After a two-year hiatus, Doors Open returns May 28-29 to give Torontonians a chance to rediscover the city through its significant buildings and vibrant neighbourhoods. The city says this year’s theme, “renewal,” touches on the world’s awakening to deeply rooted inequity, injustice and imbalance. With more than 100 participating sites and free in-person and virtual experiences, from walking tours to engaging talks to architectural gems hidden in plain sight – there are plenty of opportunities to experience Toronto in a new light this weekend. Here are five highlights to look forward to:
Aga Khan Museum and Park. Tom Arban
A returning Doors Open favourite, the Aga Khan Museum and Park is offering visitors special tours of its Islamic postmodern architecture, family activities, live music pop-up performances, and a rare look at its auditorium, all weekend long. The museum, designed by architect Fumihiko Maki, is a place of appreciation for Muslim contributions to world heritage and a site of reflection on how cultures interconnect. The facility is also inviting guests to guided tours of the Ismaili Centre, Toronto, an eye-catching crystalline frosted glass dome structure just across the park.
The Aga Khan museum’s latest exhibit takes on a key misconception about Islamic art
Women Paint Riverside ‘Currents of Change’ laneway public art. Mo Thunder
Discover more than 20 unique murals completed by women and non-binary artists on a tour of this StreetArt Toronto-funded project. The new multi-block laneway art corridor, completed in fall 2021 in the Riverside neighbourhood, will debut to Doors Open visitors this weekend. Alongside the larger-than-life artwork to take in, the tour will highlight local businesses in the bustling community and offer a sneak peek of Riverside’s next big public art project.
R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant. Samuel Kolber
Built in the 1930s and opened in 1941, “the Palace of Purification” is the largest water treatment plant in the city, and an Art Deco masterpiece. Producing approximately 30 per cent of Toronto’s drinking water, the facility personifies artistic functionality with its Art Deco style integrated with Late Romanesque Revival and Modern Classical forms. This weekend, the Pump House and the Filter Building’s doors are open to guests to enjoy the largest ensemble of Art Deco buildings in the city through self-guided tours.
Located in the Distillery District, the Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf’s headquarters also serves as the Deaf Culture Centre. The centre aims to elevate the achievements of the Deaf community and welcomes visitors to immerse themselves in artworks known as Deaf View Image Art (De’VIA) which examine and express the Deaf experience. Visitors can tour the vibrant retrofitted heritage building and its current exhibit, Touch – Don’t Touch, guided by the exhibit’s curator Maryam Hafizirad. Explore the significance of touch in language and life for the Deaf and DeafBlind communities either in person or online. An American Sign Language/voice interpreter will be available.
If you’re looking to partake in Doors Open 2022 from the comfort of your own home, there are many online experiences to choose from to still get your prescribed dose of Toronto culture this weekend. Directed by Lulu Wei, There’s No Place Like This Place, Anyplace is a documentary film about Honest Ed’s, a landmark discount store in Toronto, which was sold to a luxury developer in 2013. Watch the film online here, from May 25-29, to learn how the store’s iconic city block served as a beacon for diverse communities in Toronto for almost 70 years through the stories of its community members.
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