What to see on Luminato 2024's opening weekend

When it comes to arts and culture, there's always something going on in Toronto, but it's not every weekend that you can go to a "rave" in an abandoned office building, catch the toast of the Edinburgh Fringe and see (more than a few) free concerts featuring Canada's top acts. 

All of those things are happening at this year's Luminato Festival, which returns for its 18th edition this Wednesday. There's a whole 10 days of programming to explore — theatre, dance, music and a few artforms that defy definition. But you can't beat the energy of a festival's opening weekend, and for those who can't bear to miss a moment of excitement, we've built you an itinerary that pushes the limits of what's humanly possible. Load up your Presto card, crack an energy drink and start making notes in your calendar.

Friday, June 7

Meet an international art star with Montreal roots

On Wednesday, the festival's opening day, the Art Gallery of Ontario is the place to be — as Miles Greenberg is expected to make a scene in Walker Court. The Montreal-born artist has been mentored by the likes of Édouard Lock (La La La Human Steps) and Marina Abramović, and he is launching Luminato with a performance of Respawn, a piece inspired by rock-em-sock-em video games. For nine hours straight, Greenberg is expected to be in Street Fighter mode, standing on a mirrored stage surrounded by silicone doppelgangers, throwing punches at some invisible adversary. And if you're there to see it go down, you might have some questions. 

If so, consider a return trip to the AGO on Friday afternoon. Starting at 4 p.m.,Greenberg will be discussing his work with curator Bojana Stancic. The 26-year-old artist is on this year's long list for the Sobey Art Award and recently performed another grueling durational performance at the Venice Biennale. For that piece, Sebastian, Greenberg assumed the pose of a Christian martyr for eight hours — his arms, back and torso pierced with silver arrows — as liquid sugar dripped from the ceiling. (For the grand finale, his mother, Phoebe Greenberg, founder of the PHI Foundation for Contemporary Art, plucked the arrows from his beleaguered body.) Tickets to Friday's talk are free, but you'll need to reserve your spot in advance.

Watch Jeremy Dutcher launch Luminato in the Square

Jeremy Dutcher is scheduled to take the stage at 9 p.m., but the Polaris winner isn't the only major draw coming to David Pecaut Square. Every day through Sunday, June 16, the outdoor venue will host free events. The series is called Luminato in the Square, and it kicks off Friday at 6 p.m. with Earth Garden: Aki Gitigaan, a bill that's been curated in collaboration with FabCollab's Miigwech Collective.

Indigenous artists will be in the spotlight Friday night, including poet Elder Duke Redbird and Juno-winning musician (and TikTok star) Fawn Wood. Plus, there's lots to see and do — including a live-painting activation featuring local artist Shawn Howe and demonstrations and workshops led by Miigwech Collective.

Snap the selfie of the festival

While you're at David Pecaut Square, you won't be able to resist Evanescent, giant plastic bubbles that glimmer like gasoline on a rain puddle. Created by Atelier Sisu, the installation will be up at David Pecaut Square starting Friday, and after Luminato's over, it'll travel to various destinations downtown until July 30. (Info here.) It's OK. Take the selfie. Everyone else is going to, so why not do it early?

Turn your commute into an artsy field trip

Luminato programming is happening all over the city, and if you're relying on the TTC to shuttle from point A to Z, watch for art in these select stations: Kennedy, Spadina, Finch and York University. Just for Luminato, Banded Purple, a local company that offers services in art consulting, has curated an exhibition called Spaced. Among the featured artists are Vridhhi Chaudhry, Brendan George Ko, Winnie Truong and William Ukoh. It'll be up through June 16.

Saturday, June 8

Witness a 'punk' performance in a public park

On Saturday, you'll find artist Sonia Hughes in Withrow Park between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., performing a piece she's toured to cities around the world. It's called I Am From Reykjavik, and over those seven hours, Hughes will build a tiny home from a pile of lumber — decorating it with family photos and interacting with passersby — only to take it apart and leave the scene. 

Luminato producer/programmer Adam Barrett first saw Hughes perform the piece at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2022. "It feels surprising and kind of punk," he says — a public stunt that would trigger the average security guard.

"I was particularly struck by the piece and how it might resonate in Toronto, given the housing crisis," says Barrett. The structure that Hughes assembles during the performance bears a striking resemblance to what you'll see in the city's encampments, he notes. But as Barrett explains, the piece is about issues beyond housing affordability. It's more about the idea of home itself — and what it means to hold space anywhere, especially from Hughes's perspective as a Black woman. 

"The artist is on this journey to figure out we have more in common than that which divides us," says Lamesha Ruddock, a producer at Luminato. "It's all about her holding time and space for people to recognize we are a community, we live within community."

Hughes is scheduled to stage the performance four times during the run of the festival (dates and times here), and it will appear in different locations including Sugar Beach and Yonge and Dundas Square. If you make it part of your festival itinerary, Barrett suggests making repeat visits. "One of the things that's compelling is seeing the change over time in the structure," he says. "Go see a matinee, come back after a couple of hours."

See a play that's never the same twice

Yeah, go see a matinee! Age is a Feeling is the latest from writer/actor Haley McGee, who won a Dora Award last year for her previous one-person show, The Ex Boyfriend Yard Sale. Like that play, Age is a Feeling is appearing on the Soulpepper stage, and it arrives at Luminato after runs at London's Soho Theatre and the Edinburgh Fringe. 

The show charts a woman's life from ages 25 to 90, exploring the milestones and major what-if's of modern adulthood. No two performances are ever quite the same, however. The play is choose-your-own-existentialist adventure — and scenes are selected, at random, by the audience.  

"There's about 180 different ways the story can unfold, many of which have never been performed. It keeps us all on our toes," says director Mitchell Cushman. But the inventive structure is all in service of the theme, he says. "No matter how well we think we might know someone, we never get to know all of their story." (The play has been extended to June 23.)

Party with street-dance sensations

At this point in the evening, you're probably praying for a second wind, and this production at the Bluma Appel Theatre sure looks like a shot of much-needed adrenalin. Afrikan Party - Supa Rich Kids is billed as a blend of dance, fashion and music, and it's created by Oulouy, a street-dance choreographer who originally hails from Ivory Coast. The Saturday night performance at 8 p.m. has something special in store. When the curtain goes down, it's time to party — and everyone in the audience is invited to join the fun. (More info here.)

Follow your belly to a Luminato night market

Hungry for more? Or just hungry for food? Follow your rumbly tummy to Mel Lastman Square (provided you can wait that long). Luminato's Night Market runs Friday and Sunday, and boasts more than 60 vendors to sample. (More info here.)

Sunday, June 9

Celebrate Black artists with a Grammy-winning rapper

It doesn't matter what day it is. During Luminato, there's always something happening at David Pecaut Square, and Sunday's free program — Afro Ascension — is stacked with entertainment. Feel like dancing? Take a lesson from Edz Gyamfi. Curious about steelpan music? Joy Lapps will be leading a hands-on workshop. And of course, there'll be plenty of performances happening on the main stage. K'naan wraps the festival-within-a-festival with a headlining set at 9 p.m. (Get the schedule.)

Relive your rave days

But what if you knew about a rave — sorry, R.A.V.E. — happening in a secret(ish) location at 8 p.m.? Would you leave David Pecaut Square to check it out?

R.A.V.E. is an all-new production created by Me Time, a local DJ that you probably know as Sarah Barrable-Tishauer from Degrassi: TNG. Five years ago, the DJ was commissioned by Toronto's Outside the March to develop the project, and according to OTM's artistic director, Mitchell Cushman, R.A.V.E. is unlike anything they've ever produced. 

That's saying something, considering the company has consistently pushed the possibilities of immersive theatre — conjuring worlds in video stores and kindergarten classrooms. And for R.A.V.E., the setting is an abandoned cubicle farm — the former offices of Bombardier Aerospace. It's an environment that should appeal to fans of Severance and #liminalspaces content, and Me Time stars as a sort of wellness guru/DJ, joined by four more performers — dancers who are there to help guide the audience.

If you get a ticket, be prepared to sweat. "The hope is that people will very much — viscerally, physically — experience the show through dance," says Cushman. "I don't I don't think I've ever attended anything quite like that." Sunday is the show's first preview. It's on through June 16.

Luminato Festival Toronto. To June 16. www.luminatofestival.com