The Art Museum presents the 2nd Annual Night of Ideas: Facing the Present
The Night of Ideas Returns to Toronto Saturday, February 2, 2019
In partnership with the Cultural Service of the French Embassy in Canada and Hart House, the Art Museum at the University of Toronto is thrilled to present the second annual Night of Ideas: Facing the Present on Saturday, February 2, from 7 pm to 2 am.
The Art Museum was one of the first Canadian institutions to take part in this French-initiated global, all-night event happening simultaneously in more than 50 cities. Following up on the success of the event in January 2018, Night of Ideas 2019 will see attendees considering human migration in the context of culture and science – confronting one of the greatest urgencies of humanity. Participants can engage in thoughtful interactive activities throughout the night that focus on the movement of people from a political, historical, economic and scientific perspective.
Connected to the two exhibitions opening at the Art Museum, Vision Exchange: Perspectives from India to Canada and P. Mansaram: The Medium is the Medium is the Medium, the Night of Ideas 2019 will focus on addressing issues of shifting histories and borders; relationships to the land, as well as the complex themes of migration, immigration and diaspora. Participants will be able to visit the exhibitions as well as engage directly in conversation with internationally acclaimed thinkers as part an intensive series of keynote lectures, workshops, performances, screenings and readings.
As a special project in tandem with Vision Exchange: Perspectives from India to Canada, the Art Museum will present a one-night installation of Divya Mehra’s inflatable sculpture of the Taj Mahal, on view during the duration of The Night of Ideas.
Also, on the night of the reception, a discussion with Vision Exchange curators Jonathan Shaugnessy and Catherine Crowston, in conversation with Indu Vashist and Toleen Touq of SAVAC, curators of the P. Masaram exhibition at the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery.
Launched in London and Berlin in 2012 and 2014, the Night of Ideas is a concept coined by the Institut Français and the cultural services of the French Embassies. The 2017 edition was its first simultaneous edition, presented in places of culture and knowledge internationally, attracting more than 180,000 participants and 7 million followers. The participating Canadian cities in 2018 were Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
Night of Ideas
Facing the Present
February 2, 2019, 7 pm to 2 am
Hart House, 7 Hart House Circle
https://artmuseum.utoronto.ca/program/night-of-ideas-2019/
Presented in conjunction with the Art Museum’s winter exhibitions,
opening February 2, 2019 from 5 pm – 7pm, with extended opening hours for the Night of Ideas from 7 pm – 12 am:
Vision Exchange: Perspectives from India to Canada
Organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta and the National Gallery of Canada as part of the NGC@AGA exhibition series, curated by Catherine Crowston and Jonathan Shaughnessy.
Presented with the assistance of Chemould Prescott Road (Mumbai), Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke (Mumbai) and Nature Morte (New Delhi).
Toronto University of Toronto Art Centre, 15 King’s College Circle
https://artmuseum.utoronto.ca/exhibition/vision-exchange-perspectives-from-india-to-canada/
P. Mansaram: The Medium is the Medium is the Medium
Curated by Indu Vashist and Toleen Touq and co-presented with SAVAC
Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, 7 Hart House Circle
https://artmuseum.utoronto.ca/exhibition/p-mansaram-the-medium-is-the-medium-is-the-medium/
Both exhibitions will be on view until March 23, 2019.
Night of Ideas is Supported by:
University of Toronto, University College, Institut Français, Canadian Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council
Media Sponsors: CIUT 89.5 FM, NOW, The Walrus
About the Art Museum at the University of Toronto
Comprised of the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery and the University of Toronto Art Centre, which are located just a few steps apart, the Art Museum at the University of Toronto is one of the largest gallery spaces for visual art exhibitions and programming in Toronto. Building on the two galleries’ distinguished histories, the Art Museum organizes and presents a year-round program of in-house and off-site exhibitions, as well as intensive curricular and educational events. Learn more at artmuseum.utoronto.ca
About Hart House
Hart House is the University of Toronto’s centre for experiential education outside the classroom. Since it first opened its doors in 1919, Hart House has sought to function as a place where students—as well as faculty, staff, alumni and members of the broader community—find welcome and unique ways to connect with each other and the broader world through engagement with the arts, dialogue and wellness. Operating from a historic facility more than 200,000 square feet in size as well as a 150-acre farm in Caledon, Ontario, Hart House offers a wide range of services to both students and community members through a social enterprise model that generates revenue to support its student-focused programming on all three of the University of Toronto’s campuses.
About the Cultural Service of the French Embassy in Canada:
The Cultural Service of the Embassy of France in Canada works through the five Consulates to implement a cultural policy that focuses on four principal areas: cooperation, innovation, sustainable growth, and French-language initiatives. Canada and France develop a significant partnership in cultural and digital fields.
About the Institut français:
The Institut français is in charge of implementing France’s cultural action abroad. Under the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, its role is to act as the conduit for a new, more ambitious “diplomacy of influence”, within the framework of French governmental policies and priorities.
