Toronto may be getting colder but that doesn’t mean you should abandon your November event bucket-list! Wait, you didn’t make one? No problemo, we got you covered—as always!

 

Nov 3: QAY Presents: When You’re Ready
As a program for East and Southeast Asian youth (ages 18-29), When You’re Ready is designed to create and strengthen community bonds and provide a space to discuss and share stories related to being queer and/or trans within the Asian community. The program will also explore topics such as anti-oppression, intersectionality, chosen family, anti-blackness within the Asian community, shadeism, and how to dismantle oppressive social structures. To learn more about this important and limited event, be sure to visit their Facebook page!

Nov 3-12: Women in Spirit: Solo Exhibition of Indigenous Artist Wabimeguil
Women in Spirit presents the solo exhibition of Cree painter Wabimeguil “White Feather” (aka Betty Albert) at Artusiasm. Wabimeguil is from the west coast of James Bay and her Cree upbringing, which included traditions like the Sundance, the Sweatlodge, Shake Tent and Cedar Bath ceremonies, has greatly influenced her artistic practice. In particular, her work focuses on women’s spirituality and the Grandmother Spirit she encountered in a dream many years ago. A teacher, mentor, healer, and now an Elder within her community, Wabimeguil has been painting for 30 years while finding success in Canada, the States, and particularly within the James Bay Cree communities of the north.

Nov 9: Festival of Arabic Music & Arts presents Origins
The Canadian Arabic Orchestra partners with poet and singer Hassan Tamim to bring you Origins—a program fusing the music of Indigenous Canada with that of the Levant to showcase the similarities among people across the divide of continents, culture, and religion. Dance performances will fuse Arabic and Indigenous traditions, while vocal performances will include Indigenous artist Laura Grizzlypaws singing alongside members of the Canadian Arabic Orchestra. To add to the mystical tone of the event, twirling Darvishes will perform intermittently throughout what promises to be a magical night.

Nov 9-18: Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival
Reel Asian brings together contemporary cinema created by East, South, and Southeast Asian artists in Canada, the U.S., and the Asian diaspora for Canada’s largest Asian film festival. The festival acts as a unique platform for Asian media artists and their work, promoting the growing interest for Asian cinema in the North. As pan-Asian artists ourselves, we can’t wait to check out this super awesome event!

Nov 11: Annual Sumi-e Exhibition of Oriental Brush Paintings
The Annual Exhibition of Oriental Brush Paintings at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre features an immense collection of East Asian paintings contributed by local artists. Besides viewing the exhibited work, guests are invited to meet the artists, purchase paintings, attend demonstrations, and enjoy a relaxing break in the tea room. If you’re an aficionado of East Asian art or curious to learn more, this is a must on your event list.

Nov 15-18: Regent Park Film Festival
As a staple of the community, Regent Park’s annual film festival is the only free event of its kind in Toronto, and is dedicated to showcasing “local and international independent works relevant to people from all walks of life, with a focus on inviting those of us from low income and public housing communities.” Films that break stereotypes and show the complexity of the human experience are on the menu! Most importantly, the festival aims to unite the neighborhood’s diverse communities in service of enjoying and engaging with film as an artistic medium and vehicle for change.

Nov 19: Asian Zine Fair
This will be Toronto’s very first Asian zine fair and what we hope will become an annual tradition! Taking place at the Tranzac Club, the fair was created to provide Asian artists with space to share their work and promote their artistic voice within the community. Accompanying the rad zines and even radder artists will be live performances by talented local singers and stand-up comedians, and tarot-card and astrology readings. We’ll see you and your wallets there, friends!