(Im)possibilities
by Aitak Sorahitalab with Mehran Azarbad
7 pm – 6:45 am | Museum | Bellerive Room
An interactive ceramic/photo/sound installation exploring the factors that made one artist emigrate from her home of 35 years. A City of Toronto Independent Project.
Tawazun | Balance
by Rahim Bhimani, Shereen Ladha, Anil Mohabir
7 pm – 7 am | Park
An installation combining built environment, light, and movement to examine Canadian Islamic identity. A City of Toronto Independent Project.
Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre
7 pm – 7 am | Park | Teepee
A community gathering with Indigenous teachings around the teepee (until 2 am) and a sacred all-night fire for offerings.
In a Hearbeat: Six Women Leading Change
7 pm – 2 am | Ismaili Centre, Toronto
An interactive exhibit presented by the Aga Khan Foundation Canada, featuring the interactive activity, What's in Your Heart.
Aviva Chernick + Justin Gray
7 pm & 7:45 pm | Park | Spiritual Sanctuary Yurt
Judeo-Spanish folk music featuring vocals and singing bowls.
Flamenco/Belly Dancing with Tamar Ilana + Friends
7:15 pm – 1:45 am (various sessions) | Museum | Courtyard
Flamenco dance and song, Middle Eastern belly dancing, and reimagined Mediterranean melodies.
Neeraj Prem (Sitar) + Osbert Lyall (Tabla)
7:30 pm | Museum| Auditorium (also live streamed outside on the Museum’s front wall)
Spiritual Indian classical music showcasing early evening raags, presented in collaboration with the Raag-Mala Music Society of Toronto.
Tafelmusik
7:30 pm & 8:15 pm | Park | Nocturnal City Yurt
Intimate chamber performances of baroque music by Vivaldi and other legends, presented in collaboration with Tafelmusik.
George Sawa (qanun) + Suzanne Sawa (darbuka)
7:30 pm | Ismaili Centre, Toronto | Social Hall
Classical Arabic pieces from the 17th century Ottoman period. Presented in collaboration with Labyrinth Ontario.
Kamancello + Majd Sekkar
8 pm & 8:45 pm | Park | Unusual Encounters Yurt
Evocative improvisations between the Kurdish kamanche and the Western cello, along with Syrian clarinet melodies.
Javanese Shadow Puppetry by The Padmonojatis
8:30 pm (various sessions) | Diwan patio
Shadow puppetry presented by an Indonesian arts and cultural family group.
Nhapitapi
8:45 pm & 9:30 pm | Park | Spiritual Sanctuary Yurt
Zimbabwean ensemble playing Afro-jazz, funk, and rock with traditional instruments.
Fragments of Jerusalem (Virtual Reality Project)
9 pm – 3 am | Museum | Education Centre
A virtual reality experience transporting you into the beating heart of a contested city. Presented in collaboration with Ryerson University, The School of Image Arts.
Persian Sufi Music + Sufi Whirling Dervishes
9 pm | Ismaili Centre Toronto | Social Hall (also live streamed outside on the Museum's front wall)
Sufi whirling dervishes with live musical accompaniment, featuring Amir Koushkani (tar, bocal), Shaho Andalibi (ney, vocals), and Zohreh Shahbazy (daf). Presented in collaboration with Rumi Canada.
Fiver
9:15 pm & 10 pm | Park | Nocturnal City Yurt
Songs based on the 19th century case files of prisoners at the Rockwood Asylum for the Criminally Insane.
Red Slam's Tekatsistóhkwen’ne (Falling Stars)
9:45 pm & 10:30 pm | Park | Unusual Encounters Yurt
Music, movement, and spoken word reclaiming our origins as Star People.
Diely Mori Tounkara
10:30 pm & 11:15 pm | Park |Spiritual Sanctuary Yurt
Malian multi-instrumentalist performs traditional Mandingo pieces on the kora. Presented in collaboration with Batuki Music Society.
Narendra Datar (Vocals) + Hardeep Chana (Harmonium) + Kiran Morarji (Tabla)
10:30 pm | Museum | Auditorium (also live streamed outside on the Museum's front wall)
Night raags in the Agra Gharana tradition of Indian classical music. Presented in collaboration with the Raag-Mala Music Society of Toronto.
Begüm Boyanci (vocals) + Araz Salek (tar)
11 pm | Ismaili Centre, Toronto | Social Hall
Ottoman classical pieces from the 17th to the 19th century, presented in collaboration with Labyrinth Ontario.
Tita Collective
11 pm & 11:45 pm | Park | Nocturnal City Yurt
Musical comedy review exploring Filipinx culture.
Kamilah Apong
11:30 pm & 12:15 pm | Park | Unusual Encounters Yurt
A journey through soundscapes created with looping live production and vocal arrangements.
Turkish Sufi Music + Zikrullah + Sufi Sama
12 am | Ismaili Centre Toronto | Social Hall
Sufi Whirling Dervishes perform with live musical accompaniment, featuring Agah Ecevit (Turkish ney), Ergun Gulbay (qanun), and team. Presented in collaboration with Rumi Canada and the Canadian Sufi Cultural Centre.
Darbazi
12:15 am & 1 am | Park | Spiritual Sanctuary Yurt
Georgian polyphonic singing, featuring sacred chants and lullabies.
Joseph Johnson
12:45 am & 1:30 am | Park | Nocturnal City Yurt
Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) principal cellist plays solos and excerpts. Presented in collaboration with the TSO.
Aline Morales + Padideh Ahrarnejad
1:15 & 2 am | Park | Unusual Encounters Yurt
Afro-Brazilian beats meet Iranian tar melodies for a beautiful musical journey.
Tara Kannangara + Kira May
2:30 am & 3:15 am | Park | Nocturnal City Yurt
Genre-bending vocals, lush loops, and daring improvisations.
Joseph Shabason Trio
2 am & 2:45 am | Park | Spiritual Sanctuary Yurt
Meditative jazz with lush synthscapes, field recordings, woodwinds, and percussion. Presented in collaboration with TD Toronto Jazz Festival.
Laura Swankey + Guests
3 am & 3:45 am | Park | Unusual Encounters Yurt
Dynamic vocals with lyrics about culture and the environment. Second set features saxophone accompaniment. Presented in collaboration with Women From Space.
Meden Glas
3:45 am & 4:30 am | Park | Spiritual Sanctuary Yurt
A mystical musical journey to the Balkans and beyond.
Polky Village Band
4:15 am & 5 am | Park | Nocturnal City Yurt
Unique and enigmatic Polish-Canadian folk music. Presented in collaboration with Drom Taberna.
Kobèna Aquaa-Harrison
4:45 am | Park | Unusual Encounters Yurt
Interactive true-life storytelling and live music from "Sekondi to Scarborough."
Sunrise Spirits Showcase with Eddy Robinson + Hussein Janmohamed + Aruna Narayan Kalle
5:45 am | Museum | Auditorium
A soundscape drawing from Western, Middle Eastern, Sufi, Hindu, and Ismaili traditions. Presented in collaboration with Small World Music Society and the Aga Khan Museum.
THIS IS MY MUSIC | Live CIUT 89.5 FM Broadcast
7 pm – 7 am | Museum | Patrons' Lounge
Be part of a live radio broadcast with 12 of the city's cultural leaders. One by one, each will take over the radio waves to share the music that has inspired them. See the schedule below:
7 pm | ERIC STEIN (Ashkenaz Festival)
8 pm | PRINCE (Drom Taberna)
9 pm | DIELY MORI TOUNKARA + NADINE MCNULTY (Batuki Music Society)
10 pm | MAJD SEKKAR (clarinetist)
11 pm | ALEXANDER BORDOKAS (Uma Nota Culture)
12 am | SIMONE SCHMIDT (Fiver)
1 am | ARAZ SALEK + JONATHAN ADJEMIAN (Labyrinth Ontario)
2 am | KOBÈNA AQUAA-HARRISON (multi-instrumentalist)
3 am | EWELINA FERENC (Polky Village Band)
4 am | AMIRALI ALIBHAI (Aga Khan Museum)
5 am | TARA KANNANGARA & KIRA MAY (Indie Musicians)
6 am | IRENE MARKOFF & MARIO MORELLO (Meden Glas)
Credits
Image credits from top to bottom: Connie Tsang, Aitak Sorahitabalab, courtesy of the artist, courtesy of the partner, courtesy of the partner, courtesy of the artist, courtesy of the artist , courtesy of the artist, Cylla von Tiedemann, courtesy of the artist, Susie Shapiro, courtesy of the artist, Karl Keho, courtesy of the artist, Connie Tsang, Colin Medley, courtesy of the artist, courtesy of the artist, courtesy of the artist, courtesy of the artist, courtesy of the artist, courtesy of the partner, Carlos Gárate, courtesy of the TSO, courtesy of the artist, courtesy of the artist, courtesy of the artist, Michael Lynn, courtesy of the artist, courtesy of the artist, Paul Lampert, courtesy of the artist, Andre Valerio