During the early years of the twentieth century a new form of painting was born. This was not a further resolution of the aesthetic conundrum that had been teasing European artists for centuries - this wasn't an evolutionary step that took us closer to understanding the mechanics of paint and canvas - this was the establishment of a new kind of aesthetic aim. This is the beginning of a radical change in pre-war cultural trajectory, an unstoppable revolution that defined post-war popular culture, and continues to inform the arts.

Join us for a lively conversation between artist Francoise Sullivan and writer and art critic Robert Enright, exploring the idea of inspiration. The exhibition celebrating the 2008 winner of the Gershon Iskowitz prize at the AGO, Francoise Sullivan, opens February 10, 2010. Sullivan was a member of the avant-garde group the Automatistes, led by Paul-Émile Borduas, and was a signatory of the 1948 manifesto, Refus Global.

Join the four nominees and moderator Ken Montague for this year’s Grange Prize for a lively conversation about the current state of contemporary photography.

Dr Stephen Inglis, adjunct curator of the Maharaja exhibition and curator emeritus at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, will discuss the ways in which Indian popular culture and tourism have drawn on the culture of the kingdoms.

The Unconference is (mostly) annual intervention into the Toronto performance community, aimed at bringing people together for small group discussions to answer questions generated by participations. Unconference is open to actors, directors, dancers, designers, playwrights, administrators, video artists – anyone involved in performance, at any stage of their career.

The Walrus Talks at the AGO will feature eighty minutes of thought-provoking ideas about urban sustainability, with Cape Farewell’s David Buckland, Park People's Dave Harvey, Investco Capital’s Andrew Heintzman, filmmaker Katarina Cizek, ecotheologian Dennis O’Hara, the Globe and Mail's Doug Saunders, TD's Chief Environmental Officer Karen Clarke-Whistler and more. Then, join our speakers, and the rest of our audience for a reception to carry on the conversation.

Jennifer Bhogal, AGO Art Rental and Sales Coordinator, speaks with Tien Huang, Director of the Bau-Xi Gallery, Christine Swiderski, Exhibition Coordinator of the OCAD Student Gallery, and Michael Adamson, Artist, about what you need to know to stay on top of the rising stars in the art market.

AGO Art Rental + Sales Gallery

A conversation with AGO insiders about how the Contemporary Collection came to be.

Connected to Paralleling the Permanent Collection, an eye-opening new series of exhibitions that reveals how you can own art by the same artists whose works grace the walls of the Art Gallery of Ontario. Starting with the Contemporary Collection, AR+SG illustrates how the Canadian art icons are not unattainable.

Julian Schnabel  in conversation with AGO curator of modern and contemporary art David Moos.

Choreographer: Francoise Sullivan
Dancers: Ginette Boudin, Rober Racine, Daniele Souliere