The Gardiner is now open from Thursday - Sunday, including free weekend admission! There's plenty of space to reconnect and amazing art to discover in all corners of the Museum. Clay Restaurant is still open Tuesday - Sunday. Reservations fill up fast, so book your table early. Please read our new health and safety policies before you visit.
From sticky to crusty, pliable to powdery, and shaped to shapeless, clay’s ability to transform in real time is prompting a new generation of artists to explore the possibilities of this ancient material. RAW features new work by four artists who are pushing boundaries with unfired clay: Cassils, Magdolene Dykstra, Azza El Siddique, and Linda Swanson. See it now!
We're firing up the kilns again! Join us on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 - 3 pm for drop in clay classes in our pottery studios. We've reduced our class sizes to allow for safe physical distancing, and instituted new health and safety protocols. Registration opens online at 10 am on the morning of the class. We can't wait to see you back in the studios!
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!
As we begin to welcome visitors back to the Gardiner, we need your support to continue offering innovative and engaging exhibitions, programs, and community projects on site and online. Make a donation and help us build community with clay.
**Advanced sales are now closed. Tickets will be available at the door.**
New Ho Queen is a Toronto-based collective bringing visibility and expressive spaces to the queer Asian and QTBIPOC community. Inspired by the exhibition Ai Weiwei: Unbroken, New Ho Queen will curate an art party in partnership with the Gardiner that breaks down walls and boundaries, and, through the lens of queer Asian artists, explore how building bridges and fostering chosen families create subcultural spaces for expression and belonging.
Curated by Ness Lee, queer Asian visual and performance artists will exhibit new works in the company of New Ho Queen resident DJs. Expect a vibrant and artistic evening in celebration of the queer Asian diaspora, with access to the exhibition Ai Weiwei: Unbroken.
INSTALLATION Florence Yee Shellie Zhang
PERFORMANCE Sze-Yang Ade-Lam Ms Nookie Galore
PHOTOGRAPHY May Truong John Thai
DJs Sammy Rawal Diego Armand
About the exhibition
Ai Weiwei is one of the world’s most influential artists and human rights activists, as well as one of China’s most formidable critics. Known for smashing conventions—and ceramics—with iconic works like Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, he upends the cultural traditions and materials of his native China.
This highly-anticipated and timely exhibition explores the breaking of boundaries, both physical and symbolic, and considers how the artist’s ceramic works form a basis for his ongoing exploration of urgent social justice themes, including immigration, freedom of speech, and the repression of dissent. Learn more
Presenting Sponsor
Exhibition Partners
PHIL LIND & ELLEN ROLAND
THE ROONEY FAMILY FOUNDATION
Media Partner
Programs Sponsor
ELEANOR & FRANCIS SHEN
Image: Creative Direction by John Thai Photography by May Truong Hair/Makeup by Nikki Wong Jing