Urban Planner: November 18, 2009

By Alison Horn

Urban Planner is Torontoist’s guide to what’s on in Toronto, published every weekday morning, and in a weekend edition Friday afternoons. If you have an event you’d like considered, email all of its details—as well as images, if you’ve got any—to [email protected].

Photo of Feathers #2, a mixed-media work available at the Whodunit? Mystery Art Sale. Courtesy of OCAD.

ART: Art lovers will be wondering “who art thou?” at the annual Whodunit? Mystery Art Sale, featuring artwork donated by OCAD students, faculty, alumni, and established artists. Hundreds of pieces will be available for sale, all the same size (5½” x 7½”) and the same price (seventy-five dollars). The catch is that the names of artists are withheld from buyers until after the piece is purchased, adding an element of mystery and surprise. The public preview starts today in person and online and runs through Friday evening, leading up to what promises to be a day of frantic buying at Saturday’s sale. (Torontoist will also have more from Whodunit? later this week.) Following today’s preview opening, OCAD is hosting the Gala Preview tonight. The gala will feature a silent auction of small-scale mystery art and a live auction of full-scale work from a group of local artists, many of them OCAD alumni and medal winners. While previewing works available in the public sale, guests will also enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at tonight’s event. Get prepared for some holiday shopping this weekend (even if it’s for yourself) while knowing that you are supporting OCAD, with proceeds from this year’s sale going towards the purchase of specialized equipment for emerging artists. Ontario College of Art and Design (100 McCaul Street), public preview 12–6 p.m., FREE; preview gala 6:30–10 p.m., $150 (available online).
DANCE: As part of Harbourfront Centre’s NextSteps dance series, the Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts (HCA) Dance Theatre Company presents the Toronto premiere of Displacement, a multi-media collaboration by three Canadian artists. The show, which runs through Saturday, brings together choreographer and dancer Robert Glumbek, visual artist Vessna Perunovich, and composer Christos Hatzis. Sharing the common experience of immigration, the artists explore their unique perspectives on this theme through contemporary dance, art, and music. The show will employ seven dancers, three projectors, and four live musicians from the Penderecki String Quartet. Fleck Dance Theatre, Harbourfront Centre (207 Queens Quay West), 8 p.m., $35 ($30 for students and seniors).
MUSIC: Why sit at home strumming your uke all by your lonesome when you can roll out some plinky ditties with a pub full of other ukulele players tonight? The Corktown Ukulele Jam is going down at its usual time and place—Wednesday evenings at the Dominion Pub—with a Beatles theme night. The evening will start with a workshop that is open to uke players of all ability levels, followed by an open mic session of Beatles tunes. With the approaching anniversary of George Harrison’s death, we’re hoping that someone channels Paul McCartney and plays a version of “Something,” as McCartney has been known to do with the cherished ukulele given to him by Harrison himself. The jam organizers suggest this site for learning some Beatles tunes on the ukulele, perhaps the most comprehensive collection of tabs (with audio and visual support) out there. Dominion Pub (500 Queen Street East); workshop 8 p.m., open mic 9:30 p.m.; FREE.
PERFORMANCE: The Koffler Centre of the Arts presents About the Oranges, a dark comedy set in Israel about a man who refuses to give up on his dreams and arrives for a job interview just a little bit late (thirty-five days to be exact) as the result of a suicide bombing. It is a provocative, comic tragedy that looks at conflict in the Middle East and explores trauma and the aftermath of the survivors’ experiences. Described as controversial yet honest and hilarious, this one-man show, written and performed by Robbie Gringras, has been performed for audiences around the world with mixed (mostly good) reviews. Gringras, who immigrated from Britain to Israel twelve years ago, teaches theatre at Tel Aviv University. Six Degrees (2335 Yonge Street); doors at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m.; $15 in advance (available online), $20 at the door.