goethe-institut toronto media coverage for april to july ... · gallery-style photography exhibit,...

Media Coverage 2012 – April to July

Goethe-Institut Toronto Media Coverage for April to July 2012

Event: |FAT| Focus Germany Presented by the Goethe-Institut. In Collaboration with German Style Ambassadors DESIGNER SCOUTS Date: April 5, 2012 Place: |FAT| Arts & Fashion Week, Toronto ON Medium: Cisionwire.com www.cisionwire.com/fashion-art-toronto/r/fat--focus-germany-presented-by-the-goethe-institut,c9244021 |FAT| Focus Germany |FAT| Arts & Fashion Week and the Goethe-Institut Toronto have teamed up this year to present |FAT|'s FOCUS GERMANY. Curated in collaboration with internationally recognized Designer Scouts Berlin, |FAT| spotlights Germany to celebrate its rich cultural scene and strong approach to art and fashion. Four festival days will present Germany's creative influencers to Toronto audiences through a gallery-style photography exhibit, a multi-media art installation, fashion films, and runway collections. This year’s festival is proud to highlight Germany’s long-standing reputation as a driving force in the creative industries of film, art and fashion. … “We love to work with |FAT| for the second time. Their multidisciplinary mix of art and design creates a powerful platform to engage Canadian and German talents,” _says Sonja Griegoschewski, Director of the Goethe-Institut Toronto. "Germany - Berlin in particular - is one of the most influential cultural centres in the world at the moment," adds |FAT| Artistic Director, Vessna Perunovich. “We’re interested in their conceptual approach to fashion, which mirrors lFATl’s mandate to present fashion through many art forms."


Event: |FAT| Focus Germany Presented by the Goethe-Institut in collaboration with |FAT|. Date: April 21, 2012 Place: |FAT| Arts & Fashion Week, Toronto ON Medium: National Post, by Luis-Enrique Arrazola http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/04/21/bad-girl-vanja-vasics-fashion-art-toronto-was-created-to-celebrate-alternative-design/ Against The Grain ‘Bad girl’ Vanja Vasic’s Fashion Art Toronto was created to celebrate alternative design and in doing so has become the ‘bad girl‘ “Any time you want to make a change it’s not going to be easy,” says Vanja Vasic, whose take on fashion is outside the box. “It’s going to be a struggle. I think that Canada is very young still and we do have an issue sometimes supporting our own and I think we’ve always been like that.” Vasic would know. The 30-year-old is the executive director of Fashion Art Toronto and brains behind FAT Arts and Fashion Week. From its humble beginnings in 2005 as a two-day runway event known as Alternative Fashion Week held in a now-defunct bar on King West, FAT Fashion Week has expanded with more than 200 national and international designers, photographers, musicians, and video and fashion installations exhibiting over four days. ... For first-time presenter Nicole Roscher of Berlin label Von Bardonitz, whose designs verge on gothic and androgynous elements with a collection of unisex wear, FAT Fashion Week is a place for Canadians to experiment with their sense of fashion and push their boundaries. “I think it’s important that people get more [of a] chance to express themselves” says Roscher, a model turned avant-garde designer whose conceptual clothes have found a niche audience in cities such as Taipei and Hong Kong. “If you go on the street you always see the same and I would love [it if] the people opened themselves and tried more things out.” ...


Event: |FAT| Focus Germany Presented by the Goethe-Institut in collaboration with |FAT|. Date: May 2, 2012 Place: |FAT| Arts & Fashion Week, Toronto ON Medium: National Post, by Luis-Enrique Arrazola http://life.nationalpost.com/2012/05/02/scorning-the-conventional-at-fat-arts-and-fashion-week/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter Scorning the conventional at [FAT] Arts and Fashion Week For four nights straight, [FAT] Arts and Fashion week brought Toronto’s fashion outcasts, degenerates and hellions out to a warehouse space in Toronto’s up-and-coming arts district, Bloordale Village. As expected, each night was filled with outlandish, provocative and avant-garde designs that pushed the commercial boundaries of Canadian fashion photography, film, installation and design. [FAT] Arts and Fashion Week is part art exhibition and part fashion show, and before the plug was pulled on the event — quite literally, leaving the entire warehouse shrouded in the dark — [FAT] provided some memorable highlights. Before reaching the 100-foot runway, the fashion crowd was treated to Focus Germany, a small fashion installation, film and photography exhibition curated by the Goethe-Institut with work by artists like Valeria Mitelman, whose series The Iteration consisted of a models in abstract garments by designer Lisa Shanho with linear stitching and pleating that look more like sculptures than ready-to-wear. The garments were photographed next to the geometric pattern that inspired them. … While the photography exhibition and many installations drew out curious alternative fashion junkies, the main spectacle was, of course, the runway shows, where international exports from Berlin — like designers Nicole Roscher of fashion label Von Bardonitz and Esther Perbandt — delighted audiences with their monochromatic and structured looks. …


Event: |FAT| Focus Germany Presented by the Goethe-Institut in collaboration with |FAT|. Date: April 21, 2012 Place: |FAT| Arts & Fashion Week, Toronto ON Medium: Arttoronto.ca www.artoronto.ca/?p=9703 FASHION ART TORONTO - Focus Germany FAT| Arts & Fashion Week and the Goethe-Institut Toronto have teamed up this year to present |FAT|’s FOCUS GERMANY. Curated in collaboration with internationally recognized Designer Scouts Berlin, |FAT| spotlights Germany to celebrate its rich cultural scene and strong approach to art and fashion. Four festival days will present Germany’s creative influencers to Toronto audiences through a gallery-style photography exhibit, a multi-media art installation, fashion films, and runway collections. This year’s festival is proud to highlight Germany’s long-standing reputation as a driving force in the creative industries of film, art and fashion. “|FAT| was launched with the idea to expose Canadian culture to the world, and to make Canadian fashion and art more visible internationally,” says |FAT| Executive Director, Vanja Vasic. “The festival aims to connect with creative hotspots like Germany, in order to exchange ideas and be more informed about world trends and the international arts and fashion community as a whole.” “We love to work with |FAT| for the second time. Their multidisciplinary mix of art and design creates a powerful platform to engage Canadian and German talents,” says Sonja Griegoschewski, Director of the Goethe-Institut Toronto. …


Event: |FAT| Focus Germany Presented by the Goethe-Institut in collaboration with |FAT|. Date: April 21, 2012 Place: |FAT| Arts & Fashion Week, Toronto ON Medium: The Toronto Star, by Jason Anderson http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/04/21/bad-girl-vanja-vasics-fashion-art-toronto-was-created-to-celebrate-alternative-design/ Fashion, feathers and film: Projections FASHION ON FILM: Are you a fashionista still reeling from the news of Fashion Television’s imminent demise? Perhaps you can find some solace in a well-dressed film series. Presented as part of Fashion Art Toronto’s Art & Fashion Week — whose slate of runway shows, performances, photo exhibits and other haute-minded events runs April 24-28 — Fashion on Film is a series of eye-popping shorts that serve as excellent showcases for both the designs on display and the talents behind the camera. ... As part of the series, the Goethe-Institut co-presents a trio of recent works from Germany, including an eerie science-fiction-themed collaboration between designer Esther Perbandt and current fashion-vid hotshot Cristian Staub. Other selections provide all the slow-motion footage and images of glum-faced, underfed models you could possibly desire. Fashion on Film runs in FAT’s nightly program of events at 213 Sterling Rd., a warehouse space near Bloor and Lansdowne. …


Event: |FAT| Focus Germany Presented by the Goethe-Institut in collaboration with |FAT|. Date: April 21, 2012 Place: |FAT| Arts & Fashion Week, Toronto ON Medium: NOW Magazine, by Andrew Sardone www.nowtoronto.com/lifestyle/story.cfm?content=186248 Off the FATwalk Not everything fabulous at FAT is on the runway. Here are more of the style fest’s must-attend indie designer happenings. … FAT Focus Germany In collaboration with Goethe Institut and Designer Scouts Berlin, FAT presents an on-site gallery exhibition of images created by 14 German designers and photographers, plus fashion films and presentations by Esther Perbandt and Von Bardonitz. Tuesday (April 24) to April 27.


Event: |FAT| Focus Germany Presented by the Goethe-Institut in collaboration with |FAT|. Date: April 26, 2012 Place: |FAT| Arts & Fashion Week, Toronto ON Medium: Toronto Standard, by Bianca Teixeira http://torontostandard.com/style/fat-brings-berlin-inspired-art-to-toronto FAT's German Invasion. "The Berlin scene largely boils down to that sense of freedom" Paris, Milan, London, New York. These are the world's accepted fashion captials, but, like most everything else, Toronto’s alternative Arts & Fashion Week (FAT) doesn’t care about what's generally accepted. This season, FAT teamed up with Goethe-Institut Toronto to present FAT’s Focus Germany-- a carefully curated four-day festival that highlights Germany’s (Berlin, in particular) rich arts and culture scene. Audiences are invited to journey through featured artists' photography exhibits, art installations, fashion films, and runway collections. ... On the runway, Focus Germany presented new collections by two Berlin-based designers. Esther Perbandt's collection showed on Wednesday and presented an androgynous line made from sustainable fabrics. Inspired by the Hitchcockian-term "MacGuffin," which means an object or person that catches the viewer’s attention or drives the plot of a work of fiction, Perbandt designs with the wearers of her clothes in mind. The second designer, who won’t show until Friday, is Von Bardonitz. His collection promises the avant-garde, gender-bending aesthetic that FAT-goers crave. I caught up with FAT's executive director, Vanja Vasic, to ask about the collaboration with Goethe-Insitut Toronto and the inspirational influence German art brings to the festival. "FAT definitely has a mandate to incorporate international organizations and bring international perspectives to Canada," says Vasic. "In order to really support Canadian design, you have to merge Canada with the world. And I think Germany - Berlin in particular - is interesting to us because they have a very conceptual approach to fashion. A lot of it can be commercial, but it’s with a story, with a concept. That's what FAT is doing and it makes sense to merge the two." Last year, FAT tested the waters by bringing Berlin designer Julia Knüpfer, known for her sustainable fashions, to the festival. It her show's success that inspired Goethe-Institut to incorporate over fourteen contemporary designers and photographers in this year's display. Jutta Brendemühl, program coordinator at Goethe-Insitut Toronto, decided to collaborate with FAT because of they shared platform of ideas."[FAT] gets what the Goethe-Institut is about," says Brendemühl. "It's about meaningful international dialogue, crossing cultures, thinking ahead, and taking a closer look beyond a mere show and tell. For me, the success of the Berlin scene largely boils down to that


sense of freedom and “chutzpe” that allows for a bohemian, but edgy, easiness and a willingness to risk as well as fail. Berlin is an incubator for new ideas, new trends and experimentation. I think that’s the attraction, the dream." The walls around the FAT runway this year showcase an array of artwork. Hamburg jewellery artist Katrin Spranger's pieces hang on studs and are also featured in a set of photos shot by Thomas Stoess. Belin-based designer Isabel Vollrath's collection also appear in photos shot by Magnus Ragnvid Chammon. …


Event: |FAT| Focus Germany Presented by the Goethe-Institut in collaboration with |FAT|. Date: April 30, 2012 Place: |FAT| Arts & Fashion Week, Toronto ON Medium: Blog TO, by Bianca Venerayan www.blogto.com/fashion_style/2012/04/highlights_from_toronto_arts_fashion_week_2012 Highlights from Toronto Arts & Fashion Week, 2012. FUTUREscapes. … The final day of FAT's main events surrounded the theme FUTUREscapes--one that was vastly imaginative, embraced technology, and was so innovative it was at times difficult to comprehend. Each show was so distinctive it's almost impossible to generalize all of them with every designer seeming to have a different take on what the future holds for fashion. Haphazard presented creepy Carnival-like nightmare garments involving gas masks and 4-foot headpieces, Von Bardonitz made religion chic with the use of pope hats and crosses, and Gardé Del Avante mirrored Avatar (without the blue skin) through the use of tribal jewellery and swimwear. FUTUREscapes was the perfect way to end Arts & Fashion Week; it was both a summary of where the world of art and fashion is today and a benchmark for where it's headed.


Event: |FAT| Focus Germany Presented by the Goethe-Institut in collaboration with |FAT|. Date: May 2, 2012 Place: |FAT| Arts & Fashion Week, Toronto ON Medium: Brankopopovic Blog, by Dutch Designer Branko Popovic http://brankopopovic.blogspot.ca/2012/05/focus-germany-exhibition-at-fat-toronto.html?spref=tw&m=1 Focus Germany exhibition at FAT Toronto 2012 |FAT| FOCUS GERMANY Presented by the Goethe-Institut Fashion & art from Germany's hottest designers & image-makers: curated in collaboration with world-renowned Designer Scouts. Focus Germany presented an onsite photography exhibit featuring 7 collaborative projects by German designers and fashion photographers. The presented photography was very strong with one some of today best upcoming photographers and designers. Among them one of my favorite photographers Madame Peripetie. She created another mindblowing series of images with the label Moga E Mago. I was also very happy to see the work of Sadak and Daniel Bolliger-Samo. Next to the photography there was a conceptual mixed media installation 'Best Before' by Katrin Spranger. Focus Germany is part of the Goethe-Institut's focus on Culture+Economy, City+Climate and the celebration "50 Years Goethe-Institut Canada". http://fashionarttoronto.ca …


Event: |FAT| Focus Germany Presented by the Goethe-Institut in collaboration with |FAT|. Date: May 7, 2012 Place: |FAT| Arts & Fashion Week, Toronto ON Medium: bpmtelevision, Video produced by Kalem Hayman www.youtube.com/user/bpmtelevision Arts and Fashion Toronto on bpm:tv Let's face it, Toronto has one of the most diverse populations in the world; So of course our fashion reflects that. FAT is an annual event that celebrates all that is unique and avant garde in Fashion and ART and incorporates our cities global influences! FAT promises to be one of the MOST PROGRESSIVE & ARTISTIC Events of the summer - this isn't one you'll ever want to miss.


Event: |FAT| Focus Germany Presented by the Goethe-Institut in collaboration with |FAT|. Date: May 5, 2012 Place: |FAT| Arts & Fashion Week, Toronto ON Medium: Kalinka.de, by Alexandra Zhovtenko www.kalinkakalinka.de/2012/05/05/designer-scouts-bringt-deutsche-designer-zum-fashion-art-festival-in-toronto/ Designer Scouts bringt deutsche Designer zum Fashion & Art Festival in Toronto Ohne Frage müssen Design-Newcomer und junge Labels gefördert werden, schließlich bringen sie immer den nötigen frischen Wind in die Modebranche. Genau das machen auch die Berliner Designer Scouts. In Form verschiedener Events bieten sie vor allem unkonventionellen, avantgardistischen Jungdesignern eine Plattform, bei der sie ihre Mode präsentieren können, und das sogar auf der internationalen Ebene. So brachten sie letzte Woche deutsche Nachwunchstalente zum |FAT|, dem Fashion & Art Festival in Toronto. Angeregt vom dort ansässigen Goethe Institut, legte das jährlich stattfindene Festival diesmal den Fokus auf die Bundesrepublik und huldigte damit Deutschlands langjähriges Engagement und die Stellung als treibende Kraft in den Kreativfeldern Film, Kunst und Mode. „Germany – Berlin in particular – is one of the most influential cultural centres in the world at the moment. We’re interested in their conceptual approach to fashion, which mirrors |FAT|’s mandate to present fashion through many art forms“, erklärte die Intendantin des Festivals Vessna Perunovich die Zusammenarbeit. Vom 24. bis 28. April 2012 wurde dort, auf der Arts & Fashion Week, deshalb neben zahlreichen kanadischen Designern und Künstlern auch ein breitgefächertes Programm rund um deutsche Mode gezeigt, welches von multimedialen Foto- und Kunstausstellungen über Filmpräsentationen bis hin zu Runway-Shows reichte.


Event: Special Screening: Silent Sundays: The Last Laugh, co-presented by the Goethe-Institut. Date: April 29, 2012 Place: Revue Cinema, Toronto ON Medium: Blog TO, by Blake Williams www.blogto.com/film/2012/04/this_week_in_film_hot_docs_the_pirates_band_of_misfits_warriors_of_the_rainbow_seediq_bale_the_last_laugh_whats_new_on_dvd_and_bluray/ This Week in Film: Hot Docs, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Warriors of the Rainbow (Seediq Bale), The Last Laugh, what's new on DVD and BluRay … Before Polanski's Carnage or Nichols' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, there was Kammerspielfilm, which basically translates to 'chamber drama.' This blip on the German silent timeline may not have lasted very long, but it certainly has its share of classics, not least of which is this here F.W. Murnau masterwork, The Last Laugh. Reading like an early predecessor to the Italian Neo-Realism movement, Murnau's film follows the life of a doorman who has just lost his job, detailing the scorn he receives from his peers. If that isn't enough to sway you, it's also nearly intertitle-less, relying entirely on the actors' movements and expressions and Murnau's mise en scène and montage to communicate the narrative and humanity. …


Event: Goethe-LIFT Filmmaker-in-Residence 2012: Dagie Brundert. Date: April 26, 2012 Place: Toronto ON Medium: Website of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto http://lift.ca/ LIFT and the Goethe-Institut Toronto announce Dagie Brundert Spring 2012 Residency The Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) and the Goethe-Institut Toronto are pleased to announce Dagie Brundert (Berlin) as the inaugural Goethe-LIFT Artist-in-Residence this May. One of Germany’s most prolific filmmakers working with small format Super 8 film, Dagie has produced a wide range of films that break from genre, convention and expectation. During her stay in Toronto, Dagie will be working on a series of new films exploring the city and responding to its built and social environments. Complimenting her production process, Super 8 cameras and hand-processed film, LIFT and the Goethe will present a series of public workshops, games and screenings to connect her work with the local community. The first event is a game of film chance—Ambassadors of Coincidence—where small groups of participants will navigate Toronto through chance operations documenting the experience as collaborative Super 8 films. On May 19th and 20th, Dagie will run a second edition of this “city walk game” within the Goethe-Institut’s series on The Future of Mobility. A workshop on alternative processing methods for black and white motion picture film will be held at LIFT, using washing soda, instant coffee and vitamin C, creates an ecological alternative to standard developing. These events will be followed by two retrospective screenings of Dagie’s work with new material made during her residency. ... I was born in a small town in the middle of West Germany. Beautiful nature, but boring after a while…I moved to Berlin and studied visual arts / experimental film. Fell in love with my super 8 camera (Nizo) in 1988. Since then I've tried to be a particle-finder, a wave-catcher and a good story-teller. I try to absorb weird beautiful things from this world. Chew them and spit them out again. — Dagie Brundert, www.dagiebrundert.de


Event: GOETHE FILMS @ TIFF Bell Lightbox Date: May 3, 2012 Place: Tiff Bell Lightbox, Toronto ON Medium: Toronto Film Scene, by Daniel Janvier http://thetfs.ca/2012/05/03/goethe-institut-screens-in-the-face-of-crime/ Goethe-Institut screens In the Face of Crime

Starting next Monday, TIFF Bell Lightbox and Goethe Films will screen the German crime series In the Face of Crime as part of its “Berlin on Film” spring series.

The ten-part series was directed by Dominik Graf, who, after his previous experiences trying to direct a large budget film Die Sieger turned to television as a response to constant interference from producers. Graf has gone onto say he prefers filming for television for the stylistic freedom he’s found. Considering the warm reception of In the Face of Crime compared to Die Sieger, it’s been as good for his reputation as it was for his soul.

In the Face of Crime starts screening at TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King St W) with its first three episodes on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 6:30 pm. Parts two and three screen Thursday, May 10 and Monday, May 14, respectively. Tickets are $10 and go on sale at TIFF Bell Lightbox on the day of the screening at 10:00 am.


Event: Arne Bellstorf’s “Baby's in Black” Presented in connection with the Toronto Comic Arts Festival Date: May 8, 2012 Place: TCAF and Goethe-Institut, Toronto ON Medium: National Post, by David Berry http://arts.nationalpost.com/2012/05/03/graphic-scenes-maytcaf-edition/ Graphic Scenes: May/TCAF edition Baby’s in Black: Astrid Kirchherr, Stuart Sutcliffe and the Beatles By Arne Bellstorf Lennon and McCartney take up equal space on the cover, but as the subtitle implies, this is a love story, with the Beatles’ apprenticeship in Hamburg as backdrop. Arne Bellstrof lets the legends impinge in smart ways: though it never would have felt like it at the time, hindsight gives a hint of tension to Sutcliffe choosing between love and the Beatles, though it’s a retrofit that only seems to deepen the romance. Better, though, is his ability to nearly eliminate fame altogether, and remind us that even for eventual superstars, the future in unwritten: German photographer Kirchherr and Sutcliffe’s slow courtship has the heady feel of young but deep love, two kindred souls finally finding each other in dim rock clubs. This is echoed in Bellstorf’s art, drawn with fuzzy edges and filled in with noticeable pencil marks that suggest both the imprecision of memory and the fact that, though these are characters we may know well, they’re still figuring themselves out (though one niggling annoyance: the typeface chosen for the English translation is so obviously computer-perfect it distracts from the overall aesthetic, a very unfortunate choice for something so otherwise personal in tone and style). The tragedy that looms over Sutcliffe grants an even greater poignancy to a love story that seems by this account to be one for the ages. …


Event: CONTACT Festival: Melanie Manchot Commissioned and presented by the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, the Distillery Historic District and the Goethe-Institut Toronto Date: May 8, 2012 Place: The Distillery Historic District et al., Toronto ON Medium: Blog TO, by Mariam Matti www.blogto.com/arts/2012/05/a_photo_guide_to_contact_public_installations_2012_/ "The Continuous Still" restages the Distillery District … Also a must-see, Melanie Manchot's work pays tribute to the Distillery District's rich history. She combines portraits of Distillery's staff with corresponding historic photos, which underline both the similarities and differences between past and present. Distillery District, 55 Mill St, April 25 - May 31. …


Event: Keren Cytter at Oakville Galleries, German-Israeli Artist Co-presented by the Images Festival and the Goethe-Institut. Date: May 17, 2012 Place: Oakville Galleries, Oakville ON Medium: Canadian Art, by Mariam Nader www.canadianart.ca/online/reviews/2012/05/17/keren-cytter-based-on-a-true-story-oakville-galleries/ Keren Cytter: Video Virtuoso "Based on a True Story" at Oakville Galleries boasts the largest North American survey to date of works by Tel Aviv-born artist Keren Cytter, who recently moved from Berlin to New York. Known for producing films that mash up direct experiences with mediated cultural references, and moods of connection with feelings of alienation, Cytter's works enthrall as much as they confound. Guest curated by Helena Reckitt, the exhibition contains pieces with deep surrealistic roots, evoking Maya Deren and Alexander Hamid's 1943 work Meshes of the Afternoon; as in that film, Cytter's works do not try to antagonize the viewer by suggesting that they should understand what's taking place. The 2007 work Der Spiegel (The mirror) is one such example: the only piece situated within one of the larger rooms of Oakville Galleries' Gairloch location confronts viewers with multiple views of a nude woman who moves around a bare room speaking and yet not speaking—at one point she says, “I feel... like pork in white wine” to the other women around her who coldly remind her that her body no longer retains its youthful appeal. The dialogue, along with the mirror imagery and two men that weave in and out of the scenes seem to suggest a subconscious state. Cytter expertly recreates the awkward fluidity of a dream. … The products of these performance events are carried over to Oakville Galleries’ Centennial Square location. Konstruktion, made in 2010, was created with the D.I.E. Now group. This work engages in a narrative that can be followed with slightly more ease by the viewer. The scenes seem rooted in reality—a poetry recital in a bar, people sitting casually outside a coffee shop in Berlin—but the exchanges between characters, both conversational and physical, are out of sync, and the deviation from linear narrative clouds our perception of what exactly is taking place. … Although many of Cytter’s works are available for anyone to watch on her Vimeo page, the darkness and solitude that accompanied the viewings of these works in the gallery made for a more haunting, more moving viewing experience, one that justifies exactly why Cytter is one of the most intriguing video artists of her generation.


Event: TO Critics Award for Roland Schimmelpfennig’s The Golden Dragon Roland Schimmelpfennig has been a frequent guest of the Goethe-Institut Toronto over the past seven years. Date: May 31, 2012 Place: Toronto ON Medium: NOW Magazine, by Glenn Sumi www.nowtoronto.com/stage/story.cfm?content=186990 T.O. critics name best shows … In the new category of best international play, Roland Schimmelpfennig’s The Golden Dragon, produced by the Tarragon, took the award. ... The awards, chosen by critics from three daily newspapers and two weeklies, will be handed out at an upcoming ceremony.


Event: TO Critics Award for Roland Schimmelpfennig’s The Golden Dragon Roland Schimmelpfennig has been a frequent guest of the Goethe-Institut Toronto over the past seven years. Date: May 31, 2012 Place: Toronto ON Medium: National Post, by Rachel Phan http://arts.nationalpost.com/2012/05/31/kims-convenience-gets-five-thumbs-up-at-toronto-theatre-critics-awards/ Kim’s Convenience gets five thumbs up at Toronto Theatre Critics Awards ... Other TTCA awards announced Thursday included the best international play (The Golden Dragon), best design (War Horse), best new musical (Ride the Cyclone), best actress in a musical (Arlene Duncan for Caroline, or Change), best actor in a musical (Sahr Ngaujah for Fela!) and a special citation for veteran Toronto theatre actor Eric Peterson. ... After just two years, the critics behind TTCAs hope the awards become a yearly fixture in the Toronto theatre scene. “We created a lot of interest last year and we’ve added two weeklies to make the decision more comprehensive,” Cushman said. “[The TTCAs] could have a lot of stimulating effects on Torontonians.” ...


Event: TO Critics Award for Roland Schimmelpfennig’s The Golden Dragon Roland Schimmelpfennig has been a frequent guest of the Goethe-Institut Toronto over the past seven years. Date: May 31, 2012 Place: Toronto ON Medium: Broadway World.com, by Kelly Cameron http://toronto.broadwayworld.com/article/KIMS-CONVENIENCE-RIDE-THE-CYCLONE-Big-Winners-at-2012-Toronto-Theatre-Critics-Awards-20120531 KIM'S CONVENIENCE, RIDE THE CYCLONE Big Winners at 2012 Toronto Theatre Critics' Awards ... The Toronto Theatre Critics Awards were established last year to honour the best in Toronto theatre. This year they're back, and BWW has the full list of winners! The awards were decided by critics from The Globe and Mail (J. Kelly Nestruck), The Grid (Martin Morrow), National Post (Robert Cushman), NOW Magazine (Glenn Sumi) and Toronto Star (Richard Ouzounian). ... • Best International Play: The Golden Dragon by Roland Schimmelpfennig (Tarragon Theatre) ...


Event: TO Critics Award for Roland Schimmelpfennig’s The Golden Dragon Roland Schimmelpfennig has been a frequent guest of the Goethe-Institut Toronto over the past seven years. Date: May 31, 2012 Place: Toronto ON Medium: The Toronto Star, by David Ouzounian www.toronto.com/article/730722 Toronto critics reveal year’s best shows ... The awards were announced Thursday and will be presented in the summer at a time and location to be announced. Plays produced by professional theatre companies that opened in Toronto from June 1, 2011 through May 31, 2012 were eligible. Winners were chosen by theatre critics from the Star, the Globe and Mail and National Post, along with weeklies NOW and The Grid. Critics from the four Toronto dailies chose the winners last year, but John Coulbourn has since retired from the Toronto Sun. ... • Best International Play: The Golden Dragon by Roland Schimmelpfennig (Tarragon Theatre) ...


Event: Knuckleduster (Robert Lippok+Debashis Sinha) CD release "Nuukoono". Supported by the Goethe-Institut Toronto. Date: June 6, 2012 Place: Haus der Kulturen, Berlin, Germany Medium: taz. Die Tageszeitung, by Robert Miessner http://www.taz.de/1/berlin/tazplan-kultur/artikel/?dig=2012%2F06%2F20%2Fa0148&cHash=4b74c26149 Den Bäumen zugetan … Knuckleduster sind im besten Wortsinne Klangforscher. Sie lernten sich in Toronto kennen, wo Robert Lippok am Goethe-Institut einen Vortrag hielt: Er sprach über die Musik seines Trios To Rococo Rot (mit Ronald Lippok und Stefan Schneider) und über industrielles Klangdesign. Lippok und Sina wurden Freunde, diskutierten über Sounds und Software, tranken Wein und teilten Anekdoten. 2007 gaben sie ihr erstes gemeinsames Konzert, wieder in Toronto. … "Nuukoono" ist übrigens ein Kunstwort, das vage an die Sprache der Inuit erinnert. Die CD ist in ein Klappcover verpackt; ausgefaltet ergibt es ein großformatiges Foto: Es zeigt eine Maskenfigur in einer Landschaft. Sie könnte eine des späten Winters oder nahen Frühlings sein. Lippoks und Sinas Musik mag elektronisch und kalkuliert anmuten, doch ist sie organisch. Als ginge man durch einen magischen, dunklen und gefährlichen Wald, sagt Lippok in einem Interview mit dem Webmagazin Vague Terrain. Eichen pflanzen Knuckleduster sind den Bäumen zugetan: Ihr erstes Europa-Konzert widmen sie Joseph Beuys' "7000 Eichen"-Projekt. Beuys hatte 1982 in Kassel begonnen, mit freiwilligen Helfern 7.000 Bäume zu pflanzen und mit einem begleitenden Basaltstein zu versehen. Abgeschlossen wurde das Vorhaben auf der documenta 8. Beuys Motto war "Stadt-verwaldung statt Stadt-verwaltung". Knuckleduster greifen es in einem Langzeitprojekt auf: Während sie touren, möchten sie in verschiedenen Städten Eichen und andere Bäume pflanzen. Jedem der Setzlinge wird ein kurzer Audiotrack gewidmet: Natur, von Menschenhand geschaffene Lebens- und digitale Welt treten in eine Wechselbeziehung. Es ist mehr Wald, als was nach Wald aussieht. Knuckleduster: "Nuukoono" (Gustaff Records); Konzert (mit Marta Collica) im Haus der Kulturen der Welt heute um 20.00 Uhr Lippoks und Sinas Musik mag kalkuliert anmuten, doch sie ist organisch. Als ginge man durch einen magischen, dunklen und gefährlichen Wald


Event: Exhibition Berlin On The Go. Towards a Pedestrian-Friendly City. Presented by the Goethe-Institut Toronto. Date: June 4, 2012 Place: Urbanspace Gallery, Toronto ON Medium: CBC Metro Morning Website, 5:43 min. www.cbc.ca/metromorning/episodes/2012/06/04/moving-people-in-a-city/ Moving people in a city Matt Galloway spoke with Shawn Micallef. He is Senior Editor at SpacingToronto, and will be giving the opening talk at an exhibition looking at the lessons Toronto can learn from Berlin about liveable cities. It is called "Berlin on the Go", and is presented by the Goethe Institute and Urbanspace Gallery, at 401 Richmond Street West. Listen – www.cbc.ca/metromorning/episodes/2012/06/04/moving-people-in-a-city/


Event: Exhibition Berlin On The Go. Towards a Pedestrian-Friendly City. Presented by the Goethe-Institut Toronto. Date: June 3, 2012 Place: Urbanspace Gallery, Toronto ON Medium: Twitter @shawnmicallef, by Shawn Micallef https://twitter.com/?iid=am-70781558913387763660703900&nid=4+status_user&uid=45942005&utm_content=profile - !/shawnmicallef Shawn Micallef’s Tweets Will be on @metromorning at 6:20AM talking about mobility + transit in Toronto & Berlin, wrt Mon @goethetoronto event: bit.ly/L39e8U


Event: Exhibition Berlin On The Go. Towards a Pedestrian-Friendly City. Presented by the Goethe-Institut Toronto. Place: Urbanspace Gallery, Toronto ON Medium: Twitter @rogerkeil, by Roger Keil https://twitter.com/rkeil/status/209765009729912832/photo/1 Roger Keil’s Tweet Here is @shawnmicallef charming Toronto "warriors on the car" with tales on walking in Berlin @GoetheToronto's exhibit pic.twitter.com/S2Ms4ZFE


Event: Exhibition Berlin On The Go. Towards a Pedestrian-Friendly City. Presented by the Goethe-Institut Toronto. Date: June 4, 2012 Place: Urbanspace Gallery, Toronto ON Medium: Twitter @GermanyInCanada https://twitter.com/rkeil/status/209765009729912832/photo/1 Tweet of German Embassy, Ottawa ON GermanEmbassyOttawa ‏@GermanyInCanada Interview on @CBCNews: Lessons Toronto could learn from Berlin a/b liveable cities. http://www.cbc.ca/metromorning/episodes/2012/06/04/moving-people-in-a-city/ http://www.goethe.de/ins/ca/tor/ver/en8822255v.htm @GoetheToronto Retweeted by Goethe-Institut TO


Event: Exhibition Berlin On The Go. Towards a Pedestrian-Friendly City. Presented by the Goethe-Institut Toronto. Date: June 1, 2012 Place: Urbanspace Gallery, Toronto ON Medium: National Post, by Jason Rehel www.nationalpost.com/m/wp/posted-toronto/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/2012/06/01/five-things-to-do-this-week-june-2-8 Five things to do this week: June 2-8 ... EXHIBIT: As part of the Goethe-Institut Toronto’s ongoing “Future of Mobility” series, a new exhibit called Berlin on the Go — Towards a Pedestrian-Friendly City will focus on things the German capital has been doing of late to ensure its varied and historical diverse city spaces encourage people to walk places. Across its 12 districts, Berlin has pushed ahead with wider sidewalks, new green spaces and public squares, plus pedestrian street zones. Of course, the city’s also been doing some things — diagonal intersection or “scramble” crossings and adding bike lanes come to mind — that Toronto has been engaging with. The big difference? The existence of a comprehensive multi-year plan to engage pedestrians, cyclists and transit users across many types of built space, all across the city. Spacing magazine’s Shawn Micallef will be on hand opening night (June 4, 5:30 p.m.) to give a talk tying things back to our hometown, and to solicit feedback from the audience about the show. Bipeds unite! • June 5 to July 31, Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Urbanspace Gallery, 401 Richmond St. W. Free; [external] goethe.de/toronto


Event: The Future of Mobility. Pedestrians and the liveable City. Spine Walk. Presented by the Goethe-Institut Toronto. Date: June 5, 2012 Place: Toronto ON Medium: Torontoist.com, by Rachel Lissner http://torontoist.com/2012/06/audio-walking-tour-is-a-spine-tingling-experience/#more-168108 Audio Walking Tour Is a Spine-Tingling Experience

Gathered on the bridge between the CN Tower and Rogers Centre on Tuesday evening, a small group listens as Cara Spooner hops on a bench and thanks everyone for meeting her here, at the edge of the city. She has prepared an audio walking tour of John Street; everyone was equipped with her audio track on an iPod and on her

count, descended over the bridge, peering down at the train tracks, for a zen-like stroll through the city. The walk doesn’t begin immediately though—instead, Spooner’s voice instructs us to look around and asks if we see what she sees. The group, however, is standing in a circle and no one is facing in the same direction. On the background of the audio is a constant melody of birds chirping behind Spooner’s voice—and then beneath the bridge a GO train storms by, the sounds of the metal click and clang not uncomfortably, but curious against the soundtrack coming from the headphones. Spooner’s voice tells everyone to move forward.

John Street leads from the foot of the CN Tower to the back of the AGO, cutting directly through the Entertainment District and passing some heavyweights in the neighbourhood: MuchMusic, Scotiabank Theatre, and a slew of lively pubs. It is also slated to become a pedestrianized street in the near future, and already has a certain festive air on certain stretches. In Spooner’s eyes, John Street is the spine of the tour—literally, as

she has named it the Spine Walk—with the CN Tower anchoring the city as its pelvis and the AGO as its head. There’s a lot of room for interpretation there, which is the beauty of Spooner’s work. Spooner is a dancer and is interested in movement in public space. Throughout the tour, her narration dwells on the mechanics of walking and the interactions between walkers: “I see this as the choreography of many, but we are all autonomous,” she says.


Her voice speaks softly into the headphones about different parts of the body, the centre of the body, the angle of the collarbone, the arch of the neck. When she talks about making figure-eights with the hips, the walkers start swaying their hips and almost look like dancers themselves. Passersby on the street don’t seem to notice, Spooner says gently on the audio track. With her voice and the sound of birds chirping filling the participants’ ears, few sounds permeate from outside. The removal of external sound heightens and desensitizes the stroll at the same time. One of the participants, Andrea Spaziani, says she loves how the audio tracks reinterpret walking for her—she’s never considered the anatomy of the city before. She describes the experience of being given permission to move at a different pace, and taking the time to use her whole body in the course of what is such an ordinary part of daily life, as an almost out of body experience. The tour ends by telling people to lie down in the grass in Grange Park. Spooner’s voice washes over the birds chirping one last time: “This is where you are supposed to be.”

Spine Walk is part of the Goethe Institut’s The Future of Mobility programme, which

has a focus on pedestrianism, renewal, and environmental planning in cities. There

will be a second tour on June 25, and audio tracks will be available to download for

a self-guided tour.

Photos courtesy of the Goethe-Institut Toronto.


Event: Exhibition Berlin On The Go. Towards a Pedestrian-Friendly City. Presented by the Goethe-Institut Toronto.Date: June 1, 2012 Place: Urbanspace Gallery, Toronto ON Medium: Torontoartsonline.org www.torontoartsonline.org/Events/Free/2012/Presented-by-the-Goethe-Institut-in-collaboration-with-Urbanspace-Gallery-Berlin-on-the-Go-Towards-a-Pedestrian-Friendly-City

Exhibition “Berlin on the Go” is taking steps towards a pedestrian-friendly city, with Shawn Micallef

Opening June 4, 5.30-7pm with a talk by Toronto's star flaneur Shawn Micallef (Spacing Magazine) Part of the Goethe-Institut series The Future of Mobility. Go by foot as often as you can! is the slogan of the Goethe-Institut exhibition “Berlin on the Go” that shows different, innovative initiatives of the City of Berlin to encourage more people to walk, cycle and use public transit – and create a living and livable city.

goethe-institut toronto media coverage for april to july ... · gallery-style photography exhibit,...

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