Media Release

Harbourfront Centre and City-Wide Partners Presents Planet IndigenUs

Toronto, ON (August 5, 2009) – For ten days in August 2009, Harbourfront Centre and the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford, Ontario, present Planet IndigenUs, a multi-disciplinary arts festival showcasing Canadian Aboriginal and international artists Indigenous to their respective corners of the world. Part of World Routes Summer Festivals presented by RBC, this festival showcases 361 artists over 10 days and honours the spirit and the contemporary realities that define Indigenous artistic expression, August 14 through August 23.

To accompany the events at Harbourfront Centre and Woodland Cultural Centre, Planet IndigenUs also includes city-wide events, exhibitions, readings and more with various partners. Partnered events take place at many organizations across the Greater Toronto Area and in several locations in Brantford. This is an extremely rare opportunity for the public to connect with events and exhibitions from Aboriginal cultures from around the world.

Free buses will be leaving regularly from Harbourfront Centre during festival time on a city-wide loop as well as to the beautiful grounds of the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford. For more information on Partner Events, free buses and all of the Planet IndigenUs programmes, please visit harbourfrontcentre.com or call 416-973-4000. For more information about the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford, please visit www.woodland-centre.on.ca.

Planet IndigenUs Partner Events:

The Power Plant – Film: Director Sima Urale, Aug. 18. $4 - $6, thepowerplant.org
Art Gallery of Ontario – Exhibition: Remix: New Modernities in a Post-Indian World until Aug. 23, Panel Discussion: Are We Past the Age of an Aboriginal Art Show and the Urban Sasquatch Protection Network (USPN) – ago.net
Gardiner Museum (with National Taiwan Craft Research Institute) – Exhibition: Taiwanese Crafts, Aug. 14-23 – gardinermuseum.on.ca
Bata Shoe Museum – Music: Brian Wright-McLeod, Dance Aug. 20, 5:30 p.m. and Exhibition: Beauty, Identity, Pride: Native North American Footwear – batashoemuseum.ca
Greater Toronto Airport Authority – Installation by Frank Shebageget until Dec. 7 – gtaa.com
Feheley Fine Arts – Exhibition: Artist Works (Sculptures), Aug. 1 to Sept. 5 – feheleyfinearts.com
Japanese Paper Place – Artist Talk: Inuit Printmaking: 50 Years of Artic Legends and Daily Life Depicted on Paper with Lesley Boyd-Ryan and Sheila Butler, Aug. 18, 6:30-9:30 p.m. – japanesepaperplace.com
Toronto Public Library – Indigenous Storytelling, Film and Dance, various locations – torontopubliclibrary.ca
Métis Artist Collective - Exhibition and Artist Talk with Virginia Barter (at Harbourfront Centre) – metisartistscollective.com
Association for Native Development in the Performing and Visual Arts (ANDPVA) – Panel Discussion and Exhibition, andpva.com
Bravo! FACT – Short films featuring Indigenous artists (at Harbourfront Centre), Aug. 14-23 – bravofact.com
Museum of Inuit Art – Exhibition: Inuit Sea Goddess and Public tours, Aug. 14 and 16 – miamuseum.ca
Kaha:wi Dance Theatre – Dance: The only Aboriginal Dance Training Intensive in Canada, Aug. 10-23 – kahawidance.org/training
Fort York National Historical Site – Installation/Mural: Niinwin Dabaadjmowin (We Are Talking), Aug. 15-23 – toronto.ca/fortyork
Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) – Exhibition: Michael Parekowhai (New Zealand), Aug. 14-23 – ocad.ca
Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) – Alberta First Nations Kehewin Cree Dance and Storytelling, Aug. 22 & 23, 1 p.m. & 3 p.m., rom.on.ca
McMichael Canadian Art Collection – Exhibition: Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast and Artist Talk with David Hannan, Aug. 22 & 23, mcmichael.com
ImagineNATIVE Film Media Art Festival – Failure to Comply: Shorts from the Underground (at Harbourfront Centre), Aug. 14, imaginenative.org
UMAC ( Urban Music Association of Canada) – Partner for First Words: International Aboriginal Hip Hop Conference and Showcase (at Harbourfront centre), Aug 22, umacunited.com
The Bay – Special Events: Aug 14 – 23 at Bloor Street and Partner for Fire and Fashion Live 2009 (at Harbourfront Centre), Aug 22, 44 Bloor Street East, Toronto, hbc.com
Brant Museum and Archives (Brantford) – Ongoing Exhibitions and Collections, brantmuseum.ca
Myrtleville House (Brantford) – Children’s Camp, Aug. 23, Ph: 519-752-3216
Glenhyrst Art Gallery (Brantford) – Exhibitions: Reclaiming and The Ours River, Dance: Doonooch Dance Company –Aug. 22, 2 p.m., glenhyrst.ca
Chiefswood National Historic Site (Brantford) – Poetry Reading, Aug. 23 2 p.m., Ph: 519-752-5005

About World Routes: A series of FREE festivals that run from July through September, World Routes presented by RBC explores ideas in contemporary culture, bringing together rich, artistic traditions from around the globe.

Harbourfront Centre gratefully acknowledges the generous support for Planet IndigenUs provided by the Department of Canadian Heritage; the Canada Council for the Arts; the Ontario Trillium Foundation; the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund; the Ontario Ministry of Culture and the Ontario Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs.

-30-

Media Contacts:
Rebecca Webster 416-973-4518, rwebster@harbourfrontcentre.com
Althea Linton 416-973-4428, alinton@harbourfrontcentre.com
worldroutesmedia@harbourfrontcentre.com

235 Queens Quay West, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2G8
Phone: 416-973-4600 | Fax: 416-973-6055 | harbourfrontcentre.com