Inspiration is a monster

The AGO is getting into the Halloween spirit early with the opening of our fall exhibition Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters. Inspired by all things macabre, supernatural and obsessive, we’ve put together a series of talks and a very special First Thursday – headlined by electro-pop provocateur, Peaches!

On October 3, Peaches kicks off a marquee series of AGO talks titled Inspiration is a Monster: Conversations with Legends of the Dark Arts, featuring legendary creators as they share the sources of their inspiration, their relationship to the monstrous and the macabre, and riff on what freaks them out—artistically speaking. Peaches joins Sook-Yin Lee in conversation about all things dark and boundary-pushing in her work. The series line-up also includes dates with avant-garde anti-diva Diamanda Galás and the prolific bestselling teen-horror writer R.L. Stine.

Tickets for the Inspiration is a Monster talks are on sale now.

But that’s not all! On October 5 Peaches brings her punk energy and queer feminist aesthetic to the coolest art party in town, First Thursday. Fiercely rooted in the margins with her bold, sexually progressive image and artistry, Peaches has had enormous influence on mainstream pop culture with albums, videos, a rock opera and her legendary live shows. She will take the stage in her own spectacular way at 10 pm, and you won’t want to miss it.

Leading up to Peaches’s performance, an eclectic group of artists will delight and surprise you, turning the Gallery into a pageant of the dark arts. They include Toronto-based artist Tasman Richardson, whose immersive video installations are equal parts myth and phantasm, The Sentimentalists, featuring Mysterion the Mindreader (Canada's mental marvel with a PhD in ESP) and so much more! For all the latest details on First Thursdays, follow #AGO1st on Twitter and Instagram.

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