VOLUME 7 of the INSTITUT experiment. Every week, a different hypothesis. Underground at 620 Spadina Ave — around the back, through the lot to the steel doors, down the stairs, past the mechanical room, through the swinging wood laminate door.
Stick around — the night goes deep. Panel at 7PM, live score at 9:30PM, vinyl til close. RSVP even though it's PWYC so we know who to expect.
Panel | Graham Bowley x Alexandra Shkandrij
GRAHAM BOWLEY is an investigative reporter at The New York Times originally from Leicester, UK. He holds a Master's in Economics from the University of Oxford and previously worked at the Financial Times and the International Herald Tribune before joining the Times. He is also the author of No Way Down: Life and Death on K2. At the Times, Bowley has become one of the leading journalists covering the art world, with a particular focus on looting, provenance, and the ethics of museum collections. His reporting spans seizures of looted antiquities from major institutions including the Met, the broader shift in how U.S. museums approach repatriation, how money launderers exploit the opacity of art sales, Nazi-era looting claims, and the politics of national museums and cultural institutions.
RSVP
Live Score | Les Passagers x La Vie Heureuse de Léopold Z
A Christmas Eve snowstorm through a Montreal plow driver's eyes — rescored live. Set over the course of a single winter day in Montreal, La Vie Heureuse de Léopold Z follows a snow removal worker caught between routine, responsibility, and quiet personal urgency. A portrait of labour, time, and the city under pressure — reimagined tonight through live score.
LES PASSAGERS is a Montreal-based project working across world music, jazz, electronic, and psychedelic rock. Their sound moves between groove and atmosphere — somewhere between Françoise Hardy, Herbie Hancock, and Tame Impala — grounded in improvisation and collective interplay. On stage, compositions expand, dissolve, and reconfigure in real time. Their work spans multiple releases and international touring, with recent projects focusing on live interpretation and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
RSVP
Vintage Vinyl | Mira Méla
Funk, soul, and disco with a touch of hip hop, jazz hop, and neo soul. Deep house, disco, soul and jazz on vinyl from a musician who plays by ear and selects by feel.
MIRA MÉLA is a jazz-trained pianist, singer, producer, arranger and DJ whose selections are informed by over a decade of performing across Canada, the US and Central America. From rocking crowds of thousands at Shambhala, regular appearances at both Toronto and Vancouver Jazz Festivals, to intimate rooftop DJ sets in Toronto's most sought after locations. Méla's selects pay reverence to the musical titans of Deep House, Jazz, Soul and Disco. Her unique sound is a fusion of UK Jazz house, contemporary vibes and classic boogie elements, with a strong emphasis on live instrumentation. She is currently recording her debut album — a neo-soul/jazz/boogie fusion project featuring award-winning musicians and her own original arrangements supported by live quintet horns and strings.