We are temporarily closed in accordance with the Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health and the Government of Ontario. We are so grateful for the support of our community and look forward to welcoming you back as soon as possible.
Opening February 24, Shary Boyle: Outside the Palace of Me is a multi-sensory installation including drawings, ceramic sculpture, life-sized automatons, two-way mirrors, coin-operated sculpture, and an interactive score.
Join us online on February 1 at 1 pm for our annual Bell Lecture. Dr. Chih-En Chen, Lecturer of East Asian Art History at the University of Toronto, will discuss the little-known history of Qing trompe l'oeil porcelain. Get tickets!
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 now more than ever! Help us continue to offer innovative and engaging exhibitions, programs, and community projects online, as well as plan for the future. Please consider making a donation today.
New exhibitions, free outdoor art activities, dining, shopping, and more
Toronto—The Gardiner Museum is excited to announce that admission will be free all summer when our doors reopen to the public on July 21. The Gardiner will also continue to offer free outdoor programming, including hands-on clay workshops and family activities on the Linda Frum and Howard Sokolowski Plaza.
“We are thrilled to finally welcome the public back through our doors and can’t wait for our visitors to discover exciting changes and be reunited with beloved objects,” said Kelvin Browne, Executive Director and CEO. “We believe that art experiences are key to reconnecting and finding joy as we emerge from isolation and, most importantly, that everyone should have access to these opportunities. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we are able to offer free admission and programming all summer—something truly special and unique in the city.”
Discover new exhibition and artworks
When the galleries reopen from Wednesday to Sunday, visitors will be greeted by new exhibitions and artworks animating the Museum.
HEAVY SHINE, part of the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, is a collaboration between Toronto-based ceramic artist Dianne Lee and New Orleans-based visual artist Robyn LeRoy-Evans. The work is presented as a collaborative, multimedia installation of collage, drawing, ceramic vessels, portraiture, still lifes, and arranged tableaus.
Sheridan Graduate Show: Audax 8, supported by the RBC Emerging Artists Project, features exciting new work by students in the Bachelor of Craft and Design program at Sheridan College, ranging from Mimi He’s minimalist aromatherapy bottles by Asli Inan’s fantastical vessels inspired by old colouring books.
Garniture Remix is a stunning vertical installation of vases and vessels in the Joan Courtois Gallery, spanning three levels of the Gardiner’s soaring staircase. Objects from all areas of the collection come together in unexpected pairings, united by shape, colour, ornament, and texture.
Beyond the museum walls
Launched in June, Gardiner Goes Outside will continue to run on the plaza, with pop-up window exhibitions, an audio tour, public art projects, and hands-on clay activities. A mini exhibition by emerging Hamilton-based artist Marissa Y Alexander is currently on display in the Laura Dinner & Richard Rooney Window Gallery.
The Museum’s street level light box signs are also animated by art commissioned from prominent and emerging BIPOC and 2SLGBTQ+ identifying artists, in partnership with No.9 Contemporary Art + Environment.
Reactivating our creativity
The Gardiner has launched three free outdoor programming streams, running from Wednesday to Sunday and open to adults and children of all ages and abilities:
Play Date Sponsored by the Weston Family Foundation Wednesday – Saturday, 10 am – 12 pm Join us for a kid-friendly colouring activity inspired by our collaboration with No.9 Contemporary Art + Environment. Clay Bird Making Sponsored by David Staines & Noreen Taylor Wednesday – Friday, 1 – 3:30 pm Experiment with clay as part of David Constantino Salazar’s public art project Forever (Bird-Botanicals). Family Days Sponsored by Mary Janigan & Tom Kierans Sundays, 11 am – 3 pm Get the family together for new activities each week, inspired by the Museum’s permanent collection.
See the full schedule of free activities
Firing up the kilns
Drop In Clay Classes are back, with a twist. On Saturdays from 1 – 3 pm, hand-building workshops will be held on the outdoor plaza. Tickets go on sale at 10 am the morning of the class and space is limited to 10 participants. Tickets: General: $18; Students and Gardiner Friends: $14.50
When the building reopens, the Gardiner will also start offering a series of four-week studio classes. Registration opens to Gardiner Friends on July 13 at 10 am and to the general public on July 15 at 10 am. Classes will be limited to 10 participants to allow for safe physical distancing. Masking and other health and safety protocols will be in effect.
Dine and shop
No trip to the Gardiner is complete without lunch at Clay Restaurant, which is currently featuring a new summer menu on the patio, and a visit to the Gardiner Shop. In-person shopping will be limited to two people at a time.
Check our website for more information on how the Gardiner is welcoming visitors back safely to the Museum: https://www.gardinermuseum.on.ca/welcome-back/.
Thank you to our visionary supporters for helping us build community with clay.
Presenting Partners David Staines & Noreen Taylor Kim Spencer McPhee Barrister PC Mary Janigan & Tom Kierans
Supporting Partners Laura Dinner & Richard Rooney Linda Frum & Howard Sokolowski Weston Family Foundation
Thanks To The Citrine Foundation HUB International Margaret McCain Andre Morriseau Rosemary Phelan The Raphael Yu Centre of Canadian Ceramics Diana Reitberger
ABOUT THE GARDINER MUSEUM
The Gardiner Museum brings together people of all ages and backgrounds through the shared values of creativity, wonder, and community that clay and ceramic traditions inspire.
The Gardiner Museum’s collection of ceramics comprises approximately 4,000 objects, and focuses on specific areas which have been collected in depth. These include a world-renowned collection of European porcelain, with particular strengths in Meissen, Vienna, and Hausmaler decorated porcelain, as well as a comprehensive collection of figures inspired by the commedia dell’arte. It holds the preeminent collection of Italian Renaissance maiolica in Canada, and a superb collection of English tin-glazed pottery. The Gardiner preserves highly significant collections of ceramics from the Ancient Americas, Chinese blue and white porcelain, Japanese porcelain, and contemporary Canadian ceramics. It also houses a research library and archives, clay studios, award-winning Shop, and a restaurant.
The Gardiner Museum is among the few museums in the world focused on ceramics, and is one of the world’s most notable specialty museums. For more information, please visit: gardinermuseum.com.
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Media Contact: Rachel Weiner Senior Manager, Marketing Gardiner Museum 416.408.5062 rachelw@gardinermuseum.com