Happenings News for donors making a difference
FA L L 2 0 1 6
Donate Today Your donation is an investment in Toronto’s foremost multidisciplinary arts organization.
Marah Braye Chief Executive Officer
Q&A with Marah Braye, CEO, Harbourfront Centre Q: Harbourfront Centre is one of Toronto’s most visited sites and recently celebrated its 40th Anniversary. What are its origins? A: In 1972, the stretch of Toronto’s waterfront south of the Gardiner Expressway was an isolated expanse of derelict industrial buildings. The Trudeau Government created Harbourfront Corporation, a crown corporation with a broad-ranging mandate to revitalize 100 acres of the city’s waterfront. Reinvented in 1991 as a non-profit charitable organization, Harbourfront Centre became the custodian of 10 acres of prime waterfront dedicated to arts and cultural programming. Today, we are supported by all three levels of government, and a very generous community of donors and sponsors whose vital contributions are essential to the work of Harbourfront Centre. Q: Harbourfront Centre’s programming is vast. Can you encapsulate what makes it so unique? A: Our curatorial scope is ambitious, and one particularly suited to Canada and a city like Toronto. We curate internationally renowned programming for millions of visitors annually, embracing a range of artistic disciplines, people and world cultures. We engage with more than 450 community organizations each year, and host over 4,000 events, 70% of which are free of charge. Harbourfront Centre also oversees two global subsidiaries, The Power Plant and the International Festival of Authors (IFOA).
Sailing & Powerboating
The Power Plant is Canada’s leading public gallery of contemporary visual art, while the IFOA’s annual authors’ festival brings together the world’s best writers of contemporary literature each October. People are fascinated to learn that we have supported emerging artists for more than four decades and helped to launch many careers from our stages, including Cirque du Soleil, Feist, k.d. lang, Philip Glass, STOMP, Robert Lepage and Celine Dion!
Our donors make the year-round programming at Harbourfront Centre possible, enabling a truly diverse array of events and activities, and help us provide the necessary seed funding to Canadian artists who are embarking on their professional careers. Please make a donation today, and enjoy many unique benefits including advanced access to our internationally acclaimed festivals, performances, courses and workshops.
Q: What can we expect from Harbourfront Centre in the coming year? A: Harbourfront Centre is undergoing a period of reinvigoration, redefinition and reintroduction to our audiences. Our vision is to be Canada’s leading contemporary arts and cultural organization, and increase our reputation as one of the world’s leading multidisciplinary arts institutions. We will also continue to offer affordable high-quality education and recreational programs for children, youth and adults, including skating lessons, sailing and powerboating courses, school visits, camps, and craft and design workshops. Our 2017 program will focus on celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday, and our summer festival season is entitled “Sounds of Home”. We have the best outdoor stage in the city overlooking the beautiful harbour, and with our focus on live music and musicians from across Canada and around the globe, there is going to be something for everyone.
Learn to Skate
N EW THIS YEAR!
Private Shopping Event Donate today and enjoy an exclusive shopping night in the Harbourfront Centre Shop on December 6–7. Join us for holiday refreshments and a 15% discount on a range of craft and design products, including original works by our own Artists-in-Residence.
For more information please call Diane Chin 416 952 4746 or email dchin@harbourfrontcentre.com
To donate online please visit harbourfrontcentre.com/fall2016
We love our Donors!
Concert series
News Rooftop beehives produce fresh honey
William Yong, Steer
Harbourfront Centre artist comes “home” William Yong is the artistic director of Zata Omm Dance Projects, and has spent the past eleven years breaking new ground by collaborating with scientists, artists, and engineers to re-imagine dance for our technological age. He has created 67 dance, theatre and film works worldwide. William believes in the power of art to not only raise awareness, but to also promote dialogue and inspire action. In 1998, as a recent immigrant from Hong Kong, William worked as an usher in our Fleck Dance Theatre, and dreamed of being on its stage one day. In 2016, William proudly premiered Steer at Harbourfront Centre’s World Stage performing arts
series. In a moving speech, he recounted his journey and appreciation of his time at Harbourfront Centre. ”This brilliant team provided me, the company and our collaborators with invaluable mentorship and production assistance, without which the ambition and scope of this production could not have been realized. They prioritize artistic development and promote their protégés as co-producers, opening up international opportunities and encouraging ambitious and brave new creations.” As a direct result of Steer’s premiere at World Stage, William’s company, Zata Omm, has been signed by an international agent for global touring opportunities.
Cheng’Ou Yu
Anouk Desloges
Donations at work in the Craft & Design Studio Making a go of it as an artist can be difficult, especially right out of school. Studio rentals, materials, tools and day-to-day living expenses can be cost prohibitive. Many artists supplement their income by taking on part-time jobs and applying for government grants – taking critical time away from producing their own work. But thanks to generous donor support, Harbourfront Centre artists have a leg up. Our Artists-in-Residence program recently awarded Jing Huang and Cheng’Ou Yu the inaugural Jenny Y.Y. Tam International Ceramic Residency. “Funding from the residency buys us time to develop new ideas and focus on our own work” said Cheng’Ou.
Jing Huang’s work is on display in Object Diaries as part of Harbourfront Centre’s Fall 2016 Exhibitions until December 22. Six graduating artists-in-residence have also been generously supported by the Dalglish Family Foundation Venture Award, which assists with entrepreneurship and business start-up. Winners include Shane Weaver and Anouk Desloges (2016); K. Claire MacDonald, Jesse Bromm (2015) and Heather Rathbun and Stephanie Fortin (2014). Currently available for purchase in the Harbourfront Centre Shop are works by Jesse Bromm, Anouk Desloges, Cheng’Ou Yu and Shane Weaver.
Have you heard the buzz? Harbourfront Centre got a little sweeter this past summer. We partnered with local urban beekeeping company, Alvéole, to install 12 beehives on Harbourfront Centre’s roof. Aimed at preserving a declining bee population, this partnership is just one of the ways we’re helping to contribute to a greener Toronto. And it comes with a few sweet perks – like honey! You can purchase Harbourfront Centre honey at the Shop. A great hostess or teacher gift for the holidays.
Licensed to Play Achievement Award This May, SOCAN, the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, honoured Harbourfront Centre with the first Licensed to Play Achievement Award at Canadian Music Week’s inaugural Live Music Industry Awards. The award recognized our faithful commitment to fair music licensing, as well as our significant contributions to culture and community in Toronto.
Harbourfront Centre provides warm Canadian welcome to Syrian refugees This past March, with the help of Humanity First’s Syrian Resettlement Project and generous funding from Manulife, 30 new Canadian children aged four to fifteen enjoyed their first Canadian camp experience at Harbourfront Centre – at no cost to their families. Our March Break Camp initiative enabled these children, many of whom were still living out of hotels, to launch their lives in Canada. Our young campers learned new skills, made new friends and, most importantly, gained confidence in their new home.
By the Numbers
Coming Up Festivals & Events
Activities
Ongoing
NextSteps
Skating on the Natrel Rink
Shop
Canada’s Dance Series
October 2 – May 27
Swedish Christmas Fair SWEA Toronto in association with Harbourfront Centre
November 19–20
DJ Skate Nights: New Year’s Eve December 31
Kuumba
February 3-4 & 10-11
HarbourKIDS: NORTH
Opens November 2016
Learn to Skate
November 22 – February 26
DJ Skate Nights December 17 – February 18
Boxcar Social Daily
Craft & Design Studio
January 29 – February 12
March Break Camps
Courses & Workshops
Year-round
Visual Arts September 24 – December 22 Fall Exhibitions
January 21 – April 23
February 20
Winter Exhibitions
Toronto Storytelling Festival
free programming
4,000
events created and presented annually
450
cultural group and community partners
1,105
featured artists from around the globe in 11 summer festivals
600
volunteers completing over 5,688 hours
4,171
March Break and Summer Campers
6,720
course and camp registrations
24,000
School Visits participants
23,000
skates rented each year
Year-round
Craft & Design
Caribbean Sailing Trips
March 13–17
Daily
70%
The Power Plant October 15 – January 2
Co-produced by Storytelling Toronto
Solo Exhibitions by Yto Barreda Latifa Echakhch Maria Loboda
April 2
World Stage April 2017
January 28 – May 15 Solo Exhibitions by Maria Hupfield Kapwani Kiwanga Jonathas de Andrade
Introducing Boxcar Social & The Slip Toronto coffeehouse, bar and charcuterie, Boxcar Social. Located in our main building overlooking the harbour, Boxcar Social offers a curated, rotating list of coffees from the best roasters in North America, as well as a selection of top new-world wines, craft beers, scotches and bourbons. Boxcar Social is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Boxcar Social
This past July, Harbourfront Centre said hello to a new era of food and beverage by opening a stylish new location of
The Slip, managed by Boxcar Social, is a spectacular patio bar open during the warmer months offering great food, great drinks, great vibes and a great view of Harbourfront Centre’s Concert Stage – right on the water’s edge.
To subscribe to our online news updates please visit harbourfrontcentre.com/enewsletters Cover image: William Yong, Steer
235 Queens Quay West, Toronto
Culture lives here
416 973 4000
harbourfrontcentre.com
To make a donation, please visit harbourfrontcentre.com/fall2016 or contact Diane Chin at dchin@harbourfrontcentre.com or 416 952 4746