The Arts Junction: murmur

Friday, June 27, 2008

[murmur] expands to Toronto's Junction neighbourhood!

Press-Release: [murmur] expands to Toronto's Junction neighbourhood!

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:
June 19th, 2008

[murmur] expands to Toronto's Junction neighbourhood!

Location based cell-phone documentary project will begin recording personal stories in the Junction as part of the 2008 Junction Arts Festival

Toronto ON: [murmur] is pleased to announce that they will be recording stories, memories and personal histories in the Junction neighbourhood during July and August of 2008.

In anticipation of a September launch, [murmur] wants to meet Junction residents and business owners (and ex-pats and visitors alike), who have a story, memory or even opinion on a particular location in the neighbourhood. [murmur] wants to preserve those memories in the [murmur] archive and make them accessible to everyone else via mobile telephone.

Much has happened in Toronto, and a lot has occurred on our sidewalks, in our parks and behind the walls of even the most non-descript buildings -- but unless those memories are recorded and captured, our collective civic consciousness tends to forget them. [murmur] wants to connect with people who either have stories about themselves or know the local Junction history and wants them to take us on their own personal tour of the area and tell us about the special places and memories they share with friends when out on a stroll. Participants are urged to email, junction@murmurtoronto.ca or call 416-767-5036. And, there will be story collection available at the "Junction City" square at 2960 Dundas Street West at Pacific Avenue.

Once we start sharing our own stories we can celebrate and understand ourselves more, and even feel more at home in the neighbourhood we live in or visit. There are a million stories in the city, and each of us has one.

About [mumur]:
[murmur] is an archival audio documentary project that collects and curates stories set in specific Toronto locations, told by Torontonians themselves. At each of these locations, a green [murmur] sign with a telephone number and location code marks where stories are available. By using a mobile phone, users are able to listen to the story of that place while engaging in the physical experience of being there. Some stories suggest that the listener walk around, following a certain path through a place, while others allow a person to wander with both their feet and their gaze.

[murmur] was first established in Toronto's Kensington Market in 2003 and has since spread to the Annex, Spadina Avenue, Dundas Square, Fort York and Little India. In Canada [murmur] is located in Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal while international locations include San Jose, Sao Paolo, Edinburgh, Dublin, and Galway Ireland. [murmur] was initially developed with the assistance of the Canadian Film Centre's New Media Lab.
For more info and to listen to stories, go to: www.murmurtoronto.ca.

About the Junction Arts Festival:
The annual Junction Arts Festival is the main project of the Junction Forum for Art and Culture (JFAC), an arts presenting body. JFAC was incorporated as a non-profit group in February 2004. 2008 marks the 16th year for the Junction Arts Festival, and the 100th anniversary of the Junction becoming an independent city (City of West Toronto, April 14, 1908). For more information, visit: www.junctionartsfest.com.

The people who make up the Board of Directors of the Junction Forum for Art and Culture are dedicated cultural producers, artists, residents, business owners and politicians all of whom are connected, in some way, to the Junction.

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For further information contact:
Shawn Micallef
[murmur] Creative Director
Email: shawn@murmurtoronto.ca
Tel: 647-828-6412
Web: www.murmurtoronto.ca

For general information contact:
Junction Forum for Art and Culture
Email: junctionartsfest@on.aibn.com
Tel: 416-767-5036
Web: www.junctionartsfest.com

Friday, June 13, 2008

West Toronto Junction City Presents Free Summer Concerts and Family Fun

"Junction City" Centennial Events April 12, 2008
Originally uploaded by IT Ceremony.

2008 will be the first summer that the Junction Forum for Art and Culture will present the Live Summer Concert Series in the Junction.

Every Saturday from June 14 to August 2, 2008 the Junction Train Platform in the West Toronto Junction City Square, 2960 Dundas Street West at Pacific Avenue will be alive with entertainment and activities for everyone to enjoy.

From 10 am local businesses will gather in the Junction organic farmers' market, where you can also get a circus lesson from Toronto Aerial Dance Theatre, have a photo taken in period costume, contribute a story to [murmur], take a walking tour presented by the West Toronto Junction Historical Society( at 1:30 pm), and more.

All of this will be centred around the noon free concerts representing the wide range of cultures making up the Junction including; Maltese, Jamaican, Kenyan, Mexican, Peruvian, Spanish, Celtic and North American.

Students from the Academy of Realist Art have completed an historic-themed mural on the left side of the platform area the last few weeks as well - sand some landscaping has been added to the area to green-it-up.

So come up to the Junction for brunch, then head over to the Junction Train Platform to see what's going on.

JUNE 2008 LIVE CONCERT SCHEDULE
All concerts start at noon on the Junction Train Platform

• June 14 concert will feature Donné Roberts
Juno award winner and Urban Music award nominated Canada’s Afro-cosmopolitan artist

If the immortal sounds of Fela Kuti, Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, Peter Gabriel and Richie Havens were to come together as one, their torchbearer might very well be Madagascar-born, Russian-raised and now Toronto-based guitarist Donné Roberts. Effortlessly combining poly-rhythmic African and European folk & groove and blazing North American funk, rock and blues influences, Roberts and his 6-piece band deliver a remarkably diverse, infectiously joyful and utterly unique live music experience.

• June 21 concert will feature Pagan Jam
Celebrate the Solstice

Join us for an hour of Pagan music and chants as we pay tribute to the Solstice with a group of local Toronto and Junction musicians brought together by local recording engineer Chris Hall. This will be followed at night by the Junction Community in Bloom Summer Solstice Lantern Tour of the area celebrating the Junction's mix of grit and community and reminding us of Earth Hour's conservation message.

• June 28 concert will feature Malta Band Club
30 Piece Band

The Malta Band Club was founded by a group of dedicated Maltese musicians who mostly lived on Dundas Street and the surrounding area. The club had its beginnings in the late 1960's as a marching band organized by the Maltese Canadian Society of Toronto. In 1971, the band members decided to branch out on their own and formed the now popular and successful Malta Band Club, Inc.

JUNE 2008 West Toronto Junction Historical Society Walking Tours SCHEDULE
All tours start at 1:30 pm at the Junction Train Platform

• June 14, June 21, June 28

Following Summer Concerts in the Junction at the Pacific Station (Just east of the North East Corner of Pacific and Dundas) WTJHS Historical Walking Tours led by historical characters. The first three tours, June 14, 21, 28 will visit the Carlton Davenport district north east of the station. This working class neighbourhood predates the rest of the Junction as the villages of Carleton and Davenport. Learn of the wondrous healer who lived on Vine Avenue, experience the tragedy of nine Junction young men who died in the Humber Bay, meet Bartholomew Bull and the enterprising Bulls of Tipperary.
Host: A.B. Rice with special guests. Wear sensible shoes.

Also, be sure to check out www.thejunctioncity.com for more information and updates on the July and August entertainment schedules.

EVERY SATURDAY from June 14 to August 2, 2008
at the Junction Train Platform
Events, Marketplace, Workshops

10:00 am
[V] The Junction Market
[V] The [murmur] - Audio Junction Story Collectors Project
[V] Period Costumes - Dress-up & Photos
[V] Toronto Aerial Dance - Free Circus Lessons

12:00 pm
Live Concert

1:30pm
West Toronto Junction Historical Society Walking Tours

links:
thejunctioncity.com: Summer Concerts
insidetoronto.com: Summer concerts in the Junction
Toronto Culture: Summer Concerts in the Junction
Toronto Arts Online: Summer Concerts in the Junction
Junction Parents: Junction Summer Concert Schedule (June 14th, 21st & 28th)
NOW Magazine: Food & Drink: Eco-happy Junction by Steven Daley
Green-food-related businesses are converging on west Dundas West
dine.to: Toronto Junction Restaurants
veg.ca: Toronto Vegetarian Association: Directory Around High Park

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