PHOTOGRAPHY | Artists in Conversation: Pierre Leguillon and Annie MacDonell
Beginning with a screening of Hollis Frampton's Nostalgia in the original 16mm format, artists Pierre Leguillon and Annie MacDonell will sit down for a chat with Mercer Union's Director of Exhibitions and Publications Sarah Robayo Sheridan about the photographic image and the nature of archives. The film, which is an avant-garde short featuring Michael Snow, is rife with metaphors about capturing memories and archiving art, making it the perfect lead to a discussion with two artists who have created exhibits on the subject. Leguillon's exhibit on the 1960s press photographer, Diane Arbus: A Printed Retrospective, 1960-1971, and MacDonell's Originality and the Avant Garde (On Art and Repetition), which explores repetition as a path to meaning, open this Friday at Mercer Union.
Art Gallery of Ontario, Jackman Hall (317 Dundas Street West) 7PM Free

FILM | Lyrical Form in Films — Notes and Illustrations
U of T Cinema Studies professor Bart Testa will hold a public lecture on film form and style this evening at Woodsworth College's Waters Lounge. Testa, the brilliant author of "Back and Forth: Early Cinema" and "Avant-Garde and Spirit in the Landscape," will reference his academic work on avant-garde and European art cinema while examining Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life in his lecture. Tickets will be available at the door.
Waters Lounge, Woodsworth College Residence (321 Bloor Street West) 6PM $10 alumni, $12 guests, $5 students

LITERATURE | Descant 155: A Launch
Quarterly literary magazine Descant 155 celebrates the launch of its latest issue A Winter Reader tonight at Trane Studio. Featuring poetry, essays, art and prose centering around the coldest season, the issue will contains works by authors Angel Beyde, Ricardo Sternberg and Rosemary Sullivan who will also read at the event. Complimentary hors d'euvres will be available along with a cash bar and raffle prizes. Proceeds will go to the Descant Arts & Letters Foundation.
The Trane Studio (964 Bathurst Street) 6PM Free

POLITICS | Forum on a National Transit Strategy
MP Matthew Kellway hosts a forum on National Transit Strategies tonight with panelists Olivia Chow, Michael Prue and Michael Roschlau. The MP of Trinity-Spadina, Chow acts as transport and infrastructure critic while Prue, the MPP of the Beaches-East York district, takes the role of finance critic. Roschlau, the President and CEO of the Canadian Urban Transit Association, will also join the discussion that will focus on Toronto's poor performance as a commuter city and the costs the city incurs as a result. Join the discussion and contribute your ideas about a more accessible and affordable transit strategy to make a difference in our city.
D.A. Morrison Middle School (271 Gledhill Avenue) 6PM Free

OTHER EVENTS ON OUR RADAR:

• Final Budget Showdown: Toronto vs. Rob Ford
• These Boots EP Release & Conquer Cancer Fundraiser
• In Praise of Women

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 PLTam in the blogTO Flickr pool