CONTACT | CONTACT 2011 Openings
Although the festival officially got underway on May 1st, today is the first big day for CONTACT openings across the city. A few worth checking out: Alejandro Cartagena's Suburbia Mexicana: Cause and Effect at Circuit Gallery via Gallery 345, Geoffrey Pugen's Long Divisions at Angell Gallery, Still Life with Thanatotic Animals at gallerywest and the Boreal Collective at Bau-Xi Photo. Word on the street is that blogTO's editor, Derek Flack is also having an opening, but we wouldn't want to push that for fear of a conflict of interest (how's that for having your cake and eating it too?).
Various Venues, Free

FILM | "Living Without Money" Toronto premiere
Heidemarie Schwermer chooses to ignore the existence of money. After giving up all her worldly possessions and her home 14 years ago, Schwermer, 68, began to live a life that was not confined--or defined--by the pursuit of riches. "Living Without Money" is a documentary chronicling Schwermer's adventurous life while examining the relationship between materialism and over-consumption with our health and happiness. Rife with social commentary, the screening is (naturally) a free event and director Line Halvorsen and producer Paolo Pallavidino will be present to take questions after the film.
OISE Auditorium (252 Bloor Street West) 6PM Free

MUSIC | The White Panda at the Mod Club
Mashup DJs The White Panda make their Canadian debut at the Mod Club tonight, where they will sample some of their most popular mixes. The Internet phenoms DJ Griffi and Procrast, hailing from L.A. and Chicago respectively, have gained considerable attention online by mastering the art of mixing material of major acts like Katy Perry, Ian Carey Project, Trey Songz and Nappy Roots. The 19+ crowd will likely sell out so pick up tickets sooner rather than later.
The Mod Club Theatre (722 College Street) 10PM $25 early bird, $30 general

ART | Shai Kremer: Fallen Empires
Acclaimed Israeli-American photographer Shai Kremer presents Fallen Empires, a series of images depicting imperialism and dominance on Israeli land. Displaying photographs of military landscapes and ruins, Kremer's work serves as a reminder of the dangers of normalizing war. Kremer, whose works have recently appeared at the Tate Modern and the San Francisco MoMA, aims to provide an aesthetically pleasing case study of fallen empires and the impact on their claimed lands.
Julie M. Gallery (15 Mill Street) 6PM Free

DANCE | Momentum 2011
Students of The School of Toronto Dance Theatre present their annual year-end showcase tonight, with performances by dancers from all three levels of the professional training program. A mixture of classic dances and provocative new pieces, students will perform dances choreographed by such greats as Julia Sasso and Sasha Ivanochko, winner of the Kathryn Ash Choreographic Commission. The highlight of the evening will be a piece by Gerry Trentham in which second year students will create their own vocal score as they perform.
The Winchester Street Theatre (80 Winchester Street) 8PM $15 student/senior, $19 general

THEATRE | Crookback: An Adaptation of Richard III
From director Tim Welham comes this adaptation of the text of Shakespeare's Richard III. A one-man show in which Welham himself performs as thirteen characters, the name is a nod to the hunchbacked title character, whose hunger for power leads him to rise and fall from the English throne. After having spent a year adapting the Shakespearean text, the seasoned actor will perform his unforgettable masterpiece to local theatre audiences.
Unit 102 Theatre (46 Noble Street) 8PM $15

OTHER EVENTS ON OUR RADAR:

• The Spirit of Discovery in Women's Health Research
• A Parkdale Ting: Cinco de Mayo Edition
• Living Without Religion

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

For Toronto movie showtimes, view our Movie Listings section.

Photo by kcnickerson in the blogTO Flickr pool.