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.
The Gardiner Museum presents the 4th annual RBC Emerging Artist People’s Choice Award. Supported by the RBC Emerging Artists Project, the $10,000 award—voted by the public at the exhibition and online—honours a Canadian artist (or permanent resident) who has been out of school and practicing professionally with clay as part of their artist practice for seven years or less. A national panel of artists, curators, and arts educators nominated the five exceptional artists.
Online voting begins Wednesday September 3 at 12 pm and ends Monday October 13 at 11:59 pm. You can also vote at the exhibition from September 2 to October 13. Join the conversation on Twitter with #RBCgardiner.
Winner Announcement
Join us on Tuesday October 14 at 7 pm for the announcement of this year’s winner. There will be a reception from 5 – 6 pm followed by a panel discussion with the artists from 6 – 7 pm. Free to the general public.
The Artists
Zimra Beiner Jess Riva Cooper David R. Harper Robin Lambert WINNER Jordan McDonald
The Nominating Committee
Diane Charbonneau, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Decorative Arts at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art Virginia Eichorn, Director and Chief Curator of the Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Owen Sound, Ontario Walter Ostrom, Artist and Professor of Ceramics at Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University, 1969-2008 Mireille Perron, Artist, Scholar and Instructor at the Alberta College of Art + Design, Calgary Gord Thompson, Coordinator of the Bachelor of Craft and Design program at Sheridan College, Oakville, Ontario