Filled with breathtaking images of plants and animals, The Biggest Little Farm is an inspiring ode to uncompromising idealism and a beautiful homage to the natural world. Visit The Life of a Dead Tree by Mark Dion before the screening who brings a massive, fully grown, deceased tree, along with its inhabitants, to MOCA.
Welcome to TD Community Sundays at MOCA. Enjoy free admission to the museum on the last Sunday of each month from 10am to 2pm. TD Community Sundays are made possible by TD Bank Group through its corporate citizenship platform, The Ready Commitment. TD Community Sundays may include guided tours of the exhibitions on view. #TheReadyCommitment
Collaborate bio-sonically with non-human organisms around you! As part of Vector Festival, InterAccess is pleased to partner with MOCA Toronto to host a free workshop with Tosca Hidalgo y Terán. Drop by on Sunday, July 14 between 1-4pm on Floor 1 to listen to bio-data through various analogue synthesizers, plants, moss and mushrooms and experience […]
Enjoy free admission to the museum on the last Sunday of each month from 10am to 2pm. TD Community Sundays are made possible by TD Bank Group through its corporate citizenship platform, The Ready Commitment. TD Community Sundays may include guided tours of the exhibitions on view. #TheReadyCommitment
Artist and Illustrator, Matthew Wells, leads a series of workshops that focus on drawing on insects. Open to all ages and levels, participants will learn the purposes of drawing and documenting biological entities, as well as techniques for rendering the unique contours and vibrant colours of a variety of insect species. Taking place alongside Mark Dion’s exhibition 'The Life of a Dead Tree', these workshops give participants the opportunity to draw insect specimens that have been cultivated from the tree on display, including the emerald ash borer beetle.
For 'Biidaaban: First Light', Lisa Jackson joined forces with 3D artist Mathew Borrett to create an interactive virtual reality experience that pictures a future Toronto overgrown by nature. Intertwining scenes of the city’s downtown core overtaken by plant life with spoken and written text of the Wendat, Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) and Anishinaabe (Ojibway), 'Biidaaban: First Light' is a work of Indigenous futurism that creates a world where languages and vegetation thrive. Join Jackson and Borrett for a conversation that delves into the process of making this extraordinary work.
Dr. Sandy Smith is a Professor in the Faculty of Forestry at the University of Toronto. She specializes in forest health, urban forestry, and is a leading expert in the ecology and biological management of invasive forest species. Taking the ash tree on display in Mark Dion’s exhibition as her starting point, Smith discusses her research investigating the effects that invasive insects and dying trees have on forests.
Decomposers, such as molds, fungi and mushrooms, are part of the final stages in the decline of a tree. They break down wood and create opportunities for insect life. Join our in-museum scientist, Alexandra Ntoukas, for a workshop that focuses on the different types of decomposers and their unique characteristics and functions. Using magnifying glasses, participants will learn how to identify molds and the important role decomposers play in our ecosystems.
Throughout 'The Life of a Dead Tree', insects will be collected as they emerge out of the ash tree on display. This workshop begins with an introduction on what invasive species are, how they enter our ecosystems, and the risks they present. Participants will then have the opportunity to look at insect specimens and identify whether they are invasive or not. Those interested will also have the option to stay and draw an insect or write what about they learned in the workshop.
Horticulturalist Melanie Sifton presents a talk on urban ecosystem management and nature in the city. Intersecting with Mark Dion's exhibition, 'The Life of a Dead Tree', Sifton discusses her in-depth experience in building and supporting urban oases and natural areas in cities. Soil ecology and restoration—often overlooked factors in urban design and construction practices—will also be discussed.