ART & MUSEUMS
Posing Beauty in African American Culture
Black is beautiful: what does that mean? At the Art Gallery of Hamilton, this province's third-largest public art gallery, an exhibition of photographs challenges the relationship between beauty and art by examining the representation of beauty as an act fraught with biases of race, class, gender and aesthetics. To May 9. $5 to $12. Hamilton, 905-527-6610.
CONCERTS
Jann Arden
The Alberta-born artist, who inimitably combines a natural talent for love-lost balladry and easy-going comic banter, pleases her mostly female fan base, the dedicated bunch who buy the singer-songwriter's albums and flock to her shows faithfully. Jan. 27 to 30, 8 p.m. $50.50 to $80.50. Massey Hall, 178 Victoria St., 416-872-4255.
Carmen
Almost a quarter-million opera fans gathered at movie theatres this past weekend to see the Metropolitan Opera's live telecast of Bizet's Carmen - a testament to the opéra comique's popularity. Considerably fewer seats (and no huge packages of Twizzlers) are available for the Canadian Opera Company's production of the same fiery Spain-set tragedy. Jan. 27 to Feb. 27. $34 to $321. Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St. W., 416-363-8231.
CLUBS
Red Mass
Montreal's prolific Roy Vucino (a.k.a. Choyce), who leads a fluctuating cast of open-minded musicians, makes experimental garage rock. Tomorrow, 9 p.m. $7. Silver Dollar, 486 Spadina Ave., 416-975-0909.
Nouvelle Vague
After two well-received albums of bossa nova-ified punk and new wave classics, the agile French re-inventors prove that the third time is charming with 3, their genre-shifting covers disc - the Sex Pistols' sneering God Save the Queen is imagined as a chanson. Jan. 27, 9 p.m. $24.50. Opera House,
735 Queen St. E., 416-870-8000.
LITERARY AND LECTURES
The Great Time Debate
Was the big bang the beginning of time? Could the "flow" of time be an illusion? Is time travel possible? Why am I always so darn late? In a discussion moderated by science journalist Dan Falk, three Toronto-area scholars ponder the science of sequences. Jan. 26, 7 p.m. $5 to $7. OISE Auditorium, 252 Bloor St. W., cficanada.ca/ontario .
Arianna Huffington
In town for the big Advertising Week happening, the namesake editor-in-chief of the influential online news source The Huffington Post and former Cambridge Union debating president, lectures on the inevitable unification of traditional and new media. Jan. 26, 4 p.m. $75. Koerner Hall, Royal Conservatory of Music, 273 Bloor St. W., 416-408-0208.
Jian Ghomeshi
Now let's talk about you: For Ryerson University's Dean's Lecture Series, the popular, engaging host of Q, a daily cultural-affairs program carried nationally by CBC Radio One, talks about his career as a broadcaster and musician.
Jan. 27, 6 p.m. Free. Engineering Building, Room 103, 245 Church St., ryerson.ca.
ET CETERA
Interior Design Show
A topic that hardly gets any coverage at all on television these days: Ideas for house and home are presented in the form of seminars, workshops, product exhibits and keynote presentations. Today (7 to 11 p.m., opening night party, $50 to $55); tomorrow (trade day); Saturday and Sunday ($17 to $20). North Building, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 255 Front St. W., 416-599-3222.
interiordesignshow.com Petropolis
Given the sticky subject matter of the new Greenpeace film - Peter Mettler's helicopter-shot documentary looks down on the Alberta tar sands - question-and-answer sessions follow each screening. Tomorrow to Jan. 27. Royal Cinema, 608 College St. W., 416-534-5252.
THEATRE
Cloud 9
The press material boasts a work involving "sexual content, strong language, gunshots, smoking (non-tobacco), brilliant dialogue, intense comedy, compelling drama and unforgettable characters." Which sounds either like a night at Filmores Hotel or a production of Caryl Churchill's 1982 anti-colonial satire, which flips between Victorian-era Africa and 1970s London. To Feb. 21. $30 to $85. Panasonic Theatre, 651 Yonge St., 416-872-1212.
Little House on the Prairie
We have the feeling we're not in Oklahoma any more. A Minnesota-based musical, inspired by the beloved books by Laura Ingalls Wilder and the long-running television series, celebrates life on the homestead. Former "Half Pint" actress Melissa Gilbert stars as Ma Ingalls. Jan. 27 to Feb. 28. $30 to $99. Canon Theatre, 244 Victoria St., 416-872-1212.
DANCE
Dance Weekend2010
You won't be able to swing an arts grant without hitting a top-notch dance company. Twenty-seven troupes, presenting themselves over three days, makes for chaotic dressing rooms and non-stop performances of all styles. Tomorrow to Sunday. $10. Fleck Dance Theatre, 207 Queens Quay W., 416-973-4000.
Penumbra Penumbra, which refers to celestial bodies, is a program of five works by star choreographers, including Susan Lee (whose new duet Shadowplay explores a love affair's precariousness) and Tracey Norman, whose Born Carto-
graphers, a new piece for seven dancers, concerns the maps we create for ourselves. Jan. 27 to 29, 7 p.m. $15. York University, 4700 Keele St., 416-736-5888.
BOOKING AHEAD
Ben Heppner
Sept. 11 (for ticket holders of cancelled Nov. 7, 2009, concert; remainder of seats available May. 31). Four Seasons Centre, 416-363-8231.