HAPPENING is the first and only Toronto festival made by community artists, giving centre stage to the talents and skills of immigrant, newcomer, and refugee artists. This year’s festival takes place during the entire month of May and will bring together over 80 artists and performers belonging to diverse communities.
See below our full agenda with all the information about each of our events. We’ll see you there…
Tuesday, May 04, 2021
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Artist Holistic Wellness: Weaving Our Voices CollectivelyClick Here To Watch Video |
| To kick off our Artist Holistic Wellness series, we will be learning what it means to weave our voices collectively as we engage in an interactive activity called, “Weaving the Telar,†with a special guest, Tania Borja. |
Friday, May 07, 2021
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Artist In Conversation: Claudia Arana/ CuratorWith Akshata Naik Click Here To Watch Video |
| Our Artist in Conversation series with curator Claudia Arana invites artists to share their insights and personal thoughts around their professional practice, the impact that the pandemic has had on their work, and their participation in ArtworxTO 2021: Year of Public Art, a program celebrating the incredible selection of public art in Toronto and the artists behind it. |
Sunday, May 09, 2021
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Knowledge & Skill Sharing: Make Your Own Seed BombsBy Laura Rojas Click Here to Watch Video |
| Join us in this knowledge sharing session is a step-by-step guide for making seed bombs, also known as seed balls. Make your own seed bombs for guerilla gardening out of paper pulp— help grow some flowers for pollinators by tossing one of these in any patch of underused green space around you and bring some love to empty urban areas! |
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
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Artist Holistic Wellness: A Mindful WalkClick Here To Watch Video |
| How do you handle uncomfortable emotions, especially during a pandemic? It is sometimes easier to try and ignore our feelings and hope they will fade away. Visual Artist, Wellness Mentor, and Certified Reiki Practitioner Tanzina Amin will demonstrate how mindfulness can help us relax and focus our attention. |
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
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Funding Opportunities: Canada Council Arts |
| Join us to learn more about the kind of funding available through the Canada Council for the Arts, how the application process works, and advice and tips on applying. This session will consist of a presentation and an open Q&A session with a program officer at CCA. |
Thursday, May 13, 2021
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Reach For The Stars: Intro to Magic Realistic Writing Workshop |
| Magic realism, also known as magical realism, is a style of fiction and a literary genre that combines realistic narrative with surreal, dream-like elements, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality. The workshop, hosted on Zoom, will introduce participants to the genre and guide them through creative writing techniques and prompts. Participants will have a chance to come together to share and discuss their work. |
Friday, May 14, 2021
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Artist In Conversation: Claudia Arana/ CuratorWith Shabnam Afrand Click Here To Watch Video |
| Our Artist in Conversation series with curator Claudia Arana invites artists to share their insights and personal thoughts around their professional practice, the impact that the pandemic has had on their work, and their participation in ArtworxTO 2021: Year of Public Art, a program celebrating the incredible selection of public art in Toronto and the artists behind it. |
Sunday, May 16, 2021
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Knowledge & Skill Sharing: Music From HopeBy Nour & Tarek Click Here to Watch Video |
| We welcomed Music From Hope, a music-based arts collective based in Toronto, founded by Tarek Ghriri and Nour KDN. In this session, participants will learn how to make musical instruments from recycled materials. Participants will enjoy simple music-making activities. Come join us in this fun DIY session. |
Tuesday, May 18, 2021
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Artist Holistic Wellness: The Holistic Effects of Sound and VibrationClick Here to Watch Video |
| For this week’s Artist Holistic Wellness event, we’ll be exploring the many effects that sound and vibrations can have on our holistic well-being. We’ll cover the emotional, energetic, physical, and mental benefits of this amazing correlation, and will close the event with a sound therapy session led by our amazing guest speaker, Karla F. Berganza. Join us in learning more about our holistic well-being and the spectacular effects that sound and vibration can have on our bodies! |
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
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Funding Opportunities: FACTOR |
| Join us to learn more about the kind of funding that is available for musicians through FACTOR, how the application process works, and get advice and tips on applying! This session will consist of a presentation and open Q&A session with Anthony Johnson, FACTOR’s Project Coordinator for Sponsorship & Outreach. Anthony will discuss their two juried programs, Artist Development and Juried Sound Recording, as well as some other funding programs. |
Thursday, May 20, 2021
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Reach For The Stars: Intro to Magic Realistic Writing Workshop Part 2 |
| Join multidisciplinary artist and creative writer Hanan Hazime in the second part of her creative writing workshop centred around magic realism. Magic realism, also known as magical realism, is a style of fiction and a literary genre that combines realistic narrative with surreal, dream-like elements, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality. |
Friday, May 21, 2021
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Artis in Conversation: Claudia Arana/ Curatorwith Mirna Chacin Click Here to Watch Video |
| Our Artist in Conversation series with curator Claudia Arana invites artists to share their insights and personal thoughts around their professional practice, the impact that the pandemic has had on their work, and their participation in ArtworxTO 2021: Year of Public Art, a program celebrating the incredible selection of public art in Toronto and the artists behind it. |
Saturday, May 22, 2021
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Creative Facilitation TrainingTime: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM |
| Creative Facilitation Training is a one-day professional development opportunity ideal for artists, arts facilitators, arts, culture, and community workers looking to develop their creative facilitation skills, particularly as it refers to working with young groups and groups of refugees and newcomers. |
Sunday, May 23, 2021
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Knowledge & Skill Sharing: Creative TwistedBy Neetika Sharma Click Here to Watch Video |
| Neetika Sharma, Born in Libya, to Indian parents, Neetika Sharma started her performance journey at the age of 10. Today, she is a passionate Kathak performer, choreographer, instructor and arts manager. Neetika has a keen interest in exploring various layers of traditional Kathak repertoire and presenting them with new and relevant interpretations through research, creation and performance. |
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Conversaciones de Arte Y Otros DeliriosCon Los Tragicos del Swing & invitada especial Paula Sofia |
| Este proyecto es una colaboración entre artistas de diferentes disciplinas donde cada uno pone sus talentos para producir una obra. Para esta versión los artistas han aceptado un reto que consiste en crear un filminuto con la mÃstica voz de la invitada misteriosa recreando su tragedia existencial y melancólica como un poema visual. Contaremos con la presencia de la talentosa cantante Paula SofÃa y Los trágicos del Swing collective. |
Tuesday, May 25, 2021
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The Stories We Share Book LaunchClick Here to Watch Video |
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Join us in celebrating the launch of our new zine! This event will be a virtual lounge, recognizing the accomplishments of the amazing newcomer, immigrant, and refugee women who participated in our virtual creative writing sessions this year, and opening the space for them to read excerpts of their work. Throughout these workshops, we explored each participant’s personal journey, encouraging them with the tools to tell their stories, and commemorating the participants by publishing their voices in The Stories We Share, Volume 2. |
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Artist Holistics Wellness: Meditative Art to Manifest PositivityClick Here to Watch Video |
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Art is an ancient tool that has long been used as a way for people to express themselves. Join us alongside Visual Artist, Wellness Mentor, and Certified Reiki Practitioner Tanzina Amin for an interactive presentation about this practice, where you will learn how to use your intuitive, right brain to declutter your thoughts and help manifest positivity using nonverbal expressions. |
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
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Multicultural Media: Communities & VoicesClick Here to Watch Video |
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We invite you to join our panel, Multicultural Media: Communities and Voices, where we intend to bring light to the reality and importance of multicultural media, and how these alternative outlets can more accurately represent the realities of our community. |
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The Power of Collective Voice in MusicClick Here to Watch Video |
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We invite you to join us as we dive into a discussion about collective voices in music, emphasizing collaboration, diversity, and teamwork. |
Thursday, May 27, 2021
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Collective Healing Through the ArtsTime: 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM |
| Many of us have realized how important it is to pay attention to our mental health during these difficult times, and we may have also found new or different ways to cope. Do you think art is one of them? Could art be considered a type of healing therapy? In this panel, we will further explore our individual practice in the arts, as well as how these practices can contribute to our collective well-being. Come and join us! |
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It Takes A Village: Supporting Young ArtistTime: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM |
| We encourage you to be part of this panel, where we will discuss the importance of accompanying young artists through their creative practices as told from the experiences of established artists, parents, and young artists. |
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Power of Words: Poetry Night |
| Even though poetry inhabits every geographical location and speaks in different languages and accents, literature continues to be a tool for artistic resistance against outsiders. HAPPENING Multicultural Poetry Night features poets who have crossed the borders of identity, enriching the Canadian English scene with the musical letters of their homeland. This project is a collaboration between HAPPENING Multicultural Festival and Shab-e She’r (Poetry Night). |
Friday, May 28, 2021
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Uprooted Voices: Writers’ JourneyTime: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM |
| Join us to learn from writers and journalists who have arrived in Canada and are now part of a community of writers in exile. We will hear about their journeys and experiences during this panel and learn how they navigated their careers and creative processes while settling into new communities. |
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Funding & Collaboration: The Future Of Public ArtTime: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM |
| We feel it’s relevant to discuss public art in the context of the narrative and its future, especially because of the unprecedented changes that our world is currently experiencing. How we consume art have changed, and it’s important to keep the conversation going about how art will continue adapting itself to our present realities. Join us in this panel where we will explore the topic from the perspective of arts organizations while discussing policies and funding opportunities for artists. |
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“CONUCO” An Excerpt Window InstallationTime: 6:00 PM |
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HAPPENING Multicultural Festival & Cacao Collective bring you an immersive, multidisciplinary window installation that illustrates stories from the cacao forest in Venezuela, also known as Conuco. Join us in conversation with artists and creatives to share their process as we officially open this Window Installation for everyone to experience following current social distancing guidelines. At this time, we would be launching an inspiring mail-art component. |
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Power of Movement: Dance & Performance NightTime: 7:00 – 8:30 PM |
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MUSE Arts are proud to present Dance and Performance Night: a virtual event showcasing the talents of newcomers, immigrant, refugee, and Indigenous artists. This year’s lineup includes dance and performances of all forms, allowing us to experience some of the culture and richness our city is known for. During this event, we will honour and celebrate the power of dance and performance, and its ability to transport us to places we have yet to experience. |
Saturday, May 29, 2021
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Poetry WorkshopTime 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM |
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Multidisciplinary artist Seemab Zahra will be conducting a knowledge Sharing Poetry Workshop. The Knowledge Sharing Poetry Workshop will create the ability to connect with other artists and community partners to promote artwork and art education that engages communities in Social Justice and Community Development issues. |
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Power of Music: Music NightTime: 7:00 PM |
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MUSE Arts presents Music Night, an event featuring over 10 artists performing music from all across the world. Genre to genre, each artist has an endless amount of talent waiting to be heard. Join us in reflecting on how the power of music has, once again, brought our communities together in times of uncertainty as we indulge in an afternoon filled with transcending sounds. Let’s celebrate the power of music! |
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Knowledge Sharing With Beny EsguerraTime: 4:00 PM |
| Colombian-born, Juno-nominee Beny Esguerra and New Tradition Music perform a multimedia Livestream concert featuring music, dance, live painting and projections featuring family members from multiple generations. |
Sunday, May 30, 2021
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Award Ceremony: Empowering Communities Award7:00 PM – 8:30 PM |
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The Empowering Communities Awards recognizes 10 outstanding newcomers, refugee, immigrant, and Indigenous artists whose work has had a tremendous impact on their communities, as well as on our city. |
Sponsored by:
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