ROM Fall 2019 Lectures & Programs: An Autumn of Anarchy, Art & Animals

TORONTO, Sept 26, 2019 — Cultivate your curiosity with a wide range of programs that offer insight into the Royal Ontario Museum's (ROM) exhibitions and galleries with ROM Speaks, ROM Connects, and ROM Daytime talks and programs.

Visitors can also experience the Museum’s slate of autumnal exhibitions, It's Alive! Classic Horror and Sci-Fi Art from the Kirk Hammett Collection, on now until January 5, and fascinating ROM-original Bloodsuckers: Legends to Leeches, opening November 16. Then, be awed by the wonders of nature in Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019, the annual showcase of the world's best nature photography and photojournalism, opening November 23.

ROM Speaks
Ticketed evening events featuring thought-provoking guest speakers

ROM Speaks: William Dalrymple on "The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company" SOLD OUT  
Monday, September 30, 7:00 pm
Bestselling author William Dalrymple explores the remarkable story of how the Mughal Empire fell apart and was replaced by a multinational corporation based thousands of miles overseas.
For more information click here.

ROM Speaks: 2019 South Asia Lecture with Shahidul Alam on "Creating Spaces for Dissent"
Monday, October 7, 7:00 pm
Explore the career of award-winning Bangladeshi photographer and activist Shahidul Alam, from his role in founding the Drik Picture Library to his social justice work, highlighting issues of freedom of speech, that resulted in his 2018 detention and trial.
For more information click here.

ROM Speaks: Bauhaus 100th Anniversary: Women of Modernism: Expanding the Bauhaus Canon
Tuesday, November 5, 7:00 pm
Celebrate Bauhaus's centenary with leading expert Regina Bittner, senior scholar at the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, as she explores the lives and works of prominent female alumnae who made their careers in London in the 1930s, including Edith Tudor-Hardt and Margaret Leischner.
Program partner: Goethe Institute.
For more information click here.

ROM Connects
Free lectures on history, art and critical issues facing the world today – RSVP required

ROM Connects: Black History is Canadian History Behind the Scenes: Nova Scotia
Sunday, September 22, 2:00 pm
The Ontario Black History Society and the ROM invite you to discover Canadian history through the waves of migration to Canada with speakers Natasha Henry, President of the Ontario Black History Society and professor Dr. Karolyn Smardz Frost, who led Canada’s first-ever excavation of an Underground Railroad site.
Program Partner: Nuit Talks.
For more information click here.

ROM Connects: Director X: "Art, the Mirror"
Wednesday, September 25, 7:00 pm
Canadian creative powerhouse Director X discusses the epic sequel to his art installation “Death of the Sun” and explores how art can address pressing issues such as climate change and geopolitics.
Program Partner: Nuit Talks.
For more information click here.     

ROM Connects: When "No" Gets in the Way (U of T Museum Studies Anniversary Keynote)
Friday, September 27, 6:00 pm
Museums have immense untapped power. These usually sleepy giants serve millions of visitors annually and hold the collective community memory safe. Safety, however, is not the same as relevance or accuracy. Speaker Katherine Ott, curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, discusses issues that arise when museums risk change.
For more information click here.

ROM Connects: Black History is Canadian History Behind the Scenes: St. John's Ward
Sunday, September 29, 2:00 pm
The Ontario Black History Society and the ROM invite you to discover Canadian history by exploring Toronto's past, with speaker Dr. Holly Martelle, a heritage planner at Ontario's Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, and a scholar of Iroquoian populations in southern Ontario. Program Partner: Ontario Black History Society.
For more information click here.

ROM Connects: IARTS 2019: Indu Antony & Swapnaa Tamhane
Saturday, October 5, 6:00 pm
In celebration of the 2019 IARTS residency programs at the ROM and OCADU, join Bangalore-based artist Indu Antony and artist, curator, and writer Swapnaa Tamhane for "Contemporary Artists in Conversation," moderated by Deepali Dewan, ROM’s Dan Mishra Curator of South Asian Art & Culture.
Program Partner: OCAD U.
For more information click here.

ROM Connects: Marathon: Current Research on the Battle of Marathon as a Landmark in History
Tuesday, October 15, 6:00 pm
Join senior Greek scholar Professor Kostas Buraselis as he explores the ancient and modern relevance of the Battle of Marathon through new analyses of archaeological and historical evidence. This program includes a wreath ceremony and presentation of student scholarships as part of the Toronto Marathon Initiative, a joint initiative by the ROM, the Consulate General of Greece in Toronto, and the Hellenic Canadian Academic Association of Ontario. 
Program Partners:  Waterloo Institute for Hellenistic Studies with support from the Hellenic Heritage Foundation, and The Hellenic Republic.
For more information click here.

ROM Connects: Premiere Screening: CBC's The Nature of Things: First Animals
Friday, October 18, 6:00 pm
Join us for the premiere screening of the documentary First Animals, featuring ROM palaeontologist Dr. Jean-Bernard Caron, Richard M. Ivey Curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology, and his team as they discover Burgess Shale fossils in Kootenay National Park. Following this special screening, Caron, The Nature of Things episode host Maydianne Andrade, and the documentary’s director and producer Andrew Gregg will participate in a panel discussion.
For more information click here.

ROM Connects: The Last Edwardian Steamship: A Canadian Legacy
Sunday, October 20, 2:00 pm
Celebrate the 112th anniversary of the SS Keewatin with a talk by Eric Conroy, SS Keewatin Museum President, and Corey Keeble, curator emeritus from the ROM. The SS Keewatin’s service through the Great Lakes was invaluable transportation link for new Canadians to the Canadian West during the late 19th century and for tourism well into the 20th century.
For more information click here.

ROM Connects: Ancient Art of the Mediterranean: The Power of Cypriot Art
Friday, October 25, 6:00 pm
Dr. William A. Childs explores the explosion of interest in the art of the Mediterranean during the second half of the 19th century, and how Cypriot works were received in Europe and the Americas. This talk will look at historic archaeological expeditions to the region that built the collections of major institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, British Museum, and the Louvre.
Program Partner: University of Toronto Archaeology Centre. Supported by The AG Leventis Foundation.
For more information click here.

ROM Connects: Ancient Art of the Mediterranean Symposium
Saturday, October 26, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Delve into the history of ancient art with international scholars as they explore the varied artistic traditions represented in the eastern Mediterranean. Symposium speakers are Milette Gaifman, Verity Platt, Nathan Arrington, Seung Jung Kim, Erin Averett, Bjorn Ewald, Kate Cooper, and Timothy Harrison.
Program Partner:University of Toronto Archaeology Centre. Supported by The AG Leventis Foundation and The Hellenic Republic.
For more information click here.

ROM Connects: Fungipedia: A Brief Compendium of Mushroom Lore
Sunday, November 17, 2:00 pm
Join author Dr. Lawrence Millman as he explores the various roles fungi play in the Canadian North—how they benefit taiga and tundra as well as how they’ve traditionally been used by Indigenous peoples. He will also discuss the possible effects of climate change on northern fungal species.
For more information click here.

ROM Connects: 2019 Quimby F. Hess Lecture: Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases in a Changing World
Saturday, November 23, 1:30 pm
Discover the world of ticks with entomologist Nicholas Ogden of Public Health Agency of Canada as he discusses their importance as blood-sucking parasites. Hear how environmental changes may affect their global distribution, the diseases they spread, and what this means for public health in Canada.
Program Partner: Toronto Entomologists' Association.
For more information click here.

ROM Daytime
Free lectures from ROM experts. (Museum admission required)

ROM Daytime: Tales from the Japan Collection: Old Friends and New Discoveries
Thursday, September 26, 11:00 am           
Join the ROM’s Bishop White Committee Curator of Japanese Art & Culture Dr. Rosina Buckland as she discusses the Museum's world-class collection of Japanese art and culture.
For more information click here.

ROM Daytime: Remains to be Seen: Conservation of Egyptian Mummies at the ROM
Thursday, October 10, 11:00 am    
Catch a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the ROM's Egyptian mummies and coffins with conservator Jean Dendy as she unwraps the most recent scientific discoveries.
For more information click here.

ROM Daytime: It's Alive!
Thursday, October 31, 11:00 am    
Go deep into the artistic side of poster art in the ROM exhibition It’s Alive! Classic Horror and Sci-Fi Art from the Kirk Hammett Collection with coordinating curator Dr. Arlene Gehmacher.
For more information click here.

ROM Daytime: Recent Discoveries in ROM Palaeontology
Thursday, November 14, 11:00 am    
Hear from Ashley Reynolds, a PhD student in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Toronto, at this talk based on her work examining the ROM’s bones of prehistoric cats, including her recent discovery concerning the iconic sabre-toothed cat, Smilodon fatalis.
For more information click here.

ROM Daytime: The Making of Bloodsuckers
Thursday, November 28, 11:00 am
Sink your teeth into Bloodsuckers: Legends to Leeches with ROM curator Dr. Sebastian Kvist as he explores the making of this ROM-original exhibition.
For more information click here.

ROM ID Clinic

Rock, Gem, Mineral, Fossil, and Meteorite Identification Clinic
Wednesday, Oct. 16 and Wednesday, Dec. 11, 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Visitors with rocks, minerals, gems, fossils, or suspected meteorites can have them identified at these special ID clinics, held six times a year. Appraisals of value will not be done. These clinics are free, no appointment is required, and people are seen on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information click here.

ROM U: Adult Workshops

Fascinating Topics from Art, Culture and Nature
Sundays from September to December, 10:30 am
Go back to school for a day at ROM U! Led by ROM experts, these one-day workshops are subject-specific with topics ranging from 20th century design to Ancient Rome. With fascinating lectures, hands-on activities, gallery tours, and lunch included, you’ve never been this excited to get back to class!
See here for the full list of workshops.

ROM Friday Night Live

#FNLROM. Art. Culture. Nature. Remixed.
Nuit Noir - Friday, October 4, 2019
Thanks Canada - Friday, October 11, 2019
Dig it - Friday, October 18, 2019
Wicked - Friday, October 25, 2019
Fashion - Friday, November 1, 2019
Flashback - Friday, November 8, 2019
Mic Drop - Friday, November 15, 2019
Wild - Friday, November 22, 2019
Vampire Ball - Friday, November 29, 2019
For more information click here.

ROM Nuit Blanche 2019

Classic Horror Films and It's Alive!
Saturday, October 5, 7:00 pm to Sunday, October 6, 7:00 am
Enter via Bloor St. Michael Lee-Chin Crystal Entrance only. Last entry at 6:15 am.
View classic horror film screenings all night! See the exhibition It's Alive! Classic Horror and Sci-Fi Art from the Kirk Hammett Collection.
For more information click here.

3rd Monday Nights Free

Monday, November 18, 2019, 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Monday, December 16, 2019, 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Bring family and friends to the ROM on the 3rd Monday Night of each month and enjoy free admission from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm. With complimentary access and extended hours, visitors are invited to explore art, culture, and nature in the Museum’s 40 permanent galleries.
For more information click here.

WWW.ROM.CA
For the complete list of ROM programs, courses, and activities, see the ROM website page What's On at the ROM. Make the most of your visit with a ROM Membership. Members enjoy free, unlimited access to galleries and feature exhibitions, plus exclusive previews, tours, lectures, and discounts.

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Media Contact

David McKay, ROM Communications, davidm@rom.on.ca