Rise of the Luminato?
L'Oréal: not just a cheap way to fix charcoal drawings.
By Brad Pearson
Posted June 4th, 2007It seems that Toronto’s cultural mandarins are hatching a grand scheme: something that will finally satisfy our city’s need for international affirmation, something that will make New York and London realize just how cool we really are, something that will make everyone forget we were the location of choice for The Lord of the Rings’ musical world premiere.
The board of directors for this mysterious event includes powerbrokers from the Harbourfront Centre, Royal Ontario Museum, Roy Thompson Hall, Canadian Opera Company, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Art Gallery of Ontario, National Ballet of Canada, Toronto International Film Festival and more. Heavy hitters indeed! So what have these cultural movers and shakers decided to name their new ten day festival? Nothing less epic than Luminato: Toronto Festival of Arts & Creativity 2007.
Luminato?
Why do I imagine this board of directors standing in a deep subterranean cavern, wearing long black robes with cowls drawn over shadowy features, holding candles in a solemn circle while they intone, “We, the bringers of creativity, shall lead the culture. We, who bring the artists, shall lead the masses. We, who sit in high places, shall reach out to all with music, dance, film and literature.”?
Before you get too worried about this rather sinister-sounding “Luminato” secret society, let me reassure you that there is nothing to fear: it’s sponsored by L’Oréal. I can’t imagine a company best known for hairsprays, mousses, and gels financing a nefarious plot to reshape Toronto’s creative landscape. But make no mistake, this is an ambitious undertaking. These guys have obviously got their sights set on making this an annual event for years to come. According to the Luminato website, it will “attract hundreds of thousands of participants to over 100 events in 2007, and expects to continually grow its program and audiences in the next few years.”
It’s just too bad that for the past couple of weeks I assumed the Luminato/L’Oréal posters in the subway were advertising a shampoo designed to bring out my natural highlights. A lot of otherwise interested and engaged art scene types are probably equally oblivious to what’s hitting Toronto between June 1st and 10th.
Will the “Luminatoria” have their way? Five years from now will the city be abuzz with anticipation over the Sixth Annual Luminato Festival of yada yada yada? Maybe, but it’s a big gamble. If it wins, it could win big — but that’s a big “if”. The proven festivals and events in Toronto have always kept their focus. The Pride Parade, Toronto International Film Festival and Caribana are pretty simple to describe and get people engaged with. Luminato is a sprawling festival covering the gamut of music, dance, film, literature, theatre, visual art and design in a slew of events across town over many days. It will be hard to make something so unwieldy and fractured resonate as a cohesive event with the general public, let alone get them excited about it.
That meandering scope makes Luminato nigh unsummarizable (I choose to believe that is a real word) but thankfully their website, at luminato.com, makes it easy to browse across multiple events and disciplines. There are plenty of free events for the budget-conscious, family events for the content-cautious and opportunities to find something unexpected. To help you keep it all straight, the site even features a “personal festival planner” that lets you track events you’re interested in attending.
So check it out, wish our cultural guardians in the Luminatoria the best of luck, and hopefully you’ll find a few things in those ten days that will really blow you away. Use lots of L’Oréal extra-hold hairspray, just in case.