Honouring the Summer Solstice: Nature Poetry Walk

Honouring the Summer Solstice: Nature Poetry Walk
 

Thursday, June 20 
6:30 to 8 PM 
Free | Drop-in

It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.
― Maud Hart Lovelace

Join local arts educator and poet Sheniz Janmohamed for a gentle nature poetry walk inspired by our summer exhibition Summer Solstice. Let’s gather on the longest day of the year to welcome the light, joy, and warmth of summer! Dress for the weather, bring a journal/notebook and something to write or draw with. No writing experience required.

 Event highlights:

• Tour the gallery
• Learn about summer solstice celebrations across communities and cultures
• Enjoy the sights, sounds, and scents of summer by Toogood Pond
• Participate in sensory journaling prompts
• Create nature mandalas to honour the sun

About the facilitator:

Sheniz Janmohamed was born and raised in Tkaronto with ancestral ties to Kenya and India. A poet, nature artist and arts educator, she regularly visits schools and community organizations to teach and perform.  Her nature art has been featured across Turtle Island, including the National Arts Centre and the Art Gallery of Mississauga. She has performed her work in venues across the world and has three poetry collections Bleeding Light (2010), Firesmoke (2014) and Reminders on the Path (2021).

A recipient of the Lois Birkenshaw-Fleming Creative Teaching Scholarship, Sheniz holds an Artist Educator Mentor certificate from the Royal Conservatory. She’s facilitated poetry walks and outdoor workshops at the Doris McCarthy Gallery, the University of Toronto and the Art Gallery of Mississauga.  In 2022, she served as the Writer-in-Residence at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus and Artist-in-Residence at the Stone & Sky Festival (Pelee Island).  She is currently working on her fourth book, a collection of essays about her late grandmother's garden in Kenya.