Discover art making and learning activities that are inspired by artworks in our collection. Find the activity that suits your style and interest. Some are fun to do together or on one's own; others offer a means to slow down and enjoy colour and mark making at one's own speed and skill level; and others will provide new insights into familiar and less familiar work. Enjoy and share your work with us in the gallery below! Also check out Learning Resources for Teachers and Families.
Here is a selection of line drawing interpretations of artworks in the AGO collection. Use your imagination to reinterpret these works with new colours of your own.
Design your own machine.
Draw (or colour) your own favourite space.
Draw or colour your favourite meal!
This artwork is part of the exhibition Pablo Picasso: Painting the Blue Period (on view until January 16, 2022). While sketching is not permitted in the exhibition, please enjoy this activity card before or after you visit.
Draw (or colour) your secret room
Draw (or colour) your own vibrant landscape.
We invite you to explore a drawing card inspired by Grange Park.
We invite you to explore a drawing card inspired by Walker Court.
We invite you to explore a drawing card inspired by the drawings of Shuvinai Ashoona.
We invite you to explore a drawing card inspired by the painting, Lady with the Orange Blossom.
We invite you to explore a drawing card inspired by Arthur Shilling's self-portrait.
Make a still-life drawing of your shoe, or photograph it.
Collage a self-portrait from a variety of techniques!
This artwork fills an architectural space with colour.
Create your own winter dreamscape
Design (or colour) your transformed object
Design (or colour) your own block print!
Draw (or colour) your own musical instrument
Draw (or colour) objects for the shelf
Draw everything that’s around you!
Draw (or colour) your own field of flowers
Draw (or colour) your favourite local animal
Which family members would you include in a painting that people might see at the AGO?
Find art in your own backyard (and inside your home)!
Colouring Cards are generously supported by
AGO Makes: Inspired by the AGO Collection
Calling all cape-loving friends: join AGO art instructor Amanda Arcuri on an art-making mission to hide in plain view using nature-inspired colours.
(3 minute video)
Inspired by Sandra Brewster’s Blur wall work, AGO artist/instructor Amanda Arcuri invites you to create your own composition using a simple layering technique with see-through components.
(6 minute video)
Inspired by Valérie Blass’s sculptural artwork, follow AGO artist/instructor Jim Hake and create your own composition using an array of shoes.
(7 minute video)
Watch illustrator Kim Smith bring characters to life as she reads from her book, Boxitects, and shows us how boxes of all shapes and sizes can lead to many creative adventures.
(49 minute video)
Inspired by Haegue Yang’s installation, Woven Currents – Confluence of Parallels (2020) at the AGO, artist-instructor Amanda Arcuri shows us how to create a hanging mobile that fills any room with movement, colour, pizazz, and a great conversation about art in intimate rooms or spaces.
(4 minute video)
No disco ball? No problem. AGO art instructor Amanda Arcuri has created a step-by-step guide to making your own!
(5 minute video)
Watch AGO artist/instructor Melissa Pauw create a 3D landscape, inspired by Shuvinai Ashoona’s artwork called Composition (Cube). Grab a box, container, white gesso or paint, and your pencil crayons to make your own sculptural landscape.
(5 minute video)
Watch AGO Artist Instructor Amanda Arcuri create a drawing inspired by Annie Pootoogooks drawing Composition (Drawing of My Grandmother's Glasses). Find an object at home, grab a BIG sheet of paper and try drawing larger than life!
(5 minute video)
Watch AGO Artist Instructor Amanda Arcuri create masks inspired by Beatrix Potter's stunning watercolour study of a bat. Grab some oil pastels or crayons, watercolour paints, get creative and transform yourself!
(6 minute video)
Watch AGO Artist Instructor Melissa Pauw create teeny tiny floating worlds using nothing but a plate, dry erase markers and some water. Create your own tiny drawings and watch them come to life!
(6 minute video)
Get outside and use the land around you to create an awesome work of art! Sticks, rocks and fallen leaves become your materials and the land is your canvas. Watch AGO Artist Instructor Amanda Arcuri make land art in a park and at the beach. Where will you make your land art?
(6 minute video)
Watch AGO Artist Instructor Melissa Pauw use strips of paper to create a beautiful hanging garden. Make loops, teardrops, swirls and zigzags. You can keep it simple, or go WILD and fill your home with flowers!
(4 minute video)
Get moving and turn your body into a living sculpture! Watch AGO Artist Instructor Amanda Arcuri use household objects to create sculptures that only exist while you get creative and strike a pose.
(5 minute video)
Who likes stamps? We do! And we bet you'll love playing with printmaking too. Watch AGO Artist Instructor Melissa Pauw use household objects to create your very own art prints with your family and friends.
(9 minute video)
Inspired by Paul Klee's Hard and Soft drawing, Paola Poetto, Director of Engagement & Learning takes a moment to relax her mind with a simple writing exercise using pencil on paper.
(2 minute video)
Watch Tiana Roebuck, AGO Associate Curator, Learning & Studio Programs, make paper-cut shadow puppets using recycled materials found at home.
(19 minute video)
Watch Tiana Roebuck, AGO Associate Curator, Learning & Studio Programs, make her own soft sculpture inspired by Claes Oldenburg's Floor Burger.
(13 minute video)
Watch AGO Manager of Strategic Projects Deborah Nolan make her own tonal painting inside a grid, using the colours blue and red inspired by Agnes Martin's The Rose.
(2 minute video)
Watch Tiana Roebuck, AGO Associate Curator, Learning and Studio Programs, show you how to make a blind contour drawing.
(6 minute video)
Create monochromatic compositions using everyday objects.
(3 minute video)
These activities inspire us to dance, strike a pose, draw, paint, make and reimagine our landscapes and urbanscapes through direct observation.
Join Madelyne Beckles, the AGO Curatorial Assistant, Youth & Engagement, and artist Meech Boakye for a conversation about food as art in celebration of the launch of Meech's recipe for great New Year's Eve Nanaimo bars!
Shuvinai Ashoona’s artwork challenges us to create our own three dimensional landscape that is both a flat drawing and voluminous structure all in one project!
Learn more about Annie Pootoogook and get inspired to draw BIG and make all kinds of meta art, which is artwork that features you - the artist!
Let’s get inspired by Beatrix Potter’s striking watercolour Study of the head of a bat, full face and learn how to make watercolour mask and a hanging wire sculpture!
Learn how to play with printmaking, challenge yourself with a “spot the difference” game, stretch yourself like artist Evan Penny, make Surrealist Artist Trading Cards, transform a cardboard box, build your own playground and so much more!
Look around you and get inspired by what you find! These awesome activities are all about transforming things that may not seem like art materials...but add a bit of creativity and wow! Use your body to make a sculpture (strike a pose!), build structures big and small using unconventional materials and more!
Go beyond the traditional and invent new ways of seeing the land around us. Capture sidewalk shadows, make maps of smells and sounds, create paper flowers, collage, make art using land as your canvas and so much more!
When opposites combine you get a burst of new and exciting ideas! Let's make art that's fast and slow, big and small, light and dark, inside and outside!
Have you heard of cityscapes?
What kind of owl do you think this is?
Strike a pose.
It doesn’t have to smell fishy!
This is a self-portrait of the artist.
What animals live in your neighbourhood?
The Paintings of Lawren Harris Activity Guide takes you on an artistic exploration of a unique Toronto neighbourhood.
This series invites us to consider artworks through current themes and ideas, unique materials or ground-breaking art techniques and artists.
Join Caroline Shields, Associate Curator and Head of European Art, for a close look at Claude Monet’s landscape Vétheuil in Summer.
Join Marilyn Nazar, AGO Archivist, and Amy Furness, Rosamond Ivey Special Collections Archivist and Head, Library & Archives, as they examine a set of snapshots in the AGO Archives that form a panoramic view from the front door of the newly-opened gallery building in 1921.
Join Georgiana Uhlyarik, Fredrik S. Eaton Curator of Canadian Art and author of Kathleen Munn: Life and Work, with Stephanie Barnes, 2018/2019 Koerner Conservation Fellow, for a close look at recent acquisition Untitled (Portrait of a Seated Woman) by Kathleen Munn (1887-1974).
Amy Furness, Rosamond Ivey Special Collections Archivist and Head, Library & Archives, offers a glimpse into the archives of sculptors Frances Loring and Florence Wyle at the AGO.
Curator Renée van der Avoird takes a close look at Arthur Shilling’s Self-Portrait (c.1972-1977), recently acquired by the AGO.
As part of the AGO’s ongoing Close Looking series, join us for a slow looking experience. We will explore Clarence Alphonse Gagnon's Study of a Hare in Winter, 1922.
Georgiana Uhlyarik, Fredrik S. Eaton Curator of Canadian Art in conversation with AGO Conservators Sherry Phillips and Meaghan Monaghan as they take a closer look into the life of Anna Maria Walton Beck Boulton (1799-1862).
Amy Furness, Rosamond Ivey Special Collections Archivist and Head, Library & Archives, discusses the AGO’s early editions of Catharine Parr Traill’s Canadian Wild Flowers (1868 and following).
Alexa Greist, Associate Curator and R. Fraser Elliot Chair, Prints & Drawings, explores nine hand-coloured engravings of flowers, fungi and lichens that were gifted to the AGO in 2019.
Take a close look at French Impressionist painter Gustave Caillebotte's painting Blue Irises, Garden at Petit Gennevilliers, and explore what he and fellow artist Claude Monet saw as the interconnectedness of art, life, and gardening.
Take a closer look at a classic photo of American fashion model Pat Cleveland dancing at Studio 54, by the famous French photographer Guy Marineau.
Conservators use microscopes to improve their understanding of how artworks were made and the extent of any damages or deterioration that have occurred over time. Join Meaghan Monaghan, Conservator of Paintings, as she closely examines several paintings from the Indigenous and Canadian Collection under the microscope.
Join author Molly Peacock and curator Renée van der Avoird as they discuss historical Canadian artists Mary Hiester Reid and Helen McNicoll. Two of the first women to achieve success as professional artists in Canada, Hiester Reid and McNicoll radically broadened traditional concepts of femininity, domesticity and the potential for women to pursue careers as artists.
Slush fund, fudge the numbers, and son of a gun: we often use words and phrases in everyday conversations and may not realize their origin. Gillian McIntyre, Interpretive Planner and Sherry Phillips, Conservator, will engage in a conversation about language inspired by the Thomson Collection of Ship Models at the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Join Alexa Greist, Associate Curator and R.. Fraser Elliott Chair, Prints & Drawings as she discusses a large 17th century etching by the Italian artist Pietro Testa. This newly acquired print, "An Allegory of Autumn" (ca. 1642-44) is part of a rare series of 4 etchings that are some of the most ambitious prints made by this enigmatic artist.
Join Assistant Curator of Community Programs, Melissa Smith, as she shares an audio description of an artwork, one of the techniques used during our Multisensory Program to help remove barriers to our collections.
Erin Stodola, Curatorial Intern, and Renée van der Avoird, Assistant Curator of Canadian Art, discuss historical Canadian artist Mary Wrinch’s miniature watercolours on ivory.
AGO Curator Adam Levine meets Peter Brathwaite, a British opera singer who has spent much of his quarantine researching and recreating historical depictions of Black people in art. Adam and Peter discuss the celebrated project and the power of such paintings, including our own Portrait of a Lady Holding an Orange Blossom.
Monique Johnson, Assistant Curator of European Art, and her daughter journey into a series of guiding questions suitable for families. Here they explore Jean-Siméon Chardin's Jar of Apricots, an oil on canvas from 1758.
Chris Luginbuhl, Multisensory Designer, and Melissa Smith, AGO's Assistant Curator of Community Programs, discuss their co-creative process of translating an abstract artwork by Franz Kline, entitled Cupola, into a multimodal object that is intended to create a more embodied and inclusive gallery experience for blind and vision impaired visitors to the Gallery.
Renée van der Avoird, Assistant Curator of Canadian Art and Nadia Abraham, Assistant Interpretive Planner discuss two artworks that use neon as a sculptural and graphic material.
Renee Van der Avoird, Assistant Curator of Canadian Art and Nadia Abraham, Assistant Interpretive Planner. discuss Lawren Harris’ Algoma Country and Robert Houle’s Premises for Self-Rule: Constitution Act, 1982.
Close looking is an online discussion series that invites people to spend time with a single work from the AGO Collection - observing its details, discussing its creation, its history and the artist’s intention through multiple senses and perspectives.
On this Valentine’s Day, join Renata Azevedo Moreira, Assistant Curator, Canadian Art, as she unveils the pictorial experience of the oil on linen Torn Heart, by Canadian artist Natalka Husar. This fascinating work from 1994 is a part of Husar’s Black Sea Blue series and was acquired last year, being now on view at the JS McLean Centre for Indigenous & Canadian Art.
Join Erin Rutherford, Collection Development Librarian, as she discusses The Book of Job (1902) from the Collection of the E. P. Taylor Library and Archives. This short talk will focus on the book’s fine binding, offer a glimpse into the life and work of its creator, Annie S.
What can these two very different works, whose creation is separated by an 85-year gap, possibly have in common? The icebergs, of course! As we smoothly land into winter, few other symbols of the northern Canadian landscape are as majestic as the iceberg.
Join AGO curators Dr. Caroline Shields and Dr. Alexa Greist for their discussion of a recent acquisition by the Renaissance artist Barbara Longhi.
Join Assistant Curator of Community Programs, Melissa Smith, as she shares an audio description of an artwork, one of the techniques used during our Multisensory Program to help remove barriers to our collections.
The first work by the African American artist Elizabeth Catlett to enter the collection of the AGO joins numerous other works of protest and resistance in the collection of Prints & Drawings. Association Curator and R.
Now situated in Toronto’s Grange park, Henry Moore’s monumental bronze, Large Two Forms, is discussed by the AGO’s sculpture conservator, Lisa Ellis and John Williams, mount maker. They will share insights about how the artwork was made and point out tell-tale vestiges of the manufacturing process visible on its surface
Join Georgiana Uhlyarik, Fredrik S. Eaton Curator, Canadian Art, and Maria Sullivan, Head, Conservation, for a close look at Christiane Pflug’s series of paintings, Cottingham School.
Join Adam Harris Levine, the AGO's Assistant Curator of European Art as he examines an artwork that is currently on display in his exhibition "European Art on First Nations Land". The watercolour architectural rendering comes from the AGO's own archives, and offers a fascinating glimpse at the museum's past.
Join Assistant Curator of Community Programs, Melissa Smith, as she shares an audio description of an artwork, one of the techniques used during our Multisensory Program to help remove barriers to our collections.
Join Sjoukje van der Laan (Assistant Conservator, Contemporary Art) and Nadia Abraham (Interpretive Planner) in a conversation about Canadian artist Ron Benner’s Anthro-Apologies (and the trees grew inwards – for Manuel Scorza) (1979-1980), where they will talk about the conservation challenges around this contemporary art installation.
Close looking is an online discussion series that invites people to spend time with a single work from the AGO Collection - observing its details, discussing its creation, its history and the artist’s intention through multiple senses and perspectives.
Close looking is an online discussion series that invites people to spend time with a single work from the AGO Collection - observing its details, discussing its creation, its history and the artist’s intention through multiple senses and perspectives.
Close looking is an online discussion series that invites people to spend time with a single work from the AGO Collection - observing its details, discussing its creation, its history and the artist’s intention through multiple senses and perspectives.
Close looking is an online discussion series that invites people to spend time with a single work from the AGO Collection - observing its details, discussing its creation, its history and the artist’s intention through multiple senses and perspectives.
Join us to see the ways art reveals and shapes the world in which we live. Close looking is an online monthly series that invites people to spend time with artworks from the AGO Collection - observing their details, discussing its creation, its history and the artist’s intention through multiple senses and perspectives.
Join us to see the ways art reveals and shapes the world in which we live.
Close looking is an online discussion series that invites people to spend time with a single work from the AGO Collection - observing its details, discussing its creation, its history and the artist’s intention through multiple senses and perspectives.
Close looking is an online monthly series that invites people to spend time with artworks from the AGO Collection - observing their details, discussing their creation, history and the artist’s intention through multiple senses and perspectives.
AGO launches Virtual Seniors Social, connecting with older adults through videos showcasing art, conversation, and artmaking.
In this program, we discuss Bertram Charles Binning's nautical world, looking at his representations of riggings and lines on sailing ships. Binning's artistic practice was inspired by his everyday encounters. Known as an excellent draughtsman, he recorded his experiences in intricate line drawings.
In this program, we will explore artwork by Mary Wrinch. Wrinch was a prominent figure in the early Toronto art scene and was among the first women in the city to make a living from her art.
In this program we will explore cultivated gardens, picked flowers and two of the first women to achieve success as professional artists in Canada, Mary Hiester Reid and Helen Galloway McNicoll.
In this program, we explore artwork by Wassily Kandinsky and Kazuo Nakamura.
Seniors Social
Lead Sponsor
Collection of Diverse Canadian Children’s Books with Focus on Black-Canadian Authors and Characters.
PDF
This curated selection of books may provide an appreciation and social consciousness about LGBTQ2+ members of your communities.PDF
A round table discussion on how to speak about anti-black racism with the art in the AGO's collection as an entry point.
Part two of a round table discussion on how to talk about anti-black racism. This conversation will question what happens after the solidarity statement and how do we ensure wellness during these times of ground breaking change?
Show us your AGO Makes artwork and join our online gallery!
