origins? Is the soul of qawwali fading? Jaffar, known for his work in documenting and presenting traditional performing art forms of Pakistan, delves into to these questions and unravels the various interpretations of qawwali music in contemporary Pakistan.

14-29: A Quiet Mind II - solo exhibition by Emma Lau
A solo exhibition by Emma Lau held at Toronto Centre for the Arts, A Quiet Mind II showcases Lau’s paintings from the past few years, all of which manifest the artist’s experiences in meditation. In 2010, Lau received tutelage from Buddhist meditation masters who taught her how to meditate at a deep level. The subsequent artwork is an attempt at translating her meditation practice into fine art. Art-making occurs immediately following meditation practice, and there are marked shifts in decision-making that occur after the act of meditation. More information about the artist, her work, and the exhibition can be found on her website.

This list was compiled by Aliya Ghare