Toronto events on September 18th, 2013

ART | Ghost Dance: Activism. Resistance. Art.
The Image Centre at Ryerson University presents an exhibition of "indigenous" art, entitled, Ghost Dance. This show has been curated by Steven Loft, and will feature both multimedia artwork, and photographs from the Black Star collection, an extensive archive of photographs from the New York-based Black Star agency, dating back eighty years. The focus of this show is the empowerement of indigenous people and the role of the artist as 'activist', even in a seemingly passive role, as events are chronicled, and communities struggle for control of their own land and destiny. Artists to be featured include Sonny Assu, Vernon Ah Kee, Scott Benesiinaabandan, Dana Claxton, Cheryl L'Hirondelle, Alan Michelson, and others. Ghost Dance runs until December 15th.
Ryerson Image Centre (33 Gould Street) 6PM

MUSIC | Pere Ubu @ Lee's Palace
Pere Ubu hits town tonight for a show at Lee's Palace. Pere Ubu was one of the bands that formed after Cleveland's Rocket From The Tombs disbanded, another was the well-known CBGB mainstays The Dead Boys. Pere Ubu had an experimental slant from the outset, and quickly became a cult favourite, influencing many bands who became far more popular, and only bleeping on the mainstream radar when Peter Murphy covered their classic Final Solution in 1986. At that time the group had disbanded for several years, but shortly thereafter reformed, and has been playing since, albeit with a lineup quite different from the original. Their latest release, Lady from Shanghai, came out at the beginning of this year.
Lee's Palace (529 Bloor Street West) 8PM $20

LECTURE | President's Speaker Series: Bill Shannon
American artist, Bill Shannon, will deliver a lecture at OCAD University tonight, as part of the school's "President's Speaker Series". Shannon is based in Brooklyn, and hails originally from Nashville. Having attended the Art Institute Of Chicago, he relocated to NYC where he found his artistic voice, after becoming influenced by the city's culture which even involved a skateboarding scene that impacted Shannon, who was born with a degenerative hip condition. Shannon has created installation art, videos, and choreography on an international level. He has received a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, and has also collaborated with Cirque du Soleil, among many others.
OCAD University (100 McCaul Street) 6:30PM

BOOKS & LIT | Pivot Reading Series Fall Debut
The Pivot Reading Series, a regular gathering that showcases local literary talent, begins its fall events at The Press Club tonight. Tonight's lineup should get things going on the right foot. Stanley Louis Dragland, a fiction writer and poet, is one of tonight's guests, and Dragland has quite a history in our literary scene, especially as an editor and champion of small presses. Sara Peters will also read tonight, and she is an emerging writer, originally from Nova Scotia, whose first book, 1996 was published this year. Also reading tonight is Robin Richardson, a poet who recently published Knife Throwing Through Self-Hypnosis. Come out and support local literary talent!
The Press Club (850 Dundas Street West) 8PM

Also Of Note

Moving Frames, Shifting Boundaries: Artistic Experiments and Innovation in Film and Video
Rae Spoon's "My Prairie Home" Launch

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Photo of the interior of the Ryerson Image Centre