Saturday, February 22 – 4:00pm
At the Instituto Italiano di Cultura (Suite 500-510 W Hastings St)

THE AUTHOR:
Olga Tokarczuk was born in 1962 in Sulechów near Zielona Góra, Poland. A recipient of all of Poland’s top literary awards, she is one of the most critically acclaimed authors of her generation. After finishing her psychology degree at the University of Warsaw, she initially practiced as a therapist and often cites C.G. Jung as an inspiration for her work, in which mythmaking has become a hallmark. Since the publication of her first book in 1989, a collection of poems, Tokarczuk has published ten volumes of stories, novellas, and novels, and one book-length essay(on Boleslaw Prus’s novel The Doll. In English her work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, as has her novel House of Day, House of Night. In 1998 Tokarczuk moved to a small village near the Czech border and now divides her time between there and Wroclaw. For her latest novel, Bieguni [The Runners], she received Poland’s top book award, the Nike Prize, in 2008.

http://www.alliancefrancaise.ca/cultural-events/lectures/european-book-club/primeval-and-other-times/

Starting Wednesday, February 5 – 7:00pm
At Alliance Française auditorium

Born in 1952 in Kiev, Ukraine, Jerzy Yuri Zawistowski (Tivaud) spent his youth studying ballet. Within the halls of the Opera House in Kiev, he often spent time admiring stage installations and learning from a painter-sculptor between rehearsals. A love of visual arts was born from this experience and the seed of his craft began to grow. He went on to perfect his craft through the study of restoration at the Restoration Studio of the Hermitage Museum in St-Petersburg, Russia, and in 1979 enrolled at the Technical College of Industrial Art in his hometown of Kiev. Following an exploration into journalism and photography, he moved to Israel in 1989 where he worked as a Landscaper in Jerusalem and produced his first solo exhibition of paintings and sculptures in Tel Aviv in 1991.
Always on the lookout for new experiences and inspiration, Yuri immigrated to Canada in 1993. From his new home of Montreal, Quebec, he became a great admirer of the National Ballet of Canada and rekindled his love for this art form through drawings, paintings and sculptures inspired by music and dance. Over the next 18 years, his body of work increased significantly to include over 200 pieces today; some of which have been showcased in a dozen of exhibitions, including a Russian exposition at Montreal’s City Hall. During this period, he further polished his craft through 15 years of restoring antique furniture and sculptures, and also worked 2 years as a design assistant under master iron craftsman and fellow UkrainianOleg Shyshkin of the multi-award winningWrought Iron Art Ltd. in Oakville, Ontario.

“I aim to materialize the beauty of movement, through the expression of bodies moving through space, thus creating a universe that is my own; a synthesis of crafts and a new perspective on classical dance.” – Tivaud

http://www.alliancefrancaise.ca/cultural-events/exhibitions/tivaud/