Saturday opening: Struggling Cities Exhibition and Library

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The Japan Foundation is open on Saturday, September 10.
Noon - 5:00 pm.
Library
New Exhibition: Struggling Cities
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An architectural exhibition presented by The Japan Foundation
Struggling Cities:
from Japanese Urban Projects in the 1960s
August 19 ~ December 9, 2011

In the mid-20th century, only 25% of the world's population lived in cities, in 50 years this figure rose to 50%. Although it took 5,000 years for the urban population to reach 25%, the rapidity of this doubling shows just how radically the urban population grew in the later 20th century. The rapid urbanization caused drastic changes to cities and forced governments and city authorities to adapt to new conditions. However, modern urban planning has been less effective in large-scale cities because of the difficulty of maintaining organic consistency while overcoming urban problems caused by modernization. Megacities are at the forefront of this problem. In the 1960s Tokyo became a megacity. Various experimental ideas to renovate the city flourished from architects hoping to find a way out of critical problems caused by modernization. The representative examples of these ambitious urban plans were suggested by Kenzo Tange, the Metabolists Group, and Arata Isozaki. Through a combination of diverse media—from architectural scale models to photographs, along with animations and other audio-visuals—this exhibition examines various circumstances of cities in Japan and elswhere up to the present day and identifies the distinctive aspects of those circumstances as they are manifested in present-day Tokyo .

GALLERY HOUR
Monday: 11:30 am - 7:00 pm EXTENDED HOURS
Tuesday: 11:30 am - 4:30 pm
Wednesday: 11:30 am - 4:30 pm
Thursdays: 11:30 am - 7:00 pm EXTENDED HOURS
Friday: 11:30 am - 4:30 pm
Saturday openings: Noon - 5:00 pm
September 10, October 1 & 15, November 5 & 19, December 3
Words on the Street: Sunday, September 25: Noon - 5:00 pm
Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2011: October 1st - 2nd, 7:00 pm - sunrise

CLOSED
other Saturdays & Sundays
October 10 (Thanksgiving), November 11 (Remembrance Day)

Admission Free

The Japan Foundation , Toronto
131 Bloor Street West , 2nd floor of the Colonnade
www.jftor.org 416.966.1600 x229

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Special Opening: Friday, September 9, 11:30 am – 6:30 pm

The library will be open for an extra two hours, from 4:30 – 6:30pm, before the Japanese and Canadian Authors in Conversation event.
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Saturday Opening
Saturday, September 10, noon-5
Meet “Paro”!
2:00-2:30 and 3:30-4:00

Paro, short for “personal robot,” is a highly sophisticated and irresistably adorable robotic baby harp seal.

Used for therapeutic purposes in nursing homes and shelters, Paro can recognize voices, respond to touch, wag his tail and make the same sounds as a real baby seal!

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The Japan Foundation , Toronto will be participating in Word on the Street from
11 am – 6 pm on Sunday, September 25 at Queen’s Park. Please visit us at booth #207.

The Japan Foundation Toronto Library and Exhibition will also be open from noon-5 pm on Sunday, September 25.

For more information and directions, check http://www.thewordonthestreet.ca/wots/toronto

Hope to see you there!
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