Not Far From the Tree

 

Not Far From the Tree (NFFTT) is an organization that is helping Toronto make the most of its existing food resources by tapping an under-utilized resource - the fruit and nut-bearing trees and shrubs in the city's yards and green spaces. Almost 150,000 pounds of fruit have been picked since they started in 2008. Their system is structured to provide wins all around.

• Homeowners get their fruit picked by volunteers at the peak of ripeness, saving them time and labour. They also get to keep 1/3 of the yield and have the satisfaction of knowing that the other 2/3 won't go to waste.

• Volunteers get to spend their time enjoying the outdoors, putting their picking skills to use, and meeting other like-minded people. They also get to take home a share of 1/3 of the yield. These pears that I received on a pick were enough to make jam.

• Local community groups which partner with NFFTT, like shelters and community kitchens, receive deliveries of fresh, nutritious fruit, equal to 1/3 of the yield from each pick. 

• As an added plus, the environment benefits from the group's commitment to using cargo bicycles for deliveries.

If you have a fruit tree on your property that you aren't able to take full advantage of, consider registering with NFFTT. They currently only operate in the most central wards in the city, but knowing where accessible fruit lives will help to guide their expansion plans. Their website also has a handy fruit guide which can help you determine if your fruit is ripe. 

If you want to get in on the fruit action, you can sign up to become a volunteer. Once you register and tell them what parts of the city you'd like to pick in, you'll start receiving notifications of when picks are happening. Then it's up to you to sign up. Picks, especially for things like pears and apples, are extremely popular and it can take a while before you're successful. Having a flexible schedule and willingness to travel helps. 

If you're intrigued by this whole concept, follow them on Twitter @NFFTT. They post about all kinds of neat stuff like urban gardening, sustainability, and beekeeping, and of course you'll also find great recipes and kitchen tips. 

Thanks to Not Far From the Tree for providing the following images and permission to use them: logo and bike image

Winter Exhibits at Toronto Galleries

With the colder weather now firmly upon us, it's the perfect time to explore some of Toronto's many free exhibits. There are many small exhibit spaces around the city that regularly curate special exhibits, and most are free to visit. Many also schedule special events related to the exhibits, such as curator tours and discussions. Check out their website or browse this site's Toronto Events page. So don't let the ice and snow stop you, go get your culture on!

Art Gallery of Ontario

The Artful City: Mapping Toronto's Public Art Landscape 1967 - 2015
To May 21, 2017

A map providing the first comprehensive visual view of public art in Toronto. It reveals important patterns of production, ownership, and networks linking artists over time. This map shows who has access to the vast majority of the artwork and who does not. It also illustrates what type of work has received the most support. You are invited to explore and help complete this evolving map by identifying areas in need of public artworks. What does public art mean to you? What can it look like in the future?


First Canadian Place Gallery

Unfamous: The Works of Gary Taxali
To February 3, 2017

Internationally renowned and acclaimed recipient of numerous awards for his artwork, Gary Taxali has been trailblazing a path that intersects the paradoxes/anxieties of contemporary society through imagery of bygone eras. Reminiscent of 1930's Depression era signs, posters, packaging, vintage graphics and ephemera, Taxali confronts themes of human relationships, love, sex, isolation, frustrations and consumerism through our yearning for nostalgia.

Mind the Gap: Birch Contemporary Gallery Artists+
To March 17, 2017

The premise of this exhibition is to create awareness of a 'gap' of sorts, bringing attention to artworks produced between exhibitions or outside of more well-known bodies of work that have slipped into inventory without a formal public airing.

The gallery is located on the street level, near the Adelaide Street entrance by the Duke of Westminster.

Gallery hours:
Monday to Friday, 11:00 - 3:00. Hours are subject to change for private events.


Harbourfront

Harbourfront hosts a number of visual arts exhibitions in its gallery space at 235 Queens Quay West.

Workwear
Organized by the Istituto Italiano di Cultura
January 27 - April 23, 2017

Curated by Milan-based architect, designer and artist Alessandro Guerriero, Workwear re-imagines common uniforms through the work of 40 artists, designers and architects.

Workaday
January 27 - April 23, 2017

This group exhibition sheds light on the process of creation, by presenting works in various media alongside the tools used to make them.

The Essentials 
January 27 - June 18, 2017

A group exhibition devoted to the jewellery we wear daily.

Everyday Lighting
 January 27 - June 18, 2017

Led by designer Katharine Tessier, Craft & Design Studio Artists-in-Residence explore illumination for practical use.

Tong Yan Gaai
January 27 - June 18, 2017

A record of Morris Lum’s journey across Canada with a large-format camera on a search for cultural memory and Chinese identity.

Gallery hours:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: Noon - 6:00
Wednesday: Noon - 6:00
Thursday: Noon - 8:00
Friday: Noon - 6:00
Saturday: Noon - 6:00
Sunday: Noon - 6:00


Istituto Italiano di Cultura

The gallery is located at 496 Huron St.

The Necessary Time 
To February 17, 2017

A photographic exhibition by Ljubodrag Andric.

Gallery hours:
Monday to Friday: 10:00 - 1:00, 2:30 - 5:00


Japan Foundation Gallery

The gallery is located in the Hudson's Bay Centre at Yonge & Bloor, 2 Bloor St. E., Suite 300

Legendary Loyalty: The 47 Ronin in Japanese Prints
co-presented by Stuart Jackson Gallery and The Japan Foundation
To March 4, 2017

A presentation of original 18th – 19th century woodblock print illustrations of theatrical performances of the story of Chushingura, and artistic depictions of the actual ronin (masterless samurai).

Gallery hours:
Monday: 11:30 – 6:30
Tuesday: 11:30 – 4:30
Wednesday: 11:30 – 4:30
Thursday: 11:30 – 6:30
Friday: 11:30 – 4:30
Select Saturdays: 11:00 – 4:00


Market Gallery

The gallery is located on the 2nd floor of the St. Lawrence Market, 95 Front St. E.

Unearthing Toronto's Oldest Marketplace
To March 18, 2017

This exhibit showcases the history and ongoing archaeology of North America's longest continually running food market.

Gallery hours:
Tuesday to Friday: 10:00 - 4:00
Saturday: 9:00 - 4:00
Closed: Sunday, Monday and holidays


Osgoode Hall

The exhibit is located on the first floor and mezzanine levels of the Law Society side of Osgoode Hall, 130 Queen St. W.

Fact or Fiction? Deciphering the Fence at Osgoode Hall
To end of March, 2017

Osgoode Hall's fence is one of its most recognizable features. Today, it stands as one of the few remaining ornamental iron fences - not only in Toronto, but also in Canada. The fence's gates are the stuff of Toronto urban legend: were they really built to keep cows from munching the manicured lawn of Osgoode Hall? This exhibit features images from all over the world, including intriguing images of Toronto in the 19th century.

Accessible hours:
Monday to Friday: 9:00 - 5:00


Papermill Gallery

The gallery is located at Todmorden Mills Heritage Site in the Don Valley. There is a charge to visit the rest of the site but the Papermill Gallery is free.

A Child's World: Victorian Photographs of Children and their Pets and Toys
To January 22, 2017

Unlike today where digital photography is a common aspect of life, photography in the 19th-century was a formal occasion. Studio photographs were the norm and in this intimate exhibition of never publicly seen before photographs of children, their pets and their toys, we see that even though more than a century separates us and the subjects in the photographs, there is still a common thread that has not changed – children's fondness for their toys and the family pet.

Hours change according to season. Check the website for current hours.


TD Gallery

This gallery is located inside the Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge St.

Once Upon a Time: Fairy Tales from the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books
To January 22, 2017

This exhibit explores classic fairy tales and traditional stories from around the world through a surprising array of books, toys, games and art held at the library's Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books.

Vice & Virtue
February 11 to April 30, 2017

A new exhibit that explores changing attitudes and increasing regulation of alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs, gambling, homosexuality, juvenile delinquency, and prostitution in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in Toronto. Featuring tabloids, photographs, manuscripts, posters and pamphlets from the library's Baldwin Collection of Canadiana, the exhibit reveals a seedier side of our strait-laced city.

Gallery hours:
Monday to Friday: 9:00 - 8:30
Saturday: 9:00 - 5:00
Sunday: 1:30 - 5:00


Many other Toronto Library branches regularly host exhibits. Of particular note is the Lillian H. Smith branch on College Street, which features both the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books and the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy. A complete list of all current exhibits can be found on the library's website.


UTAC Gallery

This gallery hosts both temporary and permanent exhibits. It is located at University College, 15 King’s College Circle.

The Art of Devotion
Permanent

This exhibition, drawn from the University of Toronto’s Malcove Collection, features Byzantine and Post Byzantine Icons from the Malcove Collection and is organized around two central themes: icons dedicated to Mary and the Christ Child, and icons representing Christ and important saints in the Christian tradition.

Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience
January 26 – March 4, 2017

Cree visual artist Kent Monkman's  new, large-scale exhibition takes the viewer on a journey through Canada’s history that starts in the present and takes us back to a hundred and fifty years before Confederation. With its entry points in the harsh urban environment of Winnipeg’s north end, and contemporary life on the reserve, the exhibition takes us all the way back to the period of New France and the fur trade. The Rococo masterpiece The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard is reinterpreted as an installation with Monkman’s alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, in a beaver trimmed baroque dress, swinging back and forth between the Generals Wolfe and Montcalm.

Kent Monkman, The Bears of Confederation, 2016. Acrylic on canvas. 76" x 136".
Collection of Michelle Bilodeau and Matt Kingston.

Gallery hours:
Monday: CLOSED
Tuesday: 12:00 - 5:00
Wednesday: 12:00 - 8:00
Thursday: 12:00 - 5:00
Friday: 12:00 - 5:00
Saturday: 12:00 - 5:00
Sunday: CLOSED

* Images used with permission.