North York Arts Celebrates Mayan Heritage with Guggenheim Fellow Jesus Mora

This September, Jesus Mora exhibits Cosmovision Maya at the Toronto Centre for
the Arts . Presented by North York Arts , a fellowship from The John Simon
Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and a grant from the Ontario Arts Council , Mora’s
series of painting explore the teaches of Mayan cosmology he has learned from Martolo
Alvarez , a K’iche’ elder of the community.

Using the ancient t exts of the Pop Wuj, a series of paintings were created using Mayan
iconography. Mora writes: “The subjects of my work have a life cycle of their own, within
which are contained reality, fantasy, the microscopic world and the universe. This
represents a constant conversation between ourselves and our surroundings not only in the
material world but also in the subconscious one.”

“North York Arts is thrilled to present Jesus Mora’s work for the first time in Canada” said
North York Arts Executive Director, Lila Karim . “We are so glad that we can celebrate
Mayan heritage and artistry in North York. Our partnership champions diverse arts outside
of the downtown core of Toronto.”

Mora’s Cosmovision Maya is now on exhibition in the Lower Gallery, Toronto Centre for
the Arts , on 5040 Yonge Street from September 8th to the 28th .
Gallery hours are 1:00pm – 4: 30pm.

A reception will be held on Mexican Independence Day, September 15th, from 5:30 -7:30pm.

Mora will also participate in an Aztec dance workshop at the new Lee Lifeson Art Park on
October 2nd, 2016 . Join us for a day of music, dance and art that celebrates the best of
North York and the City of Toronto!

Learn more about Jesus Mora at:  www.jesusmoraart.com

 
About North York Arts

North York Arts (NYA) is an arts service organization designed to address the needs and
interests of North York artists, arts organizations and residents. North York Arts is working
in collaboration with Toronto City Councillors, Culture Division and various community
partners to foster North York arts programming, provide art services to the region and
bridge connections in the art and culture community between North York and the rest of the
City. Since inception in August 2011, NYA has serviced over 100,000 audience attendees
and participants to various programs, events and workshops. Major supporters include
Toronto Arts Foundation, City of Toronto, Minto and Toronto Centre for the Arts. For more
information, visit www.northyorkarts.org.
For more information, contact:
Ely Rosenblum
Development and Communications Manager
North York Arts
ely@northyorkarts.org
www.northyorkarts.org

In 2016, the CaribbeanTales International Film Festival (CTFF), returns to Downtown Toronto, at The Royal Cinema, 608 College Street, with an Opening Gala on September 7 at 5:30, then from September 14 – 21 at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

In an unconventional twist to this year’s theme of Caribbean Love, the opening night of CaribbeanTales International Film Festival will feature a crime drama/romance Diary of a Badman, (Jamaica/USA) directed by Diemiruaya Deniran and starring Jacinth Sutphin, (who is also the producer of the film), and Douglass A. Robbs. The Director and lead actors will be at the screening.

Trinbago-to-the-Bone (Sept 14, 6pm) celebrates performative cultural stories from Trinidad and Tobago, featuring carnival documentary Bottom in de Road.
http://www.caribbeantales.ca/CTFF/product/trinbago-to-the-bone/

Migrant Tales (Sept 14, 8:30pm), showcases different aspects of the Caribbean diasporic experience.
http://www.caribbeantales.ca/CTFF/product/migrant-tales/

Love Thy Neighbour (Sept 15, 6pm) features award-winning Trinidadian drama Trafficked directed by Sean Hodgkinson.
http://www.caribbeantales.ca/CTFF/product/love-thy-neighbour/

LGBT Love (Sept 15, 8:30pm) features a documentary about Jamaica’s first pride, as well as other shorts exploring a range of LGBTQ representation.
http://www.caribbeantales.ca/CTFF/product/lgbt-love/

Revolutionary Love (Sept 16, 6pm), focuses on ways in which commitment to change can alter both the intimate world and the global. It showcases five short documentaries created for Ryerson University as part of the Akua Benjamin Legacy Project.
http://www.caribbeantales.ca/CTFF/product/revolutionary-love/

#BlackLoveMatters (Sept 16, 8:30pm), explores themes of different forms of Caribbean and Black Love while featuring the best films from the #BlackLoveMatters Short Film Challenge.
http://www.caribbeantales.ca/CTFF/product/blacklovematters/

Animated Love (Sept 17, 6pm) features the Francophone Caribbean’s first feature-length film Battledream Chronicle, a futuristic anti-colonial Sci-Fi.
http://www.caribbeantales.ca/CTFF/product/animatedlove/

Walk Good (Sept 17, 8:30pm), features documentary Dreadlock Story, which highlights different ideologies attached to the Jamaican dreadlocks hairstyle, its origins, its current state and its future.
http://www.caribbeantales.ca/CTFF/product/walk-good/

On Sept 21 at 7pm, a special Grande Finale screening of Trinidadian musical/romance/drama Bazodee, starring Machel Montano.

Ticket Prices:

Opening Night Gala – $25 (includes reception & screening)
September 7th, 5:30pm Reception, 8:00pm Screening

Festival pass – $75 (includes all screenings and opening night)
This includes all screenings EXCEPT the Grande Finale!

Single Ticket – $10
To each screening September 14 – 17
Screenings are held 6pm and 8:30pm each day.

Grande Finale – $25
September 21st, 7:00pm

PUBLIC INFORMATION:
For more information about the Festival, please call the CaribbeanTales International Film Festival Office line on: 416-534-8308 or visit our website http://caribbeantales.ca/ctff and through our email caribbeantales@gmail.com

We are presently confirming interviews and screeners are available upon request. Thank you!

Media
Planet3 Communications Ltd. – Joanne Smale
M: 416-554-2637, T: 289-296-6223, E: info@planet3com.net

About CaribbeanTales International Film Festival – CTFF
The CaribbeanTales International Film Festival (CTFF), now in its 11th year, celebrates the talents of established and emerging filmmakers of Caribbean heritage who practice their art across the Caribbean Diaspora worldwide – including Canada and the Caribbean, Europe, the Americas, and those of African, Chinese, Indian and Middle Eastern descent. CTFF presents a multi-ethnic mix of exciting and dynamic films that showcase diverse shared stories and cultures.

CTFF is produced by CaribbeanTales Inc, a registered Canadian charity that aims to connect people through film. The company’s mandate is to foster and encourage intercultural understanding and racial equality, through the creation, marketing and distribution of film programs, events and projects that reflect the diversity and creativity of Caribbean heritage culture.

As well as the CTFF, CT’s activities include its renowned Incubator Program, community screenings and partnerships, and CaribbeanTales-TV, a video on demand platform. Past projects have included community and school screenings of the movie A Winter Tale; The Literature Alive Project (funded by Canadian Heritage) a multi-faceted multi-media project that celebrates and features three generations of Caribbean Canadian literary achievement, from Austin Clarke to d’bi Young; the CaribbeanTales Youth Film Festival – Celebrating Black History Month (founded in 2009) and the CaribbeanTales Multi-media E-newsletter (since 2003).