Today, Toronto History Museums announced new programming for Earth Month that explores sustainability and how humans interact with the environment. The new programming includes free weekend activities, workshops and virtual panel discussions that focus on nature, sustainability, refashioning and urban farming.
More details are available on the City’s Festivals & Events Calendar: https://www.toronto.ca/explore
Programming will include:
Stitch in Time: Interactive Sewing and Visible Mending Workshop (April 9 and 10, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
Fort York National Historic Site presents this drop-in sewing workshop on the basics of sustainable clothing repair. Participants will work on their own projects or help make a collaborative Pride Flag from recycled materials for display in June. Free with general admission.
Nature and Sustainability Weekend (April 16 and 17)
Participants will experience and learn about the interconnection between humans and nature and how human actions on the environment impact future generations at the following events:
• Colborne Lodge: In a two-hour tour, attendees will explore public artworks in High Park and the ways in which these works respond to the natural landscape.
• Fort York: Tours will delve into the impacts of human activity on the local environments and geography and share compelling first-hand accounts of the changing landscape.
• Montgomery’s Inn: A 90-minute walk through Tom Riley Park along Mimico Creek will share the history of the creek, changing land use and protection of the local watershed.
• Scarborough Museum: Participants will make their own bee homes and pollinator watering stations.
• Spadina Museum: Horticulturists will take participants on a walk around the Spadina grounds, exploring the role pollinators, birds, insects and animals play in protecting biodiversity.
• Todmorden Mills: This walk will reveal how re-naturalization with native plant species helps to sustain the ecology and biodiversity of the Lower Don Valley.
Virtual Discussion Panel – Urban Farming: Building healthy communities & promoting food sovereignty (April 20, 12:30 to 2 p.m.)
Mackenzie House presents this virtual panel on the role urban farms play in supporting healthy communities. Food sovereignty is at the heart of empowerment among diverse IBPOC communities. Panelists will discuss the need for equity-centered farming in Ontario and fair wages. Free pre-registration is required to attend this virtual event: https://s.cotsurvey.chkmkt.com
Refashioning and Sustainability Weekend (April 23 & 24)
Toronto History Museums will offer free drop-in activities and free pre-ticketed workshops. Participants will learn about the circular economy and how to reduce waste by adopting more sustainable practices at the following events:
• Colborne Lodge: At the Lifecycle of a Textile Workshop, participants will learn how textiles were produced before modern manufacturing and the environmental impact of these new processes.
• Gibson House: Visitors can watch demonstrations of hands-on ways to create new treasures out of old favourites.
• Mackenzie House: This workshop will share 19th-century recycling practices and how they are both parallel and different from the sustainability principles of today.
• Scarborough Museum: Staff will demonstrate simple hand-sewn project ideas to create new treasures from old clothing.
• Spadina Museum: Workshop participants will learn the basics of fit, body type and choosing garments and leave the workshop with a tailor-made checklist for shopping to avoid contributing to the fast fashion landfill.
• Todmorden Mills: Participants can learn new skills at these textile workshops for darning, mending and rag rug making.
More April programming at Toronto History Museums includes:
Needless Sacrifice: Civilians and War – Battle of York (April 24, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
Fort York National Historic Site will commemorate the 209th anniversary of the Battle of York. Through tours and activations led by community partners, participants will examine this fundamental moment in Toronto settler history through a contemporary lens, uncovering the hidden stories of civilian sacrifice and suffering, and consider this history in the context of contemporary global conflicts. Free with general admission. More information is available on the City’s festival and events calendar: https://www.toronto.ca/explore
Canadian Museum Association Conference keynote panel, sponsored by Toronto History Museums (April 26, 4 to 5 p.m.)
Speakers from across the globe will speak truth to power and engage with vital questions surrounding museums and decolonization. Members of the public are welcome to attend this transformational session of truth-telling around dismantling museums’ ongoing colonial legacies and working towards fostering reconciliation and healing. Free registration is available on the Canadian Museums Association’s website: https://www.museums.ca/site/co
Toronto Biennial of Art
Until June 5, Colborne Lodge and Fort York National Historic Site will participate in the Toronto Biennial of Art, Canada’s leading visual arts event focused exclusively on contemporary art from around the world. At Colborne Lodge, Eduardo Navarro presents Wind Oracle (2022), a new public sculpture that invites audiences to interact with the wind.
Fort York National Historic Site will host DISH DANCES (2022), a video installation that focuses on a centuries-old Indigenous concept and treaty revolving around the co-governance of land between different Nations, by Ange Loft with Jumblies Theatre & Arts, in collaboration with a team of artists, including choreographers, dancers and composers. More information is available on the Toronto Biennial of Art website: https://torontobiennial.org/.
Awakenings at Toronto Pearson Airport
Until December 31, Awakenings: We Were Always Here short films and reflections videos will be on display at Toronto Pearson Airport Terminal 1 – Malton Gallery. This exhibit is free of charge to travellers, 24 hours a day. Toronto History Museum’s Awakenings Program is the recipient of the 2021 Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Community Leadership. An Awakenings playlist is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playli
Market Gallery showcases 60 Works / 60 Years: Toronto Outdoor Art Fair at 60
The 60 Works / 60 Years: Toronto Outdoor Art Fair at 60 exhibit celebrates the history of the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair and features 60 artworks from the City of Toronto Art Collection acquired from the fair over the years. More information is available on the City’s Market Gallery webpage: https://torontooutdoor.art/60-
Quotes:
“Toronto consistently ranks as one of the most livable, sustainable and resilient cities in North America. The City’s policies work to enhance water and air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support biodiversity and establish vibrant green spaces across Toronto. I encourage all residents to discover the sustainability and the environment programming at Toronto History Museums.”
– Mayor John Tory
“Toronto’s diverse historical narratives and lived experiences come together at Toronto’s History Museums. Their mission is to broaden and deepen understanding by engaging visitors with dynamic, enlightening programming. I encourage you to discover what is on offer at the museums in April and throughout the year.”
– Deputy Mayor Michael Thompson (Scarborough Centre), Chair of the Economic and Community Development Committee
Toronto History Museums are a group of 10 museums owned and operated by the City of Toronto with the mission to collect, preserve, research, interpret, exhibit and enhance the understanding of Toronto’s diverse stories through engaging and exciting experiences and different perspectives. They include Colborne Lodge, Fort York National Historic Site, Gibson House Museum, Mackenzie House, Market Gallery, Montgomery’s Inn, Scarborough Museum, Spadina Museum, Todmorden Mills and Zion Schoolhouse. The Toronto History Museums’ Awakenings program is the recipient of the 2021 Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Community Leadership.
More information is available on the Toronto History Museums webpage: www.toronto.ca/museums, or follow Toronto History Museums on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TOHistory, on Instagram at www.instagram.com/TOHistoryMus
Source City of Toronto
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