The Warrior Emperor and China’s Terracotta Army at the ROM inspires four renowned speakers
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) announces its Director’s Signature Series, four thought-provoking talks by internationally renowned speakers, in conjunction with the exhibition The Warrior Emperor and China’s Terracotta Army.
Opening June 26, the exhibition highlights one of the most significant archaeological finds in history: the 1974 discovery, in Shaanxi province in north-central China, of thousands of life-sized terracotta sculptures of Chinese warriors. Leading up to and throughout the exhibition’s engagement,the Director’s Signature Series and numerous lectures, symposia and debates will enlighten and inspire audiences.
ROM Director & CEO William Thorsell comments, “Once again, a ROM-produced exhibition is more accurately a full-fledged project, one in which culture and archaeology are brought together with a great emphasis on all types of associated programming geared to all kinds of audiences. Even before its opening, The Warrior Emperor will entertain and inform through the Director’s Signature Series outstanding line up of speakers.”
DIRECTOR’S SIGNATURE SERIES SPEAKERS
Tuesday, May 18: Motel to Mogul
Isadore Sharp asks how do you build an empire? Does destiny play a role, or is it simply hard work and dedication? Is it the result of the unique qualities of a single person, or the enigmatic combination of a remarkable team of players? Sharp ponders these and other questions of leadership and accomplishment revealing the “secrets” of how it’s done. The universality of the process may be surprising.
Isadore Sharp is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. He graduated in architecture from the Ryerson Institute of Technology in 1952 and joined his father in the construction business. He built his first motor hotel in Toronto in 1961. Today, Four Seasons operates 83 hotels in 35 countries.
Tuesday, June 15: On Being a Celebrity in China
Canadian Mark Rowswell, also known as Dashan (Chinese for “Big Mountain”), is likely the most famous Western performer in China. He became on overnight star in 1988 after performing a comedic skit on Chinese national television to an audience of 800 million people. Initially termed an “accidental celebrity,” Rowswell’s lengthy career and continuing prominence in the Chinese media more than two decades later point to something far more substantive.
Ottawa-born Mark Rowswell began studying Chinese while attending the University of Toronto in 1984 and continued his language training at Beijing University. Since first appearing on Chinese television in 1988, Rowswell continues to be a highly popular performer and on-air personality, as well as a cultural ambassador between China and the West. He is a member of the Order of Canada and is currently serving as Canada's Commissioner General for Expo 2010 in Shanghai.
(POSTPONED)Wednesday, June 23: An Evening with Deepak Chopra
(POSTPONED)
Deepak Chopra, world renowned teacher, author and philosopher, presents his latest concepts in the field of mind-body medicine, bridging the technological miracles of the West with the wisdom of the East. He will show you how your highest vision of yourself can be turned into physical reality and discuss how you can become a living cell within the body of a living universe. You don't join the cosmic dance—you become the dance. Deepak will address the deeper meaning of our existence including: What is our true nature? What is the meaning and purpose of our existence? How can I transform myself? How can I make a better world? Deepak explains how the greatest spiritual secrets are tied up in this simple answer: You can't change the body without changing the self, and you can't change the self without bringing in the soul. He explains, “It's all one process, and it begins with knowing that your body exists to mirror who you are and who you want to be.”
Deepak Chopra is the author of more than 56 books translated into over 35 languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers in both the categories of fiction and non-fiction. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, Adjunct Professor
at Kellogg School of Management and Senior Scientist with The Gallup Organization. Time magazine heralds Deepak Chopra as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century and credits him as “the poet-prophet of alternative medicine.” More informatio
Thursday, October 14: The Man Who Loved China
Simon Winchester’s talk, based on his best-selling book, highlights the nearly unbelievable story of the life and achievements of Noel Terrence Joseph Montgomery Needham. As recently as half a century ago, China, now accepted as the unchallenged leader of the future world, was dismissed as a country of little importance, little relevance, and merely a vast enigma on the periphery of human civilization. One man is largely responsible for a profound change in the world's evaluation of the country: an eccentric English chemist, Joseph Needham. Needham, by way of an illicit mid-life love affair with a Chinese woman, became one of the most knowledgeable students of China in all history, as well as a lifetime champion of the Middle Kingdom. Needham’s passion led him in many strange directions, but his most lasting legacy was to be a vast book on Chinese science. Still in print, it remains the lengthiest English-language book ever written about China.
Simon Winchester is a journalist, broadcaster, and bestselling author of 20 books, includingThe Professor and the Madman, A Crack in the Edge of the World, and The Map that Changed the World. His current New York Times bestseller The Man Who Loved China is the remarkable story of Joseph Needham. He contributes to a number of American and British magazines and journals, including Harper’s, The Smithsonian, National Geographic, The Spectator, Granta, the New York Times and the Atlantic Monthly. Winchester’s next book, Atlantic: A Biography of the Ocean, is due to be published in October 2010.
Simon Winchester’s Director’s Signature Series lecture is given in conjunction with the Life in the Afterlife Symposium, in which he is its keynote speaker. Taking place at the ROM from October 14 to 16, the Symposium is organized by the ROM’s Department of World Cultures and the Department of Museum Volunteers. The Mount Pleasant Group is Symposium Patron.
In addition to the Director’s Signature Series, another series of 14 lectures by an international slate of acclaimed academics will further complement The Warrior Emperor and China’s Terracotta Army at the ROM. These lectures are scheduled over the entirety of the exhibition’s engagement. Additional information on these talks may be found at www.rom.on.ca/terracottaarmy/en/programs/
Information on the Director’s Signature Series
All lectures, with the exception of Deepak Chopra’s, take place in Samuel Hall Currelly Gallery at 7 pm. Tickets for Director’s Signature Series are now available and are priced:
Tiered Ticketing
Section A: $49
Section B: $39
Section C: $25
An Evening with Deepak Chopra takes place at University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall, 31 King’s College Circle at 7 pm.
Ticket Prices:
Rise Area: $89
First Balcony: $69
Second Balcony: $49
Behind the Stage: $25
Tickets on the Ground Floor with a special reception at which Deepak Chopra will be present: $175.
For additional information, email programs@rom.on.ca or call 416.586.5797. To register for these talks or other programs: www.rom.on.ca/terracottaarmy/en/programs.