We live in the constant, ruthless flux of job and housing markets, of family and relationship reconfigurations and career impediments. As circumstances or conditions change, how do we respond? Often we keep doing the same thing even though it isn’t working or accomplishing what we intend. Then there are those who don’t just diligently plod along. They revise and reinterpret. They try something unconventional and imaginative. They collaborate and create synergies; they leap right out of the box. We are inspired by these innovators and in this issue present a few examples of alternative ideas and practices, both new and old.

COUNTING SHEEP: A play, a dance performance, a concert?

by Sima Sehar Zerehi
This original performance by the Lemon Bucket Orkestra is part concert, part sing-along, part play, part dinner theatre and puts the audience in the middle of Kiev’s Maidan Nezalezhnosti during the 2014 uprising in Ukraine.

GETTING AROUND TORONTO: Look Ma, No Car

by Miria Ioannou
Suzanne Long’s dream is to own a folding bike. In the meantime, she gets around the city with the TTC, car2go, walking, her regular bike and new apps that let you plan the best way to get places.

STREETCARS: Visible History

by Schuster Gindin
A visit to New Orleans evokes reminders of the city’s rich streetcar history and prompts contemplation of the construction frenzy in Toronto that has demolished much of our urban history leaving us to suffer from antiquities envy.

THE FEATURE WALL

by Jessica Rovito
Painting a creatively designed wall in a child’s room inspires a sense of freedom from traditional gender constraints and has an unexpected effect on how the author perceives her own life.

MAKING IT NEW: for these Toronto start-ups it’s not business as usual

by Miria Ioannou
These new businesses are led by young entrepreneurs – in their 20s or 30s – who are passionate about their work and innovative about how they run and promote their companies.

TRANSITIONING TO MY TRUE SELF: Christine Newman’s Story

by Christine Newman
Christine Newman is a transgender woman in her 50s who has experienced sadness, fear and tragedy in her lifelong quest to become her true self. She is finally on the road to achieving that self and being happy.

CENTRE for SOCIAL INNOVATION: Can a bit of real estate change the world?

by Schuster Gindin
The CSI creates and animates co-working spaces, connecting and supporting people who are trying to make the world they want to live in.

THE MOMENT THAT SPARK HITS THE STAGE

by Schuster Gindin
Carol Gimbel, founder and artistic director of Music in the Barns, generates the visionary experiential concerts performed in a repurposed transit carbarn at Artscape Wychwood Barns.

Watch for this article soon:

CREATING CONTEMPORARY INUIT ART: Abraham Anghik Ruben

by Elizabeth Cinello
This master sculptor explores the dynamic world of the north through his powerful creations. Interviewed at the Kipling Gallery in Woodbridge, he talks about his life, his work, and his ancestors’ shamanic legacy.

Comment:

I particularly love the article by Christine Newman and I share it with all of my friends. There needs to be more exposure on this topic and she is a beatiful writer!
Karen Miller, Toronto