A night at the museum!
We caught up with Ariel Legaspi – winner of the #InfinityAGO sleepover contest – to find out what inspired his love for Yayoi Kusama’s artwork.
Twenty-six year-old Ariel Legaspi was one of the first people to donate to our #InfinityAGO crowdfunding campaign. Thanks to him, over 4,700 #InfinityAGO donors and the generosity of the David Yuile & Mary Elizabeth Hodgson Fund, Yayoi Kusama’s INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM - LET’S SURVIVE FOREVER is now a part of the AGO Collection (opening to the public on May 25). Legaspi is also the lucky winner of our contest for early donors to win a sleepover at the AGO for himself and five friends.
We chatted with Legaspi to find out what inspired him to get involved in the #InfinityAGO campaign and who’s coming with him for this special sleepover at the AGO.
AGO: What motivated you to donate to the #InfinityAGO campaign?
Legaspi: I was at the Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors exhibition when it was at the AGO in 2018. I thought it was a wonderful experience and to think that Toronto was going to have its own piece of Kusama at the AGO was an exciting idea and something I wanted to support. It was such an amazing show and something all of Toronto should have the chance to see.
AGO: Have you donated to something similar before?
Legaspi: This is the first time I’ve donated to the AGO. I am quite involved in the dramatic arts, especially TIFF – I’ve donated to TIFF before and I go to a lot of their screenings.
AGO: What do you love about Kusama’s artwork?
Legaspi: I like the whole back story of why her work was so intricate. She suffered from mental health issues, had a fear of male genitalia and was also an activist. She took her negative experiences and turned it into something beautiful in her art.
AGO: So you won the sleepover – congrats! Who’s coming with you?
Legaspi: I have a couple of ideas, probably my best friends who came to see the Infinity Mirrors exhibition with me. I’m also taking my younger sister because she didn’t get to go to the exhibition.
AGO: Have you ever slept over in a museum before?
Legaspi: No, so I’m curious to see what it’s like!
Want to learn more about Kusama? Read here and here about Kusama’s immersive work that was at the AGO last spring for the exhibition Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors.
INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM - LET’S SURVIVE FOREVER opens to the public on May 25 and is included with General Admission. Donors’ Previews are April 5 – May 24 and AGO Members’ Previews are April 23 – May 24. Visit the website for more information.
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