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10.19YYZAGENDA YYZAgenda Zadie Smith in conversation with Eleanor Watchel Earlier this year, when the Art Gallery of Ontario announced that it would end its beloved First Thursday’s program series (which succeeded in bringing fresh voices and a younger audience into the 119-year-old museum), everyone wondered what would fill the void. Now we have at least some of the answer. This fall, the Art Gallery of Ontario launched a provocative new speaker series to its programming roster. The AGO Futures series invites an all-star group of artists, authors, and curators to point a critical and spirited magnifying glass on some of the most pressing subjects of our time, and asks them to dive deep into how it informs their work. Speakers in the series include Canadian activist Naomi Klein and author Salman Rushdie. The award-winning English author and essayist Zadie Smith will also join the lineup on <strong>October</strong> 30, when she will sit in conversation with iconic Canadian author and broadcaster Eleanor Watchel. With Smith in the middle of an international book tour in support of her first collection of short stories, Grand Union, expect her signature candor, charisma, and poignant insight as she unravels the themes of place, self, and exploring the undertold that’s inspired much of her writing. Wednesday, Oct. 30 // Art Gallery of Ontario // $20 Asian Comedy All-Stars After years (and years!) of the comedy world’s unapologetic dismissal of its longstanding issues with representation, the last few years have seen things change with landmark Netflix comedy specials by Ali Wong and Hassan Minhaj. Now the same spirit of change has come to Toronto with the Asian Comedy All-Stars, hosted by Filipino stand-up comedian Ernie Vincente, featuring Rush Kaz and a wide range of local comedians from the Pan-Asian diaspora. The event even promises a tongue-in-cheek afterparty, “Karaoke following the show because Asian.” Wed, Oct. 23 // The Rivoli // $15 Rush Kaz X Avant New Music Festival XIV: Forward In an unpredictable era in Ontario’s cultural history, when the province has become a graveyard of major music festivals, the Music Gallery’s new music exposition and festival, X Avant, has shone steadily and bright. Now in its fourteenth year, the festival has built its reputation on curating innovative and forward-thinking artists including Sunn O))), Jens Lenkman, Tyondai Braxton, and the Microphones, in a space that invites exploration and interrogation. This year, the festival has selected the theme “Forward” — inspired by the slogan “Forward Ever, Backward Never” used Lido Pimienta during the Grenadian revolution in 1979 — and invites its artists to reimagine growth by “taking, or attempting to take, the next step in their work, career or practice.” <strong>2019</strong>’s acclaimed headliners include composer Germaine Liu, multidisciplinary artist Lido Pimienta, reggae legend Willi Williams, electronic artist New Chance, and percussionist Sarah Hennies, premiering new work at the festival. From Liu pulling apart an existing project and recontextualizing her expansive Still Life composition with musicians from the improvisational scene, to Pimienta giving audiences an intimate look into the raw cuts of her new album, Miss Columbia, the festival promises to urge audiences to shift their expectations forward. Thur, Oct. 17 to Sun, Oct. 20 // The Music Gallery // $60 COURTESY RED BULL C<strong>ON</strong>TENT POOL OCTOBER <strong>2019</strong> BEATROUTE 39