Gwen Benaway & Katherena Vermette | Wednesday, April 18, 2018

The Koffler Centre of the Arts and Ben McNally Books are thrilled to present Anishinaabe and Métis poet Gwen Benaway, in conversation with Métis writer and artist Katherena Vermette.

A trans girl poet described as “the spiritual love child of Tomson Highway and Anne Sexton,” Gwen Benaway has published two collections of poetry, Ceremonies for the Dead and Passage. Katherena Vermette is the award-winning, bestselling author of North End Love Songs and The Break. Vermette’s most recent book, Pemmican Wars – a sci-fi graphic novel that follows a 13-year-old girl who discovers her Métis history through time travel – is the first volume in the young adult series A Girl Called Echo.

kofflerarts.org | koffler.digital

In association with her solo exhibition at the Koffler Gallery, Esther Shalev-Gerz discusses notions of portraiture, representation and testimonial within the context of her artistic practice based in active dialogue with diverse communities across many decades. In a candid conversation with curator Mona Filip, Shalev-Gerz also shares insights into her conceptual investigations of the ways in which individuals and societies construct ideas of cultural identity, democracy, memory and history.

In conjunction with his solo exhibition at the Koffler Gallery, Over a distance between one and many, Raymond Boisjoly discusses this new body of work in an afternoon conversation with guest curator Sarah Robayo Sheridan. Contextualizing Boisjoly’s artistic practice, the talk will address notions of inter-cultural transmission, Indigeneity and transformation as well as the unsteady role of imaging and communication technologies. For more information, visit koffler.digital

Through their distinctive vision and creative processes, artists can carve out a space to ask the most difficult questions and explore our deepest fears. The anxiety of facing death and the unknown are at the core of human experience, leaving profound marks on the ways in which we construct our reality and shape society, politics and culture. In a conversation moderated by psychoanalyst Dr. David Dorenbaum, visual artists Nicole Collins, Erika DeFreitas and Tim Whiten discuss the role art plays as they grapple with these questions and their psychological weight.

In the words of the great magician Harry Kellar, “the end of all magic is to feed with mystery the human mind, which dearly loves mystery.” The same can be argued to be a fundamental purpose of art, which often seeks to entrance the viewer through surprising encounters that open new perspectives unto reality, life and ideas. In conjunction with the Koffler Gallery exhibition, Architecture Parallax: Through the Looking Glass, visual artist Alexander Pilis and magician David Ben (co-founder and artistic director of Magicana) discuss the role illusion and staging as well as optics and physics play in their respective practices as magic and art entwine. For more information, visit koffler.digital

Author Matti Friedman joins photographer Rita Leistner at the Two Penny Cafe at Artscape Youngplace to discuss their interdisciplinary and socially engaged approaches to conflict journalism. Moderated by the Koffler's producer of public and literary programs, Mary Anderson. For more information, visit koffler.digital

In conversation with Ben McNally, Nathan Englander – Pulitzer Prize-finalist and the best-selling author of For the Relief of Unbearable Urges – will discuss his latest novel, Dinner at the Centre of the Earth. A political thriller that unfolds in the highly charged territory of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the novel pivots on the complex relationship between a secret prisoner and his guard. For more information, visit kofflerarts.org

The Koffler Centre of the Arts and Ben McNally Books present an evening with Nicole Krauss in conversation with Ami Sands Brodoff. 

Nicole speaks candidly about the inspiration for and artistic process behind her newest novel, Forest Dark, which interweaves the stories of two disparate individuals--an older lawyer and a young novelist--whose transcendental search leads them to the same Israeli desert.

For more information, visit koffler.digital

Beginning at the Bookmark for Michael Ondaatje’s IN THE SKIN OF A LION, Lazaro’s Dream is an audio walk like none other. History and fiction are artfully assembled into a surreal dream-scape that carries the listener along from the east side of the Bloor Street Viaduct, through part of the Danforth neighbour and down to Riverdale Park. The pieces, written by Jules Lewis, unfolds slowly like a wandering hallucination. Memories of Toronto are fused together with original fiction and archival reimagining, leaving the listener casually drifting through a hundred years of regional history. Scattered throughout the walk, fragments of Ondaatje’s iconic text seem to float up to the surface of perception, guiding the listener through the murky world of Lazaro’s Dream.

The audio walk asks you to begin in Union Station by the VIA Arrival/Departure board in the Grand Hall and end in the St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood. Download the audio to your device, and bring your favourite headphones!

Toronto’s streets are a living thing. They change and evolve over time, and each one tells a story of where we’ve been, and where we are going.

Passing Through is an audio walk that takes you on a journey of Toronto´s streets, discovering the legacy of their history and innovations for their future. You will walk from Union Station to St. Lawrence Market, gently guided by an artful, imaginative narration that is both beautiful and exciting.

Passing Through is presented in partnership by The City of Toronto Transportation Street Art Program, and the Koffler Centre of the Arts. It is produced by Accounts and Records.