In 2014 Canadian contemporary artist Ed Pien set his course for San Agustín, Cuba, to begin work on a project that would define a major portion of his art practice for the foreseeable future. In collaboration with Canadian curator Catherine Sicot (who was based in Cuba at the time), Pien sought to create a time-based work that involved chronicling the complex lives of San Agustín’s senior residents.
After much anticipation, Leonard Cohen: Everybody Knows opened last week at the AGO, inviting visitors to come and experience the artist’s multi-faceted creative force
On view now in Gallery 116 on Level 1 of the AGO is Steam: Impressionist Painting Across the Atlantic, an exhibition featuring 20 impressionist paintings by European and Canadian artists including Eugène Boudin, Claude Monet, Mary Hiester Reid and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
A poet and novelist, a singer, songwriter, painter and photographer, Leonard Cohen was an artistic force. His artistry lives on, and this week, the Art Gallery of Ontario invites visitors to see Cohen as the multidimensional artist he was, on and off the stage – through photographs, artworks, notebooks, video, his poetry and prose.
Through the important work of its Youth Advisory, the AGO demonstrates a continued commitment to youth engagement. Formed in early 2021, the advisory’s current iteration includes 12 artistically inclined young people from across Canada, all between 16 and 25. Meeting bi-weekly from September to December 2021, they were tasked with creating a youth-led web series highlighting the work of emerging Canadian artists.
One of Iceland’s most acclaimed artists – Jón Þór "Jónsi” Birgisson – has invited visitors to step directly inside a volcano. On view now at the AGO, Hrafntinna (Obsidian) (2021) immerses you in a dark ring of sound, scent, lighting and reverberation, poetically reimaging the 2021 eruption of the Fagradalsfjall volcano. Visitors sit on a bench, surrounded by a ring of 195 speakers and shrouded in darkness, while experiencing various scents, along with an Icelandic choral-music-inspired soundscape.
An intricate tableaux vivant, first brought to life in 1972 at the Vancouver Art Gallery, the set for Gathie Falk’s performance artwork Red Angel features no less than five parrots perched on ceramics apples rotating on five record players, two dresses, a red lacquer painted sideboard, angel wings, an antique wringer washing machine and a vintage box of Ivory Snow s
The AGO’s free Virtual Seniors Social program is a live-streaming monthly series for older adults, combining conversation with art and artmaking experiences, known to help increase well-being.
The Community Healing Project (CHP) is a program developed by the City of Toronto, in conjunction with Toronto youth and community members; it’s aimed at addressing trauma as a root cause of youth violence. Since its inception in 2015, CHP has expanded to serve youth in 20 communities each year, engaging participants with a range of dynamic workshops and peer mentorship programming.
On November 23, 2022, the AGO held a celebration of life event honoring artist Rita Letendre. The free event in Baillie Court included a screening of interviews with Letendre, alongside remembrances by her colleagues, friends and family. Below, take a look at our 2020 story about her beloved stained glass installation in the TTC's Glencairn subway station.
