We're thrilled to welcome you back safely to the Gardiner with new artworks and exhibitions, hands-on activities, studio classes, dining, shopping, and more. Plan your visit today!
We've reopened our doors with a series of new artworks and exhibitions on display, including Garniture Remix, an installation of vases and vessels from all areas of the collection. There's so much to discover this season!
Join us every Sunday from 11 am - 3 pm for Family Day clay and tile-painting activities, including with admission. Until October 31, Family Day will take place on our outdoor plaza, weather permitting. We can't wait to see you there!
Every object in our permanent collection can be accessed through our eMuseum portal. Learn about individual collecting areas, like Italian Maiolica or Modern and Contemporary Ceramics, or search the full collection by keyword. You'll be amazed by what you discover!
We need your support to continue to offer innovative and engaging exhibitions, programs, and community projects online, as well as plan for the future. Please consider making a donation to help us build community with clay.
Lobby Display
In 1862, two intrepid tourists, Viscount Milton and Dr. Walter Cheadle, undertook a two-year expedition across Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Travelling by ship, steamboat, stage coach, train, horse, canoe, and raft, they faced deep snow, swarms of mosquitoes, swollen rivers, starvation, and grizzly bears.
Milton and Cheadle published an illustrated account of their epic trip, The North West Passage by Land. Two bone china dessert services were specially ordered from the Minton manufactory to commemorate their adventures: one made for Dr. Cheadle in 1865, and the other for Lord Milton in 1867. Twenty-two illustrations from the book, taken from Cheadle’s drawings or watercolours, served as inspiration for the hand-painted scenes on the services.
To commemorate the 150th anniversary of Canada’s confederation, thirteen pieces from Lord Milton’s magnificent service have been reassembled from public and private collections for this intimate lobby display.
Exhibition Programs & Events
September 22 – 26, 3 pm Screening: To Build a Fire French filmmaker Fx Goby’s animated adaptation of Jack London’s 1908 classic novel, To Build a Fire, depicts a trapper’s struggle for survival in the freezing temperatures of the Yukon in the late 1890s. Included with general admission. Learn more
Sunday September 23, 3 pm Artist Talk: FX Goby Join us for a moderated conversation with French filmmaker Fx Goby following a screening of his film To Build a Fire. Included with general admission. Learn more
Friday November 3, 4 pm Painted on Porcelain: A Canadian Odyssey Chief Curator Meredith Chilton recounts the story of Lord Milton and Dr. Cheadle’s incredible voyage and the history behind the Milton dessert services that commemorated their journey. Lear more
Image: Detail of an illustration from The North West Passage by Land