TORONTO – The sixth lecture in the popular Toronto in Question Lecture Series hosted by U of T’s Cities Centre will focus on culture and the arts in Toronto – their role in the life of the City, current challenges and prospects. The event will take place on Tuesday, March 27, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. at the FitzGerald Building, University of Toronto, 150 College Street, Room 103.

Speakers John Ralston Saul (author, editor, President of PEN International), and Mark Kingwell, (writer and Professor of Philosophy, U of T), will animate a discussion of this topic. Shauna Brail (Director of Experiential Learning, Innis College Urban Studies Program, UofT) will act as moderator.

Questions and discussion will follow the presentations.

The City of Toronto is over 175 years old, and over the years it has gone through many changes and responded to many challenges. In the 1990s there was the challenge of amalgamation, and the resultant absorption of six municipalities (Toronto, Etobicoke, York, North York, Scarborough and East York) into a single one-tier city.

In the first decade of the millennium, the new City of Toronto grew into a world-renowned metropolis, and became a focus for international tourism, a flourishing film and media industry, medical and other hi-tech developments, and many other new and related fields. Now, the City is being challenged to justify and explain itself, in the face of major funding issues and concerns about policy and governance.

To discuss some of these important questions, the Cities Centre has organized seven events, all open to the public, in a series entitled “Toronto in Question?”

The final event in the series will take place on April 17:

“Toronto in Question: Exploring the Answers,” April 17, Panelists: Armine Yalnizyan, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives; Alan Broadbent, Avana Capital Corporation and Maytree Foundation; Tanzeel Merchant, DiverseCity Fellow and Board Member, Heritage Toronto. Moderator Dr. Shauna Brail. Innis Town Hall, 2 Sussex Avenue.

Who Needs Arts and Culture in Toronto?

Tuesday, March 27, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

FitzGerald Building, University of Toronto, 150 College Street, Room 103.

Richard Stren
Professor Emeritus
Political Science and Senior Advisor
Cities Centre
Cell: 416-817-1330