VISUAL ARTS
60 YEARS OF LIFE DRAWING: EXHIBITION + ART SALE Come browse or pick up a new piece of original artwork (all drawings displayed will be available for sale.) Walt Rushton has curated a collection of his students’ and his own life drawings with a memorial to the founder of the class, Tom Hodgson. Join to celebrate the old, the new and the nude. Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen St. W., 416-531-4635). Wednesday, 7-11 p.m. AIMIA: AGO PHOTOGRAPHY PRIZE recognizes four artists working in photography whose work has exhibited extraordinary potential over the preceding five years. Photos by Liz Johnson Artur, Raymond Boisjoly, Taisuke Koyama and Hank Willis Thomas. Join the artists in conversation with exhibition curator Sophie Hackett about their recent work this Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., with tickets available for free online. Art Gallery of Ontario (317 Dundas St. W., 416-979-6648). Wednesday until Nov. 5. BELONGING TO A PLACE Fogo Island Arts sets the stage where notions of “place” play out in this group exhibition. How do we connect with a place? How do we belong to a plurality of places? Are we all looking for someplace to belong? An exhibition is a place where narratives unfold that are at once distinct from reality and intimately connected. Scrap Metal (11 Dublin St., Unit E, 416-588-2442). Until Sept. 23. BRIAN DONNELLY is the latest artistin-residence at the Cedar Ridge Creative Centre. Brian will be experimenting with a number of different stains as painting media such as beer, black coffee, wine and tea. This will happen in conjunction with an exploration of watercolour portrait painting. The portraits created will be of a vast range of Canadians; from prime ministers to plumbers, lobster fishermen to lab technicians. Visit Brian in the gardener’s cottage this summer. Cedar Ridge Gallery (225 Confederation Dr., Scarborough, 416-396-4026). Sunday until Sept. 14. DESIRE LINES responds to themes that deal with the highly nuanced dynamic of placemaking and what constitutes the concept of home, as well as exploring our complex and storied relationship to the waterfront. This exhibit is curated in both a massive 8,000-square-foot warehouse and retired condo presentation centre with many works responding to the unique features of the space itself. (291 Lake Shore Blvd. E., Artspin.ca/ desire-lines). Until Sept. 3. FARRAH AKBARALI: AUTOBIOGRAPHY, VOLUME 1 Farrah Akbarali’s conceptually driven series of ink line drawings speak loudly to her audience through the use of scale and energetically infused lines which hold memories and meditations; all of which have had a large impact on her practice. Line by line, the images are built up so that the final pieces vibrate with energy. Seemingly delicate objects are enlarged offering new perspectives to shape what is seen and felt. #Hashtag Gallery (830 Dundas St. W., 416-8611866). Until Sunday. NORTHERN TOUCH: THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW WERE DESIGNED IN CANADA offers a small window into the national studios, facilities and labs where innovation in design and technology has taken place. Canadian makers, designers, tinkerers and startups continue to push the envelope, changing the landscapes of and approaches to where and how we live, eat, work, learn and play. Design Exchange (234 Bay St., 416-363-6121). Until Sept. 24. OUT OF THE DEPTHS: THE BLUE WHALE STORY retells the tragic story of 2014 and the unprecedented opportunity for research and conservation that resulted. Come face-to-face with the enormous 24-metre skeleton of Blue and discover the biology of blue whales. Royal Ontario Museum (100 Queen’s Park, 416586-8000). Until Friday. SKATE GIRLS OF KABUL British photographer Jessica Fulford-Dobson travelled to Afghanistan to document girls participating in a program called Skateistan, an NGO founded in Kabul to give girls a place to skate safely and a route into education. Free artist’s talk and panel discussion at the opening this Tuesday at 7 p.m., close by the Ismaili Centre Toronto, Social Hall, on 49 Wynford Drive. Aga Khan Park (77 Wynford Dr., North York, 416-6464677). Tuesday until Oct. 8. STANDING UNDER MIS is a collaboration between Marla Hlady, Christof Migone, Chloe Lum, Yannick Desranleau. S.U.M. is a two-ring circus where performances are staged and documented, installations are arranged and rearranged and documentation lags and layers. Don’t miss the reception this Wednesday at 6 p.m. Katzman Contemporary (86 Miller St., 416-654-9515). Wednesday until Oct. 28.