Doors Open Toronto 2011: You’re Invited to Celebrate & Get Interactive

This blog is an update to my previous post Doors Open Toronto 2011 Invites You to Explore & Experience!

Here is a beautiful, positive perspective on the popular Doors Open Toronto from our wonderful, ever-giving volunteers in 2010:

Doors Open Toronto is a popular, annual city-wide celebration that features free public access to 150 architecturally, historically, culturally and socially significant buildings. Doors Open Toronto has attracted more than 1.9 million visitors since it began and was the first North American city to launch a Doors Open event. Doors Open Toronto is produced by the City of Toronto and sponsored by The Toronto Star. Media sponsor: Citytv and OMNI Television.”

All the activities of Doors Open Toronto 2011 are FREE.

This Friday, May 27, is the FREE Opening Night Celebration which will launch Doors Open Toronto 2011 at the Royal Ontario Museum at 4:30 pm.

The FREE interactive activities of Doors Open Toronto 2011 are:

Opening Night Celebration: Everyone’s invited!

Doors Open Toronto Launch at the Royal Ontario Museum
Friday May 27, 2011

  • Doors Open Toronto will officially launch on Friday May 27 when the Royal Ontario Museum opens its doors to the public for FREE from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. (excluding its ticketed event “Water: The Exhibition”)
  • Opening remarks from Dean Levitt of Levitt Goldman Architects, and to kick off the 2011 theme of photography,
  • At 6:30pm, three notable architectural photographers (Peter MacCallum, Peter A. Sellar and Cindy Blažević) will be speaking about their work in the ROM Lecture Theatre

“Doors Open Toronto Photography Contest: City in Focus 2011”

  • By entering the contest, you agree to have any of your winning photos displayed at City locations and used in City of Toronto print and electronic communication materials, advertising and promotional materials and on the City’s website, for any purpose and at any time in the future, without any fee or other form of compensation.
  • For anyone 18 years or older to submit up to four photographs taken at official Doors Open Toronto buildings during the 2011 event.
  • All submissions must be made through www.flickr.com and will be accepted as of the Doors Open Toronto weekend, May 28 and 29, 2011 after 10 a.m. on Saturday until midnight on Friday, June 3, 2011.
  • Winning photographs will be selected in four categories: best building exterior, best building interior, best architectural detail and best door.
  • Participants who have submitted winning/honourable mention photos will be notified by June 20th, 2011, approximately. If you are a winner, you will be notified by email and, upon notification, you must respond within five (5) days of such notification. If you don’t respond within that time, you will be disqualified and will not receive a prize and another contestant may be selected.
  • Winners will be announced by the end of June 2011 via the City’s website and through a media release.
  • The four winning photographs will be featured on the Doors Open Toronto website: www.toronto.ca/doorsopen and announced in the Toronto Star in late June. They will also be published in “Our Toronto”, a City publication delivered to every household by the City of Toronto. Winners will receive a copy of Toronto’s Visual Legacy – Official City Photography from 1856 to the Present donated by the The City of Toronto Archives.
  • Your photo entries must have been created by you and you must not submit a photo created by someone else. You must be the sole owner of all rights to the photos you submit. Submitted photographs must be taken at any official Doors Open Toronto building during the 2011 event.

Please click here for complete contest rules, regulations, categories and instructions for submitting photos.

“Ask a Photographer” (New)

Expert photographers at select venues will offer you architectural photography advice. Look out for their badges and join in the conversation about their work with participants in Ask a Photographer, who include:

  • documentary photographer and pin hole camera specialist Tod Ainslie
  • architectural and travel photographer Tom Arban
  • black-and-white specialist Andy Brooks
  • fine art photographer Russell Brohier
  • commercial and performance photographer Michael Cooper
  • black-and-white photography by David Drake
  • architectural photographer Shai Gill
  • psychogeographer, photographer and panographer Aleksandar Janicijevic
  • architectural and commercial photographer Richard Johnson, who will talk about his “Ice Huts” series
  • landscape and architectural photographer Simeon Posen, talking about and demonstrating his large format cameras
  • fine art photographer Eugen Sakhenko
  • renowned portrait photographer Al Gilbert.

Please click here for meeting locations, dates and times to “Ask a Photographer”.

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra: Five 30-Minute Live Performances

Performers include:

  1. violinist Genevieve Gilardeau, cellist Christina Mahler and lute player Lucas Harris; Gardiner Museum: Saturday 10:30 a.m. and 12 noon;
  2. violinists Aisslinn Nosky and Cristina Zacharias joined by cellist Felix Deak; Crystal Ballroom, Le Meridian – King Edward Hotel : Saturday 11:30 and 1:00 p.m.;
  3. violinists Patricia Ahern and Christopher Verrette joined by Borys Medicky on harpsichord; Evergreen Brick Works: Saturday 2:30 and 4:00 p.m.;
  4. viola d’amore by Thomas Georgi and Lucas Harris on lute: Enoch Turner Schoolhouse: Sunday 2:30 and 4:00 p.m. and
  5. oboists John Abberger and Marco Cera joined by Dominic Teresi on bassoon; U of T – Regis College: Sunday 2:30 and 4:00 p.m.

Toronto City Hall (New)

100 Queen St. West
Saturday May 28 & Sunday 29, 2011

  • Visit from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m to get your official program guides and free Doors Open Ontario guides.
  • Enjoy a self-guided tour including the 27th floor Observation Deck and Mayor’s Office.
  • View “Toronto’s Visual Legacy: Official City Photography from 1856-2008”.
  • Children can tour City Hall through a scavenger hunt, using clues to locate various features and locations.
  • The Toronto Camera Club offers free workshops including:
  1. “A Different Way of Looking” by David Foster;
  2. “Architecture through the Ages – from Classical Greek to 21st Century” by Robert Shechter;
  3. “Photographing Urban Landscapes – Creating Compelling Images” by Jeffrey Canto-Thaler; and
  4. “Analysis and Design of Photographs” with Leo Mascarinas.

Please click here for more detailed information about City Hall programming

Diaspora Dialogues

  • Both will explore what as a society we collectively decide to forget and what we choose to hold onto through memory and its embodiment in our physical city.
  • Using the metaphor of infrastructure, The “Forgetful City” runs all weekend.
  • The public are invited to contribute photos or stories to be incorporated into the evolving installation for that weekend.

Renowned Toronto Architect John Lyle –Special Presentations & Tours (New)

  • She will give a talk about his career, the design of Union Station and Lyle’s role as a cultural nationalist on Sun at 11:00 a.m., 1:00p.m. and 3:00pm.
  • Guides from the Toronto Society of Architects will give free 20-minute mini-tours of towers near City Hall on Sunday, May 29. Tours start at City Hall.

Please click on the following lists for important info:

  • List of Buildings by District (Map): in the following lists, please note that when you click on “more” for each building, you will find a map at the bottom of each blog, and in order to view the street names in each map you must click on the magnification arrow on the left side in the map upwards (i.e., zoom closer) until you get the street names:
  1. South
  2. North
  3. East
  4. West

You can also interact with Doors Open Toronto through its Facebook and Twitter pages.

“Enhance your event experience! Check out the Doors Open on your smart phone with our easy to read mobile site, or download one of the Doors Open apps.”

Please click here for complete details – dates, times, locations – for the 150 buildings, programs highlighted and for the many other photography events taking place this year.

Enjoy!

Doors Open Toronto 2011: You're Invited to Celebrate & Get Interactive with
Doors Open Toronto 2011: You're Invited to Celebrate & Get Interactive

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

News Release

May 19, 2011

Get interactive with Doors Open Toronto 2011

This year’s photography-themed 12th edition of Doors Open Toronto on Saturday, May 28 and Sunday, May 29 has many free interactive opportunities for the public. Highlights include a photography contest, an “Ask a Photographer” program, talks by notable architectural photographers, performances by five ensembles drawn from Toronto’s internationally acclaimed Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, and more.

Complete details – dates, times, locations – for the programs highlighted below and for the many other photography events taking place this year, are available at http://www.toronto.ca/doorsopen/events.htm.

“Doors Open Toronto Photography Contest: City in Focus 2011” encourages anyone 18 years or older to submit up to four photographs taken at official Doors Open Toronto buildings during the 2011 event. Winning photographs will be selected in four categories: best building exterior, best building interior, best architectural detail and best door. A professional panel will select the winning photos, which will be announced and published in the Toronto Star in late June and in the City’s Our Toronto publication.

Visit http://www.toronto.ca/doorsopen for contest rules, regulations, categories and instructions for submitting photos.

“Ask a Photographer” is an initiative involving expert photographers at select venues who will be available to talk about their work and to offer architectural photography advice.

Participants in Ask a Photographer include:
– documentary photographer and pin hole camera specialist Tod Ainslie
– architectural and travel photographer Tom Arban
– black-and-white specialist Andy Brooks
– fine art photographer Russell Brohier
– commercial and performance photographer Michael Cooper
– black-and-white photography by David Drake
– architectural photographer Shai Gill
– psychogeographer, photographer and panographer Aleksandar Janicijevic
– architectural and commercial photographer Richard Johnson, who will talk about his “Ice Huts” series
– landscape and architectural photographer Simeon Poseon, talking about and demonstrating his large format cameras
– fine art photographer Eugen Sakhenko
– renowned portrait photographer Al Gilbert.

Members of Toronto’s acclaimed Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra will engage in 30-minute live performances at five locations. Performers include violinist Genevieve Gilardeau, cellist Christina Mahler and lute player Lucas Harris; violinists Aisslinn Nosky and Cristina Zacharias joined by cellist Felix Deak; violinists Patricia Ahern and Christopher Verrette joined by Borys Medicky on harpsichord; viola d’amore by Thomas Georgi and Lucas Harris on lute; and oboists John Abberger and Marco Cera joined by Dominic Teresi on bassoon.

Toronto City Hall has many activities scheduled throughout the weekend. Visitors can take a self-guided tour (which includes the Mayor’s Office and the 27th floor Observation Deck) and view “Toronto’s Visual Legacy: Official City Photography from 1856-2008.”

Children can tour City Hall through a scavenger hunt, using clues to locate various features and locations. The Toronto Camera Club offers free workshops including: “A Different Way of Looking” by David Foster: “Architecture through the Ages – from Classical Greek to 21st Century” by Robert Shechter; “Photographing Urban Landscapes – Creating Compelling Images” by Jeffrey Canto-Thaler; and “Analysis and Design of Photographs” with Leo Mascarinas. There are also free hands-on daily workshops with Lomography Canada and the Toronto Museum Project Online – http://www.torontomuseumproject.ca – hosts a hands-on open house in City Hall’s Committee Room 3.

Diaspora Dialogues hosts a weekend long interactive art installation and panel at the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant. Both will explore what as a society we collectively decide to forget and what we choose to hold onto through memory and its embodiment in our physical city. Using the metaphor of infrastructure, The “Forgetful City” runs all weekend. The public are invited to contribute photos or stories to be incorporated into the evolving installation for that weekend.

John Lyle’s granddaughter Lorna Harris will be at Runnymede Library and Union Station to talk about this acclaimed architect’s career, the design of Union Station and John Lyle’s role as a cultural nationalist. Both buildings are fine examples of two distinct periods of his career. Guides from the Toronto Society of Architects will give free 20-minute mini-tours of towers near City Hall on May 29. Tours start at City Hall.

Doors Open Toronto officially launches on May 27 at the Royal Ontario Museum, which is opens for free from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m., excluding its ticketed event called “Water: The Exhibition.” After opening remarks by Dean Goodman of Levitt Goodman Architects, notable architectural photographers Peter MacCallum. Peter A. Sellar and Cindy Blazevic will speak about their work in the ROM Lecture Theatre.

The public can also interact with Doors Open Toronto through its Facebook and Twitter pages. Mobile applications may also become available. Link to them through http://www.toronto.ca/doorsopen.

Doors Open Toronto is a popular, annual city-wide celebration that features free public access to 150 architecturally, historically, culturally and socially significant buildings. Doors Open Toronto has attracted more than 1.9 million visitors since it began and was the first North American city to launch a Doors Open event. Doors Open Toronto is produced by the City of Toronto and sponsored by The Toronto Star. Media sponsor: Citytv and OMNI Television.

Toronto is Canada’s largest city and sixth largest government, and home to a diverse population of about 2.6 million people. Toronto’s government is dedicated to delivering customer service excellence, creating a transparent and accountable government, reducing the size and cost of government and building a transportation city. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can dial 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.