Culture in Toronto

Toronto is the largest city of Canada and one of the most multicultural cities in the world. Many immigrant cultures have brought their traditions languages and music to Toronto.

Toronto is a business-minded, conscientious, socially progressive, and pluralistic city. It is a city of many museums, theatres, festival events and sports activities. The city features many distinctive neighbourhoods bustling with activity and vitality. Many of these neighbourhoods were originally built as streetcar suburbs in the past and are still vibrant today. This is partially because of an influx of residents in the downtown caused by a large amount of new condominium construction in the city since the mid 2000s.

Toronto is one of the few cities in North America to retain its historic streetcar lines. These streetcars are not touristic streetcars, but are an integral part of the transit system. This streetcar network crisscrosses the downtown area and some of the suburban parts of the city as well. The city also features many unique neighbourhoods. These include the largest collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America (a legacy from Toronto's past as a major whisky distilling centre), the largest urban car-free community in North America, and the bohemian heart of the city, Kensington Market.

The city features a number of notable, internationally known festivals. The city is home to the Toronto International Film Festival, one of the largest and most prestigious events of its kind in the world. It is also home to the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, the largest documentary festival in North America. The Scotiabank CONTACT photography festival, one of the largest photography festivals in the world, showcases notable photographs from throughout the world. The Toronto International Festival of Authors welcomes authors from throughout the world to promote interest and enthusiasm in writing and reading on both a local and international level. Another notable festival beloved by Torontonians and tourists alike is Caribana, a Caribbean culture festival billed as the largest street festival in North America. The city also features one of the largest public library systems in the world and unique museums such as the Bata Shoe Museum, the Aga Khan Museum, and the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The city is the third-largest film and television production centre in North America, after Los Angeles and New York, and has the third-largest English language theatre district in the world, after New York and London.David Gardner
"Theatre, English-Language — Current Trends"
in ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', 2009, retrieved 6 July 2009. Successful television shows shot or set in the city and surrounding areas include ''Kim's Convenience'', ''Schitt's Creek'', '' SCTV'', ''Kids in the Hall'', ''Orphan Black'', and the ''Degrassi'' franchise. The city is also home to the OVO Sound recording company. A few famous music artists that have emerged from the city or its suburbs include Peaches, Rush, Drake, Jessie Reyez, Shawn Mendes, Alessia Cara, Tory Lanez and The Weeknd.

Dishes that originated in the city or that are unique to it include Peameal bacon, Peameal bacon sandwiches, East Indian rotis, Toronto-style pizza, sushi pizza, and many unique fusion cuisine dishes.

Film festivals

Toronto has one of the highest count of film festivals in the world. The most well-known is the Toronto International Film Festival. Founded in 1976, TIFF is now one of the largest and most prestigious events of its kind in the world. In 1998, ''Variety'' magazine acknowledged that TIFF "is second only to Cannes in terms of high-profile pics, stars, and market activity". In 2007, ''Time'' noted that TIFF had "grown from its place as the most influential fall film festival to the most influential film festival, period". This is partially the result of the festival's ability and reputation for generating "Oscar buzz".

The festival's People's Choice Award—which is based on audience balloting—has emerged as an indicator of success in awards season, especially at the Academy Awards. Past recipients of this award include Oscar-winning films, such as: ''Life Is Beautiful'', '' American Beauty'', ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'', ''Slumdog Millionaire'', ''The King's Speech'', ''12 Years a Slave'', ''The Imitation Game'', ''Room'', ''La La Land'', ''Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'' and '' Green Book''.

The TIFF Bell Lightbox opened in 2010 as a permanent headquarters for TIFF. It houses film screenings (mostly Canadian, art-house, international, etc. films), restaurants, and exhibition and gallery spaces.

The city is also home to the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, which is the largest documentary festival in North America. Other film festivals in Toronto include Inside Out Toronto Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival, ReelHeART International Film Festival, Toronto After Dark Film Festival, Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, and WILDsound Film Festival. Toronto also has the National Film Board of Canada.

Art and exhibits

Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum ("the ROM") is well known, as well as the Art Gallery of Ontario (the "AGO") which is one of North America's largest.

Toronto holds many other major museums and galleries, such as the Gardiner Museum, Bata Shoe Museum, Design Exchange, Museum of Inuit Art, Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Fort York, TIFF Bell Lightbox, Canadian Air and Space Museum, CBC Museum, Hockey Hall of Fame, John Street Roundhouse, Institute for Contemporary Culture
TD Gallery of Inuit Art
Textile Museum of Canada, Harbourfront Centre, Allen Lambert Galleria, Ontario Science Centre and the Aga Khan Museum. There are also museums, such as the Parliament Interpretive Centre, operated by Ontario Heritage Trust, purposed for education about the War of 1812 and the history and anthropology of the province and city.

Prominent art scenes and collections are also found in the city's major institutions, like the Ontario College of Art and Design University, the University of Toronto Art Centre, Ryerson Image Centre, and the Art Gallery of York University. The city also runs its own historic museums which include Casa Loma and Spadina House. Lastly, there is also a place called Graffiti Alley, a network of alleyways around Queen St and Spadina Ave that features kilometres of graffiti art.

The governments of Toronto and Ontario also each have collections of important archives, historic artifacts and documents, as well as artworks of significance. The City of Toronto Archives and Archives of Ontario house these in separate buildings, but may be available for public viewing. The Toronto Reference Library also holds historic documents from the world and hosts exhibitions. Toronto also has the largest public library system in the world.

Some prominent artists who have called Toronto home are Tom Thomson, the Group of Seven members, Douglas Coupland, Shary Boyle, General Idea's members, and Frank Gehry.

Gallery devotees to contemporary art include the Power Plant, Design Exchange, Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, First Canadian Place gallery and many private galleries in Yorkville, the Distillery District, Queen Street West, The Junction, and elsewhere. Nuit Blanche Toronto is a free celebration of contemporary art which features public art commissions, all-night exhibitions, live performances and programs throughout the city. Luminato is a comparable annual event that runs for ten days at the beginning of June.

During Doors Open Toronto, which takes place annually in May, over 140 buildings of architectural, historic or cultural significance are open to the public for a citywide celebration. The city of Toronto was the first government organization to create this kind of event. The annual Toronto International Art Fair showcases modern, multi-disciplined art with a focus on the latest international developments. The Queen West Art Crawl is an annual weekend-long festival celebrating the arts on Queen Street West. The Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition is another annual weekend event at Nathan Phillips Square, gathering more than 500 visual artists and craftspeople mainly from Ontario and Quebec. Works including Native art, contemporary sculpture, and architectural models can be seen within the rotunda of Toronto's City Hall. Art is also showcased within the Toronto subway system, most notably on the Sheppard line and stations north of Bloor St, as well as Pearson Airport, featuring international and Canadian art.

Public art and sculpture in the city are abundant, and have representations of many artists like Henry Moore, Richard Serra, Sol LeWitt, Menashe Kadishman, Douglas Coupland, Bernard Schottlander, Jaume Plensa, Rowan Gillespie, William McElcheran, Joe Fafard, and traditional Inuit art, among others. Public art also finds a home at the Toronto Sculpture Garden, with its temporary outdoor exhibitions. The Princess of Wales Theatre also has the largest work of American painter Frank Stella, with 10 000 sq. ft of his works found inside the structure, as well as a large mural at the sides of it.

Exhibition Place is the home of both the Canadian National Exhibition, a large annual outdoor fair, and the Canadian International Air Show. Nearby Ontario Place is a popular amusement park on the waterfront.

A vibrant visual arts scene includes several artist-run cooperatives regularly presenting contemporary art exhibitions.

ArtsScene, a group hosted by Business for the Arts, an alliance of banks and insurance companies, aims to encourage more young business professionals to engage with the arts. ArtsScene holds monthly events at different arts organizations, organizes events to arrange volunteer board and committee memberships in Canadian arts and heritage organizations, and maintains a website to connect potential volunteers on-line with arts organizations.

Toronto's fashion scene is primarily focused in Queen West, King West, and Yorkville. The city has LG Fashion Week, and also recently has had "Rogue Fashion Week" for designers who choose not to show with the official festival. There is also a Fashion Film Festival.

Performing arts

Toronto is home to Canada's most active English language theatre scene; indeed, the Canadian actor, playwright and theatre critic David Gardner has claimed: "With over 168 nonprofit companies and a host of independent commercial enterprises, Toronto has emerged as the world's third-largest centre for English-language theatre, behind only London and New York."

Toronto's Soulpepper Theatre Company regularly stages classic works by Ibsen, Chekhov and Shakespeare, while the Canadian Stage Company has mounted performances of ''Shirley Valentine'', ''Frankenstein'' and ''It's a Wonderful Life''. Harold Green Jewish Theatre has staged such pieces as ''Kindertransport'' and ''Tuesdays with Morrie''. Tarragon Theatre not only has performed pieces by Strindberg, Chekhov, etc., but has helped playwrights to develop and stage new works.

Several Broadway theatrical hits originated in Toronto, such as the 1993 revival of ''Show Boat'' and ''Ragtime''. Venues for theatre include the historic Canon Theatre (formerly the "Pantages"), the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres, the Princess of Wales Theatre, the Royal Alexandra Theatre, the Poor Alex Theatre, and the Harbourfront Centre. Theatres such as The Factory Theatre and Theatre Passe Muraille aim to produce distinctly Canadian theatre and have nurtured local artists including George F. Walker, Michael Healey and Ann-Marie MacDonald.

Other prominent venues include St Lawrence Centre for the Performing Arts, Young Centre for the Performing Arts, Young People's Theatre, Imperial Oil Opera Theatre, and the Royal Conservatory of Music.

Musical venues in Toronto include Roy Thomson Hall, home to Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO); the Toronto Centre for the Arts in North York; Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, (previously the Hummingbird Centre) and Massey Hall. The Canadian Opera Company built Canada's first purpose-built opera house, the Four Seasons Centre, which opened in 2006. The National Ballet of Canada, which had previously appeared at the Sony Centre with the COC, also moved into the Four Seasons Centre at the same time. The city is also home to the renowned Toronto Children's Chorus.

As Canada's recording industry centre, Toronto is also home to many Canadian pop, rock, and hip hop musicians. Live music is centred primarily in the Entertainment District on Queen Street West, though many music venues exist in other neighbourhoods. Established acts play at venues such as Lee's Palace, The Opera House, The Horseshoe Tavern, The Mod Club, The Phoenix Concert Theatre, The Guvernment and Kool Haus. Major concert tours usually book into larger venues such as Air Canada Centre, Sony Centre for the Arts, Rogers Centre and Molson Amphitheatre at Ontario Place.

The Toronto Music Garden, designed with Yo-Yo Ma as a consultant, also hosts free outdoor orchestras in the summer.

Toronto hosts the annual Toronto Student Film Festival. TSFF is a free submission film festival, that screens short films created by students 12–18 years old. This festival attracts submissions from across the world.

Literature

The Greater Toronto Area is the centre of English Canadian literature, and a list of fiction set in Toronto reveals many titles by writers such as Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, Robertson Davies, M. G. Vassanji and Timothy Findley

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