Event Details

Culture Days invites everyone to explore, discover and participate in arts and culture in every community across the country. In 2014, the fifth annual Culture Days event took place in more than 850 Canadian cities and towns, with attendance topping 1.6 million Canadians. Last year, more than 1,650 activities were presented across Ontario.

As a grassroots, collaborative movement, Culture Days relies on your participation. Whether as an arts or cultural organization, an artist, a municipality, a school, a citizen, a business person…everyone can play a role in shaping this event. So get involved! Browse the 2015 Activities to find out what's happening in your community during Culture Days.

This funding is for the marketing of “Culture Days Turns 10!”, a series of special province-wide initiatives under the theme of ‘Creativity, the Arts, and Well-being’, taking place September 27-29, 2019. Programming highlights include:

(1) Five feature celebration sites produced in partnership with local arts organizations: Ottawa (National Arts Centre), Kingston (Kingston Arts Council and The Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning), Mississauga (City of Mississauga), Guelph (Culture, Tourism and Community Investment and the City of Guelph), and Sault Ste. Marie ( James L. McIntyre Centennial Library, The Art Gallery of Algoma, Sault Community Career Centre, SSM Local Immigration and Partnership, Ermatinger Clergue National Historic Site, Indian Friendship Centre). While the local organizations will determine the programming, these hubs will be the focal points of the overall public relations campaign and will receive more marketing and program support;

(2) A multisite exhibition featuring participatory and engaging contemporary artworks guest-curated by Dave Dyment. The yet to be named exhibition will be primarily staged at forementioned the feature celebration sites: (i) “Haircuts by Children” (by Mammalian Diving Reflex) where kids are given the tools to become working hairdressers and the public is invited to have their hair cut, by nine and ten year olds; (ii) Diane Borsato’s “Apple Orchard” reimagines the parameters of public sculpture and community engagement with a permanent orchard of rare apple varietals; (iii) Alex Snukal’s “Consensus Bus” is a free bus that will take any passenger wherever they wish to go, provided that all of the other passengers are in agreement (Snukal will host a trip in Thunder Bay, and buses will run in several other Ontario towns); (iv) Aislinn Thomas will facilitate a slow walking tour of a Kitchener-Waterloo forest, exploring rest as part of the journey; and (v) a Maggie Groat and Jimmy Limit collaboration (tbd);

(3) “Culture Treks” a travel itinerary program that drives regional tourism to select Culture Days locations with interactive maps that guide visitors to local highlights; and

(4) “Student Day” events in Sault Ste. Marie and Toronto. The Student Day program in Sault Ste. Marie will be led by the city’s main library branch. Held on a PD Days, students and parents will have the opportunity to experience immersive arts programming created, performed, and led by professional local artists and their peers. The program in Toronto will be staged in partnership with the City of Toronto’s TO Live as well as Red Sky Performance through Prologue for the Performing Arts and North York Arts.