It was during the Great Thunderstorm of Summer 2009 that I last saw Lisa and Clint and their merry band of musician friends on the beach for “Moulin Rouge”. The thunderstorm rolled in within a matter of minutes and sent us running for cover. It seemed like an eternity ago (Eric was here then, and now he’s in Melbourne, Australia). In actuality it was August 9, but when I walked in the door of the Ben Navaee Gallery at 1111 Queen Street East, Lisa greeted me like long-lost brethren. Apparently with all the activity in the second half of 2009, I really did disappear! But it was Lisa’s birthday, how could I miss this?
After standing and talking to wedding trade show attendees for more than seven hours non-stop, I was more than happy to sit down, shut up, and listen to music. By the time I arrived at the gallery it was after 10pm, but the musicians were still jamming and Lisa was still the Energizer Bunny:
There were percussionists and a keyboardist and more guitars in one place than I’ve seen in ages — so much talent in one room. I don’t play any instruments (does the camera count?), and I greatly admire anyone who can. Music is good for the soul. The musicians were local and from all over the world: Russia, Turkey, Sweden, and those are just the ones I know of… I also had the good fortune of bumping into a Turkish guy I hadn’t seen in a year since I carpooled some people up to Horseshoe Valley. I told him about my plan to visit Turkey this year, so now I’ve got the invaluable resource of local information!
Our gracious host was Ben, owner of the Ben Navaee Gallery, which I’m plugging here because of all the work he does for the community. He hosts benefit art auctions at the gallery, “…fundraising events to help with different issues like poverty, homelessness, disease, devastation of the forces of nature, injustices of the world, or any other problems and challenges facing human beings.” He also hosts the Toronto East Community Arts Program, which is a series of free classes “…to help children, youth and adults develop their visual and performing arts skills and channel their creativity.”
Also from the website:
Ben Navaee… is a painter and a certified yoga instructor specialized in relaxation/meditation. His painting style’s known as Aram art (Aram in Sanskrit means quiet, calm, and taking rest. Aram art is a mellow and non-expressionistic view of life’s phenomena, with immaterial soothing subjects that make the body quiet and peaceful, the mind, calm and relaxed, the spirit, gentle and serene. Aram art promotes positive emotions for an easy and mindful living).
It was a great atmosphere on Saturday night, especially after a full day of wedding-related madness, to be surrounded by art and music and friends and food. I’m posting Lisa’s video, which was shot well before I arrived, to show some of the music:
The photos can be viewed best as a [slideshow] or [thumbnails] or in the Pictobrowser below:
