From T. rex at the ROM to Harbourfront’s JUNIOR festival, some artful ideas for the long weekend in Toronto

As the May long weekend begins, Toronto is blooming with art and activities with exhibits and performances across the city to indulge in with family and friends. Here are several we think are worth visiting.

Royal Ontario Museum

Currently on display at the ROM is “Canadian Modern,” which spotlights Canadian designs and innovations in technology and everyday objects since the 1940s. From fashion to furniture to ceramics, it highlights Canada’s impact and unique place in the modern design movement.

“T. rex: The Ultimate Predator” uses interactive experiences, hands-on activities, and more than 40 models and casts of the massive dinosaur.

“It’s a lot of fun and very family friendly,” said performance manager Adam Moffatt. “It’s a great chance to come face to face with T. rexes, from babies to beasts.”

The ROM is premiering a new exhibit on Saturday entitled “TUSARNITUT! Music Born of the Cold.” “TUSARNITUT!” (which translates as “sounds that please the ear”) will showcase more than 100 Inuit sculptures, prints, drawings and installations themed around music from the 1950s to the present.

Before opening day, adults can preview the exhibit by attending ROM After Dark, when visitors can access the entire museum after hours. The 19-plus event on Friday will also feature live performances from Montreal’s Beatrice Deer Band, which blends throat singing with indie rock; electro producer and multimedia artist Geronimo Inutiq and more. Tickets for ROM After Dark are $40.

The ROM, typically closed on Mondays, will open Victoria Day from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. General admission is $16 to $26; $24 to $39 with the T. rex add-on. Children under four are free.

Harbourfront Centre

Harbourfront Centre is back with its annual international children’s festival, JUNIOR, from Saturday to Monday.

Catering to children five to 12, it features a range of free and ticketed performances, workshops and events, both indoors and outdoors across Harbourfront Centre’s four-hectare waterfront location.

The event features live music, installations and interactive experiences from countries like Denmark, Iran, and Australia. Children and adults can enjoy dance demonstrations, international circus acts and culinary arts workshops from the Black diaspora.

“JUNIOR has a legacy of presenting edgy work that hasn’t been seen before, that pushes the boundaries of the norm,” said Lisa Marie DiLiberto, co-curator of JUNIOR. “We’re trying not to cater and pander to kids by having only fun kid shows, but by actually considering the art and what’s going to expand their imaginations.”

The theme of the event is adventure, encouraging children to connect to their inner explorer.

“The advice is to just follow their impulse and let the adventure of JUNIOR take them wherever it does,” DiLiberto said.

The festival also provides accessibility accommodations, including ASL interpretation, tactile stations, quiet zones and complimentary child care.

Most JUNIOR programming is free, though pre-registration is required for some. Indoor ticketed performances range from $10 to $20 per ticket.

Art Gallery of Ontario

The AGO is celebrating Asian Heritage Month throughout May. Each Saturday, visitors can hop into action at their Year of the Rabbit-inspired family dance party, where colourful lights and music meet bunny ears and tails.

The Hands-On Centre on the concourse level of the gallery will be open, letting young children and families participate in artmaking, constructing, storytelling and collaborative play. Art carts will also be out over the weekend, allowing anyone to draw, sculpt and explore art.

Exhibitions include “Radical Remembrances: The Sculptures of David Ruben Piqtoukun,” an Inuvialuk artist who works primarily with stone and metal. It includes a play-based component for children with blocks and stones.

The AGO will be open Victoria Day from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. General admission is free for visitors 25 and under, and $30 for others.

Divina Dalí

Located in Brookfield Place at 181 Bay St., “Divina Dalí” is a multi-sensory look at Italian poet Dante Alighieri’s masterpiece, “The Divine Comedy,” through the eye of Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dalí.

The exhibit features 110 pieces from Dalí’s private collection, with many of never before seen in public. The carefully curated 90-minute experience lets visitors journey through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven, using music and theatrical lighting effects.

“We’re proud to unveil for the first time in Toronto a more intimate, and often overlooked, dimension of one of Salvador Dalí’s most creative bodies of work,” said CEO Félix Bélanger. “This exhibit is meant to capture the essence of Dalí’s explosive imagination and … also serve as inspiration to local artists, welcoming them to continue Dalí’s legacy and express themselves through their work.”

The exhibit will be open Victoria Day between 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets range from $19 to $33.50, with children under five free.

Provocation Ideas Festival

An AI art exhibition entitled “When All Dreams Come True” runs until Saturday at the University of Toronto’s Innis College Courtyard with work from local and global artists made with or about artificial intelligence. The artwork projected onto the walls of the courtyard is meant to exemplify how technology has evolved to turn dreams into a reality, and the impact it has had on arts and culture.

“Because technology affects our lives and because AI has had a profound impact on a lot of things we do in terms of writing, arts, the way we look and the criminal justice system, we realized that a pivotal development is taking place. And we thought, why not focus on the way AI impacts people,” said founding festival director Mark Rosenfeld.

There will also be a theatrical dance installation on Saturday at 3 p.m. designed by Nikola Steer, titled “The Provocateuse Is Present: DanceGPT,” described by Rosenfeld as “a playful place to pause and reflect on our shared humanity and the ever-evolving technology landscape.”

The exhibit is free and all ages. It can be viewed from sundown to 11 p.m.

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