Toronto events on October 2nd, 2013

CULTURE | Ai Weiwei: Voices of Freedom
Tonight The Art Gallery Of Ontario and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression present a multimedia exhibit in honour of Ai Weiwei, celebrating both Weiwei's art and his political protests. Weiwei is Chinese modern artist currently on display at the AGO who routinely employs a variety of media to express political conflict and the human condition who works in sculpture, film, photography, installation, and more. He also served as artistic consultant to Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron for the construction of the Beijing National Stadium in anticipation of the 2008 Olympics. Tonight's event will be hosted by the CBC's Anna Maria Tremonti, and will feature a variety of guest artists, poets, writers, and musicians.
Baillie Court, Art Gallery of Ontario (317 Dundas Street West) 7PM $20 (students $12)

BOOKS & LIT | The eh List Author Series: Mary Janigan: Let the Eastern Bastards Freeze In The Dark
Toronto author, Mary Janigan, is featured tonight as part of the Toronto Public Library's eh List Author Series. Janigan is a recent recipient of the J.W. Dafoe Book Prize, which she received for Let the Eastern Bastards Freeze in the Dark: The West versus the Rest Since Confederation. This work details the political competition and conflict that existed between Western Canada and Ottawa for the West's resources in our country, post-Confederation. Janigan takes the reader back to 1918, when Western Canadian premiers tried to take control of their regions' destiny and resources back from Ottawa.
North York Central Library (5120 Yonge Street) 7PM

MUSIC | Small World Music Festival: Brownman & Gruvasylum A Lo Cubano: Orishas
The 2013 Small World Music Festival has been in full swing since last Thursday, bringing TO a stretch of high quality world music and global fusion at various venues, including appearances by Jorge Drexler, Tal National, DakhaBrakha, and many others. Tonight finds the festival's penultimate event going down at Lula Lounge, and it will be a unique performance event featuring TO trumpet sensation Brownman — who regularly explores the fusion of jazz, funk and hiphopn — paired up with two Cuban rap pioneers: Ogguere & Telmary.
Lula Lounge (1585 Dundas Street West) 8:30PM $20 ($10 students)

PHOTOGRAPHY | Wasteland
Steam Whistle Brewery presents the launch of their October art show tonight. Wasteland is a photography exhibit featuring the work of Gerry Kaiser and Brad Walsh, exploring the darkness, decay and desolation of North America's dying manufacturing industries. Subtitled A Journey Into The Heart Of Urban Decay, this collection evokes abandoned, man made landscapes made up of building and mechanical structures that lay deserted and silent. Questions about society's values, future, and meaning are brought effortlessly into play. Wasteland runs at Steam Whistle until October 31st.
Steam Whistle Brewing (255 Bremner Blvd) 7PM

CONTINUING

Toronto Bourbon Week
Since Friday this festival celebrating the great American corn-based, distilled spirit, has been holding an event a day at various locales, with each event featuring a different bourbon and theme. Bottoms up!
barVolo (587 Yonge Street) 8PM

Toronto Palestine Film Festival
One of Toronto's fastest growing festivals opened Saturday. The Toronto Palestine Film Festival features a large program of features and shorts packed into one week with additional talks, panels, director Q&As and art shows littered throughout the festival. Discover Palestinian filmmaking at this cultural festival by purchasing tickets through the TPFF website.
Various locations, September 28-October 4, 2013 6:30PM

Festival Of Images And Words
This event, which began in 2005, is devoted to Latin American and Caribbean literature and culture in Canada, and is run by Antares Publishing, a trilingual press specializing in Spanish, English and French literature. The festival will have film screenings, literary events, lectures, and more. The Festival Of Images And Words runs until November 9th.
Glendon Gallery, Glendon College (2275 Bayview Avenue) 6:30PM

Also Of Note

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Photo of Ai Weiwei's AGO exhibit by Derek Flack