What's On at the Library

6 Degrees asks questions about the world we live in. What more can we do to make newcomers feel included in Canada? Come to connect, engage and discover the power of bringing everyone into the circle.

On September 26 and 27, join the conversation led by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship’s 6 Degrees. Over two days, groups of engaged authors, activists, artists, and academics will discuss issues related to three key themes: walls, bridges and homes. Speakers include: novelist Margaret Atwood; former Mayor of Mexico City, Marcelo Ebrard; Indigenous commentator, Niigaan Sinclair; Syrian refugee, Ahmad Danny Ramadan; and Cree artist, Kent Monkman. The discussions will take place at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Four Toronto Public Library branches (Albion, Cedarbrae, Toronto Reference Library and York Woods) will offer free livestream sessions with discussions to follow.

Join the discussion! 

Tuesday, September 26

360: Walls

9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. 
2016 was the year of walls. Hard to miss the external ones, often newly constructed or noisily resurrected. But invisible barriers, the taller, more insidious kind, have also gone back up – or they’ve been there all along. Except now those walls are being rendered visible by groups traditionally kept marginal by them. Forces of disruption and social change speak truth to the power of barriers in our time. But can'they actually bring any down?

Livestream Sessions and Discussions: Albion, Cedarbrae, York Woods

360: Bridges

1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. 
Many people have deep roots in a place. Others are more recently settled. Canada is home to Indigenous peoples and settlers, along with a dynamic third partner: new citizens, some quarter of a million each year. They bring their stories, identities, obligations and allegiances. Reconciliation is a shared project and responsibility. In Canada and elsewhere, bridges between Indigenous peoples and newcomers – groups with natural affinities — need to be identified and built. How do we foster the right welcome amongst all residents of Turtle Island?

Livestream Sessions and Discussions: Cedarbrae, York Woods

“Two Ships”: Kent Monkman in Conversation with John Ralston Saul

3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. 
Cree artist Kent Monkman is putting the finishing touches on a monumental history painting depicting two vessels on the verge of colliding at sea. One a European craft, the other a Haudenosaunee canoe. “Two Ships” explores the complexity of contact between two different worlds and different cultures and reflects on the responsibility we all must accept for the legacy of the past. This is an extraordinary opportunity to see this visionary 12’x24’ canvas for the first time, hear the artist discuss the inspiration behind his work, and to ask questions.

Livestream Sessions and Discussions: Toronto Reference Library, Cedarbrae, York Woods

Wednesday, September 27

360: Homes

9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. 

Where, or even what, is home? The vast majority of humans now reside in cities, and many of us have changed towns, cities, and nations to find better lives. In Toronto, the most diverse city on the planet, an internet connection “back home” can be as essential to well-being as a neighbour next door. We all long for a place called home. What isn’t so certain is whether this can any longer simply be a roof and four walls, address and postal code. How does belonging take root in 21st century lives?

Livestream Sessions and Discussions: Toronto Reference Library, Cedarbrae, York Woods

Special Thanks