March 15, 2007: This week in the Gallery Space...

Within the traditional gallery space and beyond, the York Fine Arts Festival certainly has the arts covered this month. 40 different events are planned between now until April 1st, showcasing dance, design, film, music, multimedia, theatre, visual arts and interdisciplinary fine arts.

I've included some highlights below. If you've got an exhibit in the fest or know of a show you'd like to recommend, be sure to leave a note in the comments!

Music:

Now til March 16: World Music Festival (See Jonathan's post here) features global music including West African drums, Chinese orchestra and steelpan to flamenco, Celtic and Klezmer music.

March. 20-23: Jazz Festival with performances by the York U Jazz Orchestra led by Al Henderson, four jazz choirs, and 15 small ensembles directed by the likes of Mike Murley, Lorne Lofsky, Mark Eisenman.

March 29: The York University Symphony Orchestra directed by Mark Chambers presents a concert of soloists.

March 30: The 85-voice York U Gospel Choir led by Karen Burke, backed by a live rhythm and horn section.

Visual Arts/Design:

Now til March 16: Exhibition Here is Where we Meet by Master of Fine Arts students.

Now til March 16: 720 by 840 showcases time-based art.

March 19-30: The Department of Design presents Palette of Ideas, an exhibition of applied communication design.

Film:

Today: Director Nettie Wild inaugurates the Jewison Speaker Series with her documentary Fix: The Story of an Addicted City.

March 19: York Shorts - The Reel Thing! featuring award-winning student productions in fiction, documentary and alternative film.

Theatre -

March 18-29: Michel Tremblay's landmark play Les Belles-Soeurs, directed by Miroslaw Polatynski.

March 21-31: The Canadian premiere of Grapes of Wrath, adapted by Frank Galati from John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-wining epic, directed by Glen Gaston.

March 28-31: The Theatre Dept also presents Scenes by Design, an exhibit of original costumes, theatre props, stage drawings and maquettes.

Dance:

Mar 21-24: Dance Illuminations, directed by Holly Small, offers a double bill of provocative works exploring the nature of dance and light. $12

March 28-30: Darcey Callison's playful new work, Reinventing John (as in Travolta!). PWYC

For more, more, and more listings, visit the York Fine Arts Festival website.