Toronto’s biggest art party celebrates the breadth and the diversity of the Canadian experience with headliner Bear Witness, plus Esie Mensah, Manifest Destiny’s Child and more…

This summer is Canada’s 150^th anniversary and the AGO is marking the occasion with Every.Now.Then: Reframing Nationhood, an exhibition that questions the official narrative of Canadian history and imagines new potentials through the eyes of artists. July’s First Thursday offers a first look at that exhibition, bringing together artists whose work calls us into a future that is complex, critical and celebratory. Bear Witness, founding member of the Indigenous DJ collective A Tribe Called Red, whose sounds and activism reverberate across nations and around the world, will headline with a DJ set at 10 pm.

The night will also feature performances by dance artist Esie Mensah and a showcase by the Indigenous comedy troupe Manifest Destiny’s Child.  Stemming from Afrofusion roots, Esie Mensah’s original choreography for Shades of Blackness tackles shadism at its roots. The work is an expression of difference, cultural visibility and representation. Manifest Destiny’s Child, a collective of Indigenous women comedians, express their lived experiences through provocative and hilarious comedy.  And don't miss Esmaa Mohamoud and Qendrim Hoti's performative extension of the installation One of the Boys that is part of the exhibition itself. 

The AGO’s Fredrik S. Eaton Curator of Canadian Art Andrew Hunter and curatorial assistant Anique Jordan will offer their insights in pop-up talks. DJ Steph Honey will add sounds to Galleria Italia, and DJ Steph Honey will welcome you with beats to Walker Court. A special selection work from the AGO’s collection will be on view in our monthly Out of the Vaults installation. And don’t miss ReBlink, a digital intervention by artist Alex Mayhew that remixes historical paintings with contemporary life, in addition to other surprises.

This program was conceived in consultation with Anique Jordan, Exhibition Co-curator and Quill Christie, Curatorial Collaborator.

Join us for the final First Thursday of the season. See you again in September!

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