DAYTIME
Artist Textiles: Picasso to Warhol
To Andy Warhol, “art” wasn’t precious, just a shortening of Arthur. As explained by Richard Chamberlain, “Whether it was a record cover for the RCA or a textile for Fuller fabrics, Warhol was always willing to satisfy any paying customer.” Mr. Chamberlain is the curator of a touring exhibition from London’s Fashion and Textile Museum. Featured are rarely seen works by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Henri Matisse and Warhol, whose textiles can be seen as a part of his exploration of high and low culture, and art and business. To Oct. 4. $6 to $15. Textile Museum of Canada, 55 Centre Ave., 416-599-5321 or textilemuseum.ca.
NIGHTTIME
Ratmansky & Côté
A former artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet and now an artist-in-residence at American Ballet Theatre, Alexei Ratmansky is as sought-after a choreographer and slipper enthusiast as there is. Here, the National Ballet of Canada mounts Symphony No. 9 and Piano Concerto No. 1, two-thirds of his critic-wowing Shostakovich Trilogy. Both pieces, presented in a program with Guillaume Côté’s mesmeric Being and Nothingness, celebrate Mr. Ratmansky’s keenness for Russian music and industrious footwork. To June 6. $26 to $160. Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St. W., 416-345-9595 or national.ballet.ca.
FAMILY
Pirate Life
Because kids raised on The Pirates of the Caribbean series would have romantic notions about a black-flag career, an interactive play about buccaneering is probably an easy sell to the little landlubbers. Costumes, face paint and seafaring nicknames are provided for an interactive theatrical cruise around the Toronto Islands. It’s all good, eye-patchy fun, but don’t be surprised if your aargh-saying children stay in character after the voyage. As they say, once a pirate, you’re hooked for life. Saturdays and Sundays, six shows (first show at at 10:45 a.m.; final show, 5 p.m.). $25. Centre Island, 416-476-3836 or piratelife.ca.
ONE NIGHT ONLY
Torn From the Pages: Miriam Toews
“She lived in her head,” Miriam Toews wrote in her novel A Complicated Kindness, “and that’s why it glowed.” On Saturday, an appreciative parade of wordsmiths will pay tribute to Ms. Toews, an uncommonly fine writer whose characters are uniquely defined in the readers’ minds. In an event hosted by writer-musician Dave Bidini, poets and songwriters such as Tom Wilson and Christine Fellows present new pieces inspired by the work of Ms. Toews, who is to close the night with a peek into what’s been happening in her own head of late. May 30, 8 p.m. $19.50 to $29.50. Harbourfront Centre Theatre, 235 Queens Quay W., 416-872-4255 or masseyhall.com.
LAST CHANCE
Contact Photography Festival
Is the art of photography dead, beaten to death by its own selfie stick? An annual event argues in favour of true photo-taking artists, including Mark Ruwedel, a former Montrealer best known for his black-and-white images of rugged North American landscapes and who is interested in the intersection of geological processes and the fields of human endeavour. Mr. Ruwedel’s work will hang at the Ryerson Image Centre until June 28, but the sprawling Contact festival packs up its camera bags this weekend. To May 31. Free. Various venues. Information at scotiabankcontactphoto.com.