Roll up your sleeves, dig deep and uncover hidden treasures. What materials inspire you?

You and your family are invited to spring into art this April Break! Join in the fun with five days of free, live virtual programming courtesy of the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Canadian Opera Company and Vancouver Art Gallery. Mix artmaking with fun performances and revealing behind-the-scenes tours. Families with kids of all ages are invited to log-on daily from 2 to 5 pm, Toronto time, April 12 through 16, for this cross-country arts break. No registration is needed and sessions will be livestreamed here on AGO.ca.

Our day programs will include programming from
2 − 3:15 pm - Art Gallery of Ontario
3:15 − 4 pm - Canadian Opera Company
4 − 5 pm - Vancouver Art Gallery

Watch the livestream here

PROGRAM

Art Gallery of Ontario

Time: 2 pm - 3:15 pm

Inspired by textures, patterns and space, Art Educator Lauren Spring and Art Instructor Amanda Acuri will closely look at works in the AGO Collection, with a focus on artist Shuvani Ashoona, followed by a guided artmaking project.

Materials List:

Cardstock (or stiff cardboard) for a background 
Variety of textured papers (a great way to upcycle old paper projects)
Scissors
Glue sticks
Watercolour paints
Brushes
Paper
Oil pastels
Tissue paper

Meet our Team

Amanda Acuri is a photography-based artist from Toronto; she holds a BFA from Ryerson University and an MAA from Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Amanda’s work has been displayed across Canada; it depicts altered and dramatized landscapes of installed light or materials within the greenery. She has enjoyed teaching art classes for the past 10 years, always encouraging creativity, experiential learning and a focus on developing a keen eye.

Lauren Spring has been working as an Art Educator with the AGO (for both adult and school programs) for more than a decade. She is a PhD candidate in the Education and Community Development Program at the University of Toronto (OISE). She also has a background in theatre and improvisation and has published many journal articles and book chapters about museum pedagogy, art history, theatre, arts-based research, mental health and community building.

Canadian Opera Company

Time: 3:15 pm - 4 pm

Journey to the underworld with stage director Anna Theodosakis in an exploration of the opera Orfeo ed Euridice, based on the ancient Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Materials List:

Paper and coloured markers
Crayons, or pencil crayons

Optional Materials:
stickers, construction paper, stamps, scissors, glue sticks and glitter

Meet our Team

Anna Theodosakis is a stage director and choreographer based in Toronto. She is a sessional lecturer for the University of British Columbia and has served as a guest lecturer with many other universities. Anna is a dramatic coach for the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio and directed the COC’s Opera for Young Audiences WOW Factor: A Cinderella Story. Up next Anna is directing Dalhousie’s Die Fledermaus and Brott Opera’s Cosi fan tutte.

Vancouver Art Gallery

Time: 4 pm - 5 pm

Virtual Studio Tour with Sonny Assu. Find out more about the materials, stories and ideas that inspire interdisciplinary artist Sonny Assu as he takes us on a private tour of his art studio!

Meet our Artist

Sonny Assu was raised in North Delta, BC, 250 km away from his ancestral home. It was not until he was eight years old that he discovered his Liǥwildax̱w/Kwakwaka’wakw heritage. Assu works in the mediums of painting, sculpture, photography, digital art and printmaking. He negotiates Western and Kwakwaka’wakw principles of art making as a means of exploring his family history and the experiences of being an Indigenous person in the colonial state of Canada.

Materials List:

Found objects from nature or your life that are special to you
Sketch paper
pencil