Arts Near You: June 10
A Cannopy Salon, NACO on Tour, Toronto Summer Music + More!
June’s underway and we’re looking forward to a packed month of all the arts happening near you. Welcome aboard (!) to all the new subscribers that joined us over the last month — we saw a significant uptick in our subscribers and we’re so grateful this platform is finding new readers and connecting with our current ones.
So, we’d love to hear from you! Over the last few months, our Cannopy Kudos series has been giving shoutouts to the artists, organizations, and individuals supporting the arts in their own way and helping make this ecosystem thrive. We’d love to open this series to our readers. If there’s someone that you’d like to give a shoutout to, let us know why they deserve it in 200 words or less. Selected entries will receive a free 1-year subscription to The Cannopy Newsletter, and be entered to win special prizes each month. Send your entries to editor(at)cannopy.ca.
Big news — we’re adding a paid level to the ANY Newsletter! This newsletter is made possible by the arts organizations we cover, but we will need your support going forward. Our paid tier, The ANY Newsletter Circle, presents an exclusive and expanded version of our free newsletter. The ANY Circle will now include an expanded listings of events near you, our Cannopy Kudos series, full-length videos from our Cannopy Salon series, and exclusive artist interviews. With more perks to come!
If you’ve been enjoying our coverage on here, this is your opportunity to support truly independent journalism with a $5/month membership. Let’s do this!
Mark it down in your calendars, our next salon will be hosted at 7pm on Saturday, June 14 at the Tranzac! We’ve got an exciting line-up of artists for you!
Join us at the Tranzac as we continue our series of intimate free* concert experiences featuring local artists. For this second outing, we’re presenting performances and conversations with opera singer Sarah Mole of Toronto Summer Music, and musician Zach Goldstein of The New Symphony Orchestra! And we’ll be taking questions from the audience!
Here’s a clip from our first Salon event, featuring poet Alysha Kaplan:
The Cannopy Salon is a free non-ticketed event hosted at The Tranzac! The Tranzac is a not-for-profit organization and relies on the generous support of members and donors to operate. Become a member here! And find out about the other residencies at The Tranzac here.
Antoni Cimolino, Artistic Director of Stratford Festival, speaks to Cannopy on As You Like It And Diverse Programming
AC — You want diversity in your casting because you want the best talent, you’re trying to find extraordinary people. We’ve been successful in doing that in each of these plays, Macbeth, The Winter’s Tale, and As You Like It. We have fantastic actors like André Sills, who’s playing Polixenes in The Winter’s Tale, for example. It’s important to find talented people. It’s important that we look beyond the superficial, and into the heart of these performers. Over the years, we have had more and more diversity on the stage and behind it too. That’s critically important: on design teams, in the marketing teams, everywhere. It’s about connecting with audiences today, and building a relationship with those audiences and communities into the future. The quality of talent on our stages is made possible by the diversity of our company. It’s critical to the festival, and to quality work.
Discover Stratford 2025 today and look back at our coverage of Stratford 2024.
For the last seven years, Toronto’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) has been quietly thriving on Sterling Road, as a vivid artistic node at the center of what was once an industrial hub. These days, Sterling Road is a uniquely sensorial experience: from the gustatory delights of the chocolatey scents wafting from the resident Nestlé factory, to the staccato chatter of people grabbing a pint on the Henderson Brewing Company patio, before checking out the Sorauren Farmers’ Market. This stretch of town is slowly being revitalized from a relic of a manufacturing era, to a multipurpose and communal neighbourhood with commercial ambitions. ─Continue Reading
When it was founded back in 2006, Toronto Summer Music (TSM) was a chamber music festival, but it’s hard to say whether that label is still appropriate. Originally, they programmed concerts by small ensembles and soloists over the course of a couple of weeks. Twenty years later, the festival now takes over the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Koerner Hall and the University of Toronto’s Walter Hall for an impressive four weeks, and involves large scale performances of dance, opera, and orchestral music. ─Continue reading
GET YOUR TICKETS TO TORONTO SUMMER MUSIC 2025 HERE.
Join Guild Festival Theatre as they kick off their 14th summer season with a special concert by Aqua's Red Rhythm & Blues, bringing stories of Indigenous hope and resilience to the Greek Theatre through music and dance. Rooted in their Anishinaabe heritage and accompanied by their Queer guitarist, talented violinist, and fancy shawl dancer, this group creates space for healing through the soothing sounds of strings and unforgettable harmonies.
Guild Park & Gardens. July 3, 7:30pm. Tickets $15.
Cannopy Goes on Tour with NACO
The National Arts Centre Orchestra went on tour across 6 cities and Cannopy tagged along for the ride. For this special coverage from Osaka, our Chief Editor covered the orchestra’s performance at Expo 2025, in celebration of Oscar Peterson’s Centenary.
Our editor wasn’t alone on this trip, writer Sotto Voce came along as well. Who is Sotto Voce? None other than our elusive and ill-tempered resident music critic who came out of retirement to capture the ins and outs of an orchestra on the move. Read the Sotto Voce series here.
Watch Grand Tour on MUBI
It is the beginning of 1918, and Edward (Gonçalo Waddington), a minor English diplomat in Burma (modern-day Myanmar), wanders sullenly through a rainy Rangoon, dreaming of escape. It is not the destruction of World War I that weighs on him. Rather, it is the impending arrival of Molly (Crista Alfaiate), his fiancée of seven years, that terrifies him. In a moment of panic, Edward ditches a bouquet of bird of paradise flowers—a welcome gift for his betrothed—and takes flight, boarding a ship for Singapore and leaving word that Molly should return to London. Determined to marry, Molly instead follows Edward to Singapore and beyond, embarking on a sweeping journey through Southeast and East Asia. Thus begins Grand Tour, the sixth and latest feature by Portuguese filmmaker Miguel Gomes.
Stream Grand Tour for free on MUBI today with a CANNOPY 30-day discount!
(Don’t) Run it Like a Business
Corporatism is killing the arts. Programmatic Populism can save it ─Continue reading
Skank Bloc Bologna: Alternative Art Spaces since 1977
ESSAY ─ Can art spaces that eschew commercial activity truly sustain themselves without succumbing to corporatization? ─Continue reading
Off the Record: Justin Orok’s California Shutters
INTERVIEW ─ The Canadian folk artist joins “A Cannopy Salon” for a spotlight on his latest album ─Continue reading
“Aperture” shines through a glass brightly
INTERVIEW ─ On their sixth studio album, The Head and the Heart looks back in order to move forward ─Continue reading
Off the Record: The Vernon Spring
INTERVIEW ─ On his latest release, “Under a Familiar Sun”, Sam Beste delivers a deeply empathic pianistic jazztronica ─Continue reading
Showing is Telling: How Myth of Man reimagines interactive cinema
INTERVIEW ─ Where other filmmakers worry you may take something away from their work that they did not intend, the Winans’ are asking you to do so. ─Continue reading
Subscribe to The Cannopy Newsletter to keep up with Issue 15.
Sand Flight | June 12-15 | TORONTO ─ “Experience the world premiere of Sand Flight, from internationally renowned choreographer Ingri Fiksdal. Eight dancers and a 50-person choir descend on a massive sand dune under the Gardiner Expressway for a powerful performance that speculates on climates-to-come, where shade-worshipping is the new normal.” The Bentway at Strachan Gate
Grand Opening - Mini Pottery Studio | June 21 | TORONTO ─ “We're a pottery studio exclusively focused on miniature ceramics led by Cielo Vianzon (you may know her from TV show Best in Miniature). In addition to throwing and glazing, we also offer workshops such as handbuilding clay jewelry, taught by artist Stuti Srivastava!” 4909 Yonge St
Art Battle Toronto City Championship! | June 24 | TORONTO ─ “Come watch as artists transform blank canvases into beautiful pieces of art in 3 rounds of just 20 minutes, and then help vote to determine the winner of the event! All artwork will also be available for silent auction.” The Great Hall
The Day before D-Day with Steve Fretwell Opening Reception | June 5 - June 27 | OAKVILLE ─ “Join us for an opening evening on June 5 with Steve Fretwell to view his aerial reconnaissance ART inspired by those who served in WWII.” Summer & Grace Gallery
Artist's Share- Potluck & Art | July 5 | TORONTO ─ “You are invited to share food, experiences, art, and friendship at this community building event. At a time of divisiveness and hardship, we come together to celebrate the potency of solidarity and communal alliances. Your ticket to enter will be to bring a dish to contribute to the table and share with others.” Sur Gallery
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Arts Near You: Toronto to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.