Latest news with #Scene
Toronto Star
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
How Toronto's art scene grew from ‘barren ground' to cultural powerhouse in the 1960s
In the 1960s, Toronto's art scene came into its own. What had been a quiet, largely conservative city became a place of creative risk-taking, shaped by a growing network of artists, galleries and critics. Harry Malcolmson was one of them, writing about the city's transformation as it unfolded. In his new book, 'Scene: How the 1960s Transformed Canadian Art,' out now from University of Toronto Press, Malcolmson reflects on the decade through the lens of his own experience as a critic for the Toronto Telegram, Saturday Night, and the Toronto Star. He traces how a generation of artists, curators, gallerists and fellow writers helped turn Toronto from a sleepy provincial outpost into a hub of artistic experimentation and ambition. Malcolmson incorporates memories, historical research, and his own contemporaneous columns in 'Scene' to show how this moment came to be. The result is a comprehensive and captivating peek at a cultural renaissance that reshaped not only Toronto, but Canadian art at large. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Now in his 90s, Malcolmson spoke about his experience of the scene, its impact, and the legacy of the '60s. EN-LIFE-MALCOMSON The cover of 'Scene: How the 1960s Transformed Canadian Art,' Harry Malcolmson's new book reflecting on a decade that reshaped Toronto's art world. Uploaded by: Osborne, Mir Supplied How did the book come together? It emerged with the recognition that the '60s were unique. I also came across a phrase that I use in the book: that 'a lack of criticism is a conspiracy of silence against the artists.' I felt a moral obligation to the era and its artists. What do you think contributed to the scene coming together? There were a number of factors. It was a period in which patriotism became manifest, expressed in Toronto in the new City Hall, and of course in Expo '67. This was driven by the prosperity of the period, and the realization that the Depression was not coming back. The country could feel positive about its future. The issue then is: how was the society to demonstrate all of that? As I suggest in the book, it adopted art as a vehicle to articulate and demonstrate its modernness. Toronto was no longer tainted by the forms, orders, puritanism, and the church establishment. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Margaret Sinclair dance together at a National Art Gallery Ball in Ottawa in 1969. The National Art Gallery symbolized the growing importance of the arts in defining Canadian identity during a time of cultural and political optimism. FILE Canadian Press You enrolled at the University of Toronto in the mid-'50s. Can you talk about your first encounters with art in the city? Coming from St. Catharines, it was an extremely different environment. I was overwhelmed by the city and the arts opportunities. Occasionally, I would look in on the Laing Gallery on Yonge Street. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The Toronto of the time was intensely Anglo-Saxon. The development of the arts generally was facilitated, initiated by individuals who came from England. They developed the Stratford Festival, the Ballet, the Opera. Visual Arts How this Toronto artist creates massive abstract art pieces on the frozen surface of Lake Ontario Richie Assaly They were not interested in what was happening in the United States, like the emergence of abstract expressionism. In fact, there was a lot of antagonism toward the United States. An important shift was the influx of immigrants in the '50s and '60s, which created a very different ambiance in the scene. In particular, Jewish immigrants had a degree of sophistication. This was exemplified by Sam Zacks (the prominent art collector whose collection of 147 20th-century paintings and sculptures was donated to the AGO, including work by Picasso, Rodin, and Matisse.) The Zacks' collection was focused on European modernism and proved influential to other collectors. In the 1960s, David Mirvish was a central figure in Toronto's art scene, though his gallery's heavy emphasis on American artists sparked controversy. As Harry Malcolmson reflects in his book, Mirvish's close ties to U.S. cultural figures like critic Clement Greenberg led some to view his gallery as 'an outpost of US cultural imperialism.' Spremo, Boris As a law student, you were asked by the Toronto Telegram to become its art critic. At the time, you had no formal training in art or art history. Why do you think they approached you? ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW I think I was just around in the middle of this explosion. Between 1950 and 1960, there were just two galleries, Laing and the Roberts. But by the mid-'60s, eight galleries had opened. I was caught up in it, going around to the galleries and talking about art with others. When the Telegram was looking for a writer, I guess the arts editor asked around. I think he was kind of desperate, since there were not many people interested in writing about this new art. There was an explosion of arts coverage along with the galleries. The Telegram was a bit of a poor cousin compared to the other newspapers. At the time, The Star was in every home. It was the newspaper of the public and it had the biggest budget; they could send me to Venice and Vancouver. The Globe & Mail was very Anglo-Saxon and had national news and business. There was also Saturday Night, and on television, 'This Week Has Seven Days.' Each tried to keep up with the changing culture, since it was the carrier of Canadian pride. In his new book 'Scene: How the 1960s Transformed Canadian Art,' Harry Malcolmson reflects on the artists, critics, and gallerists who helped shape Toronto's artistic renaissance. Nick Lachance Toronto Star Could you feel that pride and excitement about the changes that were happening? Yes, absolutely I was feeling the excitement. It was self-fulfilling, self-generating. People were very emotionally involved. It separated them from their parents' generation. It also differentiated them from other people — there was a 'hip' kind of sense about it. What is not to be forgotten is the influence of The Beatles. They were so different, with their foppishness, their casualness. They were enormously influential. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW In politics, too, there was a spirit of positive thinking, with figures like Tommy Douglas and the adoption of Medicare. The building of a new City Hall in the 1960s was, as critic Harry Malcolmson writes, one of the ways Toronto expressed its growing sense of national pride and modern identity. In 'Scene: How the 1960s Transformed Canadian Art,' Malcolmson traces how landmarks like this paralleled a cultural awakening that reshaped the city's once-conservative arts scene. James, Norman You write that certain cracks began to emerge in the scene, many of them having to do with Canadian identity. The flashpoint became the issue of Americanism and the American effect, which centred around (gallerist) David Mirvish, (artist) Jack Bush, and (critic) Clement Greenberg. Visual Arts A drawing by Inuit artist Annie Pootoogook has been named one of the best artworks of the 21st century Briony Smith (Mirvish Gallery, Malcolmson writes, was 'increasingly identified as an outpost of US cultural imperialism' because it showed so much American art. Clement Greenberg, the most influential American critic of the postwar period, was said to be in the ear of both Mirvish and Jack Bush, who some accused of blindly following Greenberg's prescriptions.) This underscored the question of the distinctiveness of Canadian art. A lot of my motivation was to establish, to make visible the continuity of Canadian art, its unique character over the century. For example, one continuous thread between the country's past and present is the emphasis on land, from Indigenous culture to the Group of Seven and beyond. By the end of the '60s, you were practicing law full-time. What was your relationship with the arts scene in Toronto in the subsequent years? ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Ann and I still went to the galleries and sustained our interest in them, but I wasn't that much involved anymore in itself. I began to work for the Ontario Securities Commission, and we also began collecting more seriously. Later, we got caught up in photography. We went down to Jane Corkin's gallery to see the photographs that she had, and we couldn't believe how fabulous the historic photographs from the 20th century were. We got rid of all our paintings and bought photographs. It changed our lives. We went on to collect work from every significant period in the history of photography. (In 2014, the Malcolmson's donated their collection to the AGO.) Gta This beloved Toronto vintage shop turns 50. Inside the Kensington Market institution that's been turning 'garbage' into treasures for decades Dhriti Gupta Special to the Star Looking back, what is your assessment of the scene? Did it live up to its promises? A lot of the art, and some of the artists, have not stood the test of time. Great artists did emerge, and I think the two greatest to come from the '60s were Alex Colville and Michael Snow. I was also a champion of Les Levine, Ian Baxter, and Jack Bush. However, when I look back, I think the two most significant accomplishments were the transformation of the Art Gallery of Toronto and the National Gallery in Canada from virtually nothing to becoming serious, mature, independent institutions. That, I think, is the greatest accomplishment of the '60s. This interview has been condensed for brevity and clarity.
Arab News
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Scene Acting Institute holds its first workshop
DHAHRAN: The newly opened Scene Acting Institute in Alkhobar hosted its first workshop on April 22, focusing on the Meisner technique. Led by renowned academic adviser Emily Tambour, the workshop saw the participation of notable Saudi actors, including Mila Al-Zahrani and Sarah Taibah. The institute plans to hold monthly workshops covering various acting techniques, each designed to enhance the skills and creativity of aspiring artists. Scene opened on April 18 with an event hosted by the Khobar Cinema Association. The grand inauguration took place at Cinematheque in Alkhobar, attended by a diverse audience of cinema and theater enthusiasts eager to embrace a new era of artistic expression. The opening ceremony featured artistic performances that captivated attendees, including three moving acting demonstrations accompanied by live music. An exhibition highlighting the history of acting was curated and presented by renowned Saudi actor Baraa Alem. Mujtaba Saeed, the visionary Saudi film director and one of the founders of the Scene Acting Institute, described the launch as a groundbreaking moment for the Saudi art scene. 'This institute signifies a response to the vibrant artistic renaissance currently taking place in our country,' he told Arab News. 'With cinema and theater flourishing, we are proud to establish the first institute focused specifically on the art of acting.' The institute's curriculum has been meticulously crafted, drawing from both well-established acting techniques and Saudi cultural nuances. 'Our programs are designed around an academic framework that incorporates both international acting approaches, such as Meisner and Stanislavski's actor preparation, and our local traditions,' Saeed explained. 'We envision this institute as a nurturing home for every passionate artist,' Saeed said. 'Actors are the heart of our storytelling, bridging the gap between us, our scripts, and our aspirations.' Saeed highlighted the need to redefine the relationship between actors and their audiences, aiming to enhance both cinema and theater with authentic voices that resonate with today's society. 'Our institute aims to graduate a generation of actors who can express their unique stories and identities, contributing to a richer, more diverse artistic content in Saudi Arabia,' he said. This initiative promises to make Saudi cinema and theater more accessible and relatable, both locally and worldwide. As it embarks on this groundbreaking journey, the institute is setting the stage for a flourishing era of creativity and storytelling in the Kingdom.
Korea Herald
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Han Seungwoo to drop digital single
Han Seungwoo will put out a digital single on April 20, said agency Aura Entertainment Monday. "Haengbok Hoero," or 'Happiness Circuit' (translated), will be his first endeavor in about 10 months since releasing 'Scene.' Han wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the melodies for all three tracks of the album: 'Blooming,' 'Lost' and 'Stay.' It continued the narrative of his third EP, 'Frame,' which made the top five of iTunes' Top Albums Chart in six regions. The upcoming digital single will be his first new release since signing with Aura Entertainment. He joined the company in December last year after his contract with IST Entertainment expired after 10 years. He was a member of Victon, which debuted in 2016 and was also part of X1, a project band formed through an audition show.
Telegraph
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The original Adolescence? The controversial BBC drama made to be shown in schools
Adolescence has not only been described as the most important programme to be broadcast on British television this year, but Keir Starmer has now decreed, in a mark of its great importance, that it should be shown in schools the country over – thus giving teenagers yet more access to screen time, albeit this time government-sanctioned. This may seem like nanny state behaviour, but those who decry it should look back to one of the BBC's longest-lived yet strangely overlooked endeavours – the anthology series Scene. It began in 1968, finished in 2002 (with a couple of one-off episodes stretching into 2007) and eventually comprised over 300 short dramas and documentaries, each of them aimed at teenagers. The dramas were slightly longer, running to just under half an hour, and the factual programmes varied in length, but generally came in at between 20 and 25 minutes. The idea was that a single episode could be shown in its entirety during a school lesson and discussed afterwards. With the advent of the video recorder, this was a particular blessing for less committed teachers, who could tape the original broadcast and then show it to their classes repeatedly, saving themselves the trouble of preparing original work. When the first episode was broadcast on September 27 1968, its subject – appropriately enough, given that it was shown less than six months after Enoch Powell's notorious Rivers of Blood speech on 20 April that year – was about race relations and immigration. The title of the episode – The Dark Immigrants: Sorry No Coloureds – gives a good indication as to the ideas behind the show, and its successor, Asian Communities, was broadcast the following week. Today, the programmes, although undeniably well-intentioned, look embarrassingly naïve and patronising. But they still had the noble intention of reaching as many children from different backgrounds as possible and explaining the basic tenets of immigration and integration to them in a straightforward and accessible way. Made on extremely tight budgets, they were not flashy exercises in entertainment, but instead designed to make their worthy points as concisely and swiftly as possible. Early on, the Scene series alternated between straightforward documentaries – for instance, there were two programmes that covered the US election that took place that autumn, which resulted in the presidency of Richard Nixon – and dramas that now seem to anticipate a children-oriented version of Play For Today, which would itself begin broadcasting in 1970. Its first work of fiction, written by the playwright Keith Dewhirst, was the two-part play Last Bus and The Sentence of the Court. In the first episode, a group of youths on a bus attempt to fare dodge, and assault the conductor when he remonstrates with them; the other passengers make no attempt to intervene. (The programme notes observed that 'teachers are warned that this play deliberately sets out to create and then to exploit dramatically an unpleasant situation, involving young people who are heard to use bad language and who are involved in a short but closely observed act of violence.') In the following instalment, the youths are prosecuted, and their punishments pronounced by the juvenile court. Today, the episodes are most notable for the casting of a young Robin Askwith – a few years before he was getting into quite another kind of trouble in the sex comedy Confessions... series – but there can be no doubt about the sincerity of their intentions. This pattern continued throughout the following decade. There are some individual documentary episodes that have aged spectacularly badly, not least the 27th instalment, Personal View: Jimmy Savile, which called itself 'a specially filmed documentary about the unusual world of the disc jockey Jimmy Savile'. In the notes supplied for teachers, the programme makers wrote, 'The enigma of Jimmy Savile is that for a man who can afford anything and who above all can afford not to have to work 5 days a week, he is most extraordinarily active. He uses the freedom his fame and wealth have brought him to devote his time and energy to those less fortunate. His diary is full from one month to another with charitable engagements up and down the country. These can vary between delivering church sermons or taking crippled children to the seaside, to judging beauty contests. But whatever it is he does, no payment is received.' Watched today, the show is both chilling and surprising. Decades before his exposure, the grinning, sinister figure shown on screen – in a programme aimed at people who could easily have been his victims – is so obviously concealing something that its young audiences might have been forgiven for taking fright decades before the diabolic DJ was eventually exposed. Were Scene a mixture merely of incurious documentaries and agitprop-laden dramas, then it might be easy to file it away simply as a well-meaning but inessential historical artefact. Yet over its three and a half decades, there were also many far more interesting programmes broadcast. The first drama of any lasting significance that it produced, written by the playwright Alan Plater, was called Terry and was screened on 30 Jan 1969. The drama, which starred a young Dennis Waterman, was about a young man who was unable to find, and then hold down, a job. Although a synopsis makes it sound no more sophisticated than any of the other shows, Plater's rich, humane writing and Waterman's sympathetic performance made it stand out. This pattern soon persisted, especially when its grown-up cousin Play For Today began broadcasting in 1970. Episodes such as 1984's A Guide to Armageddon – essentially Threads for schoolchildren – were juxtaposed with the two-part, Bafta-winning DH Lawrence adaptation A Collier's Friday Night, first broadcast in 1976. There were behind-the-scenes profiles of comedians such as Victoria Wood and Morecambe and Wise, as well as musicians including Ian Dury. By the Nineties, the show had reached its artistic peak, under the stewardship of visionary producer Andy Rowley. It commissioned everything from Tom Stoppard adaptations (1993's A Separate Peace) to original drama by Willy Russell (1993's Terraces). It eventually received the ultimate accolade when the 1995 two-part show Loved Up, starring a pre-Game of Thrones Lena Headey and Ian Hart, was aired in an extended, more explicit version on BBC2, suggesting that the line between children's and adult programming was nowhere near as thick as most might have imagined. Many of the shows, especially the earlier ones, have aged spectacularly badly today. If you want a typical example, 1981's Patty Fatty, written by Kay McManus, revolves around the misadventures of an overweight girl, Patricia, and her condescending and rude family. While the intentions, as ever with this show, were commendable, the ham-fisted execution meant that more children were probably bullied with cries of 'Patty Fatty!' than were ever helped by its having been made. Yet for every flop, there was probably another show that did some good in its Reithian desire to inform, educate and entertain. Many actors also had significant early roles in the programmes, including Lucy Davis, Adrian Lester and Jemima Rooper. Whatever your opinions about Adolescence, there is no doubt that in its one-take technical prowess, awards-worthy performances and general air of grown-up grittiness, it is streets ahead of anything produced in the Scene strand. Audiences these days expect their drama to be uncompromising rather than idealistic, littered with four-letter words and full of scenes of blistering intensity. They may be right to do so. But at its best, the Scene films had a welcome innocence to them, regardless of the adult-oriented themes that they explored. Their writers and directors believed that, if teenagers were told about the world as it was, and how it could be, they might grow up to be better people. We may sneer at that today, yet most would also admit that British television could do with something as purely well-intentioned as Scene all over again. Are you listening, BBC? Five of the best Scene films 1. Terry (1969) The show that first suggested that Scene might be capable of dramas that lasted the test of time, rather than being forgotten about shortly after the end of the lesson. Alan Plater's beautifully written and gently humorous play comes on like a predecessor of Boys from the Blackstuff, aided by Dennis Waterman's subtle, affecting performance as the lead. 2. A Separate Peace (1993) Scene's greater artistic ambitions under its producer Andy Rowley were illuminated by this adaptation of an early, and largely forgotten, Tom Stoppard radio play, in which an enigmatic man, calling himself 'John Brown', arrives at a nursing home, despite there being nothing apparently wrong with him. Full of Stoppardian wit and subversions of convention, it was broadcast a couple of weeks before Arcadia, the play which many consider his masterpiece, premiered at the National Theatre. 3. Teaching Matthew (1994) A young Adrian Lester hinted at the star power that he would later display on screen and stage alike in this witty post-modern take on Educating Rita. This time, Lester plays the reluctant teenager Matthew, who is being forced to study for his exams by his older brother Lester, who has returned from teacher training college to instil some education in his sibling. The show explores questions not only of the value of learning for its own sake and for social advancement, but also manages to succeed as a wry satire on Willy Russell's earlier play. Russell, who occasionally contributed shows to the Scene series, must surely have enjoyed the backhanded compliment. 4. Loved Up (1995) At its most accomplished, the Scene shows were indistinguishable from adult drama, as could be seen from the two-part, Bafta-winning Loved Up, written by future Mamma Mia and Best Exotic Marigold Hotel screenwriter Ol Parker. It was screened in the midst of the growing national panic about drugs and rave culture in the mid-Nineties. By the time that it was shown on BBC2 in more explicit, extended form, it boasted a zeitgeist-y soundtrack including The Prodigy and Leftfield. Yet its depiction of a doomed romance between two young people more in thrall to drugs than each other proved surprisingly affecting, as well as being a fascinating pre-Trainspotting snapshot of an era. 5. Junk (1999) By the end of the Nineties, Scene had really come into its own as a youth-oriented series that dealt with hot-button issues with just as much sophistication and intelligence as the far cooler (and better-known) Skins. This adaptation of Melvin Burgess's bestselling novel, features a young Jemima Rooper as a girl who is dragged into prostitution and heroin addiction after she runs away from home. It won a Bafta for Best Schools Drama, and treats its grim, gritty subject with a measure of candour and explicitness that must surely have scared away its target audience from even contemplating taking drugs.
CBC
17-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Which loyalty reward program will save you the most money?
Social Sharing Rewards programs are everywhere. For businesses, they are all about luring and retaining customers through discounts, points and deals, and tracking consumer behaviour for marketing purposes. But how do you know which one is the best for you? It depends on where you shop, what you buy, and how much effort you want to put into it. To help you out, the Deal Diva took a deep dive into four reward programs for CBC Radio's The 306. In each segment, she gives an overview of the rewards program, how to earn, how to spend, and how to maximize its benefits. Triangle Rewards Triangle Rewards are basically a new, digital version of "Canadian Tire Money," which is the OG of loyalty programs, starting in the 1950s. It has since expanded to more than Canadian Tire – Triangle Rewards can be earned and used at Sport Chek, Marks, Atmosphere and Sports Experts, to name a few. So, if you are an outdoorsy person who's into sports or hockey, this program is for you! Scene+ You might remember Scene when it first started out as a rewards program for Cineplex movie theatres. In 2021, Cineplex joined forces with Scotiabank for a big revamp. Now, there are many more partners and ways to earn, including at restaurants and grocery stores. Air Miles Air Miles started back in 1992 and for years it was a much-beloved program heavily focused on travel rewards. About eight years ago, the company announced Air Miles would expire after a certain timeframe. That made a lot of longtime collectors angry, and a bunch of partners, including Sobeys, Safeway and Rexall, jumped ship. In 2023, when Air Miles's parent company filed for bankruptcy, BMO to signed a deal to take over and reinvigorate the program. PC Optimum Shoppers Drug Mart launched its Optimum program 25 years ago, and it quickly became one of the biggest customer loyalty programs in Canada. It has since expanded to include Loblaw-owned grocery stores and gas stations, among other businesses. Love deals? Click here for more Deal Diva segments for more great tips on saving money.
