Join us for a very special edition of AGO 1^st Thursdays inspired by the exhibition Patti Smith: Camera Solo, featuring two specially ticketed performances by the legend herself, live in Walker Court. A roster of programming inspired by Smith will fill the Gallery spaces, including the Level 4 of the AGO’s contemporary tower, which will be filled with bars, music, art-making and special performances by local artists.

Highlights of the night will include:

After a summer break, AGO First Thursdays are back with the launch event of the fall season. Our programming considers notions of landscape, nature and nationhood with the theme Nostalgia Canadiana.

The December First Thursday: LONG WINTER TAKEOVER 

After a sold-out partnership last January, the Long Winter collective is back to guest-program the final First Thursday of the fall season – and of 2014 – on December 4.

The November First Thursday: Performing Suzy Lake    

On November 6, AGO First Thursdays draws inspiration from the landmark exhibition Introducing Suzy Lake, featuring work by the Toronto-based artist who has been examining and critiquing ideals of the body, gender and identity since the late 1960s.

The October First Thursday: A Pre-Nuit Sneak Preview  

AGO First Thursdays turns two on October 2, and to celebrate the AGO is partnering with Scotiabank Nuit Blanche to fill the galleries with sneak peeks at some of the eye-popping installations that will fill the city two nights later.

Alex Colville: Cinema and Swimming Caps 

First Thursdays returns this fall with a special celebration of the exhibition Alex Colville, featuring more than 100 works by  the internationally renowned Canadian painter. Colville’s paintings offer a haunting mix of the ordinary and the extraordinary, provoking us to face the uncertain realities that lie beneath everyday appearances and experiences.

Fan the Flames: Queers on Fire

The AGO gets Queered for the July First Thursday event in celebration of WorldPride 2014 and the Gallery’s new exhibition Fan the Flames: Queer Positions in Photography.

True Patriot Love: Canadian Collection Interventions

Francis Bacon and Henry Moore: Terror and Beauty
EXHIBITION ENTRY + GENERAL ADMISSION:
Advance Tickets: $22 / $10 AGO Members
At the Door: $25 / $13 AGO Members

Art as Therapy Opening Celebration

On May 1, the AGO celebrates the landmark new exhibition Art as Therapy, a series of interventions organized by philosopher Alain de Botton and art historian John Armstrong. This special edition of First Thursdays explores this theme with specially commissioned performances by local artists and interactive activities.

Contemporary Art Is...

On March 6, the AGO celebrates all things contemporary with a lineup of Toronto and international artists whose work stretches boundaries and distorts the familiar. The night celebrates the opening of two exhibitions of contemporary art at the AGO: Elevated: Contemporary Art in the AGO Tower and Bruce Nauman: Words on Paper.