Toronto, ON — The Gardiner Museum proudly announces the reopening of its fully transformed ground floor, marking the Museum’s most ambitious capital project in two decades. This once-in-a-generation renovation reimagines the Gardiner’s role as an inspiring and accessible community-driven hub where clay serves as a bridge between cultures, histories, and people.

Breaking ground in 2024 during the Museum’s 40th anniversary year, the project ushers in a new era of artistic innovation and community engagement for one of the world’s leading institutions devoted to ceramics.

“With this transformation, we’ve created vibrant spaces where people can find wonder and inspiration, tap into their creativity, and engage in important conversations,” says Gabrielle Peacock, Executive Director & CEO of the Gardiner Museum. “We’re thrilled to welcome the public into this exciting new chapter of the Gardiner’s story.”

“Clay embodies what it means to be human, grounding and connecting us to the earth and to each other,” says Sequoia Miller, Chief Curator & Deputy Director of the Gardiner Museum. “This transformation establishes the Museum as a dynamic and flexible cultural institution for everybody.”

Designed by Montgomery Sisam Architects and Andrew Jones Design, in collaboration with architect Chris Cornelius of studio:indigenous, the reimagining of the Gardiner’s 9,000-square-foot ground floor is guided by the principles of connectivity, access, and Indigeneity. It features new Collection Galleries, a fully equipped Makerspace, a Community Learning Centre, and the Gardiner’s first-ever gallery of Indigenous ceramics.

Historic Support from Public and Private Partners

The $15.5M transformation is made possible through the generosity of many public and private partners, led by a catalytic $9M gift from The Radlett Foundation, established by the late William B.G. Humphries. The donation is the largest in the Museum’s history by an individual other than its founders and includes more than 250 objects from Humphries’s personal collection.

This landmark project is also supported by Leadership Gifts from the Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation and the Lindy Green Family Foundation, an Inspirational Gift from the Appleyard Rebanks Family, and a Principal Gift from Diana Reitberger. The Government of Canada provided vital public funding through the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Canada Cultural Spaces Fund.

Inaugural Curator of Indigenous Ceramics

As part of its renewed vision, the Gardiner Museum appointed Franchesca Hebert-Spence as its first Curator of Indigenous Ceramics, underscoring the Museum’s deepening commitment to Indigenous self-determination and the centering of Indigenous voices.

An Anishinaabe curator and member of Sagkeeng First Nation, Hebert-Spence brings extensive experience from institutions including the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Alberta. She has led the development of the Gardiner’s new Indigenous gallery in collaboration with architect Chris Cornelius and in consultation with Indigenous makers and communities. The Gardiner Museum Indigenous Advisory Circle—Mary Anne Barkhouse, Bonnie Devine, Kent Monkman, Andre Morriseau, Duke Redbird, Frank Shebageget, and Tekaronhiáhkhwa / Santee Smith—provided invaluable guidance on the project.

A New Era for the Gardiner Museum

Highlights of the ground floor transformation include:

• Gallery of Indigenous Ceramics: For the first time in its history, the Gardiner is opening a permanently dedicated gallery for Indigenous ceramics, prominently located at the heart of the reimaged Collection Galleries. Indigenous Immemorial: Ceramics of the Great Lakes Region is designed by architect Chris Cornelius (Oneida) and curated by Franchesca Hebert-Spence (Anishinaabe, Sagkeeng First Nation). The gallery presents Indigenous ceramics as a living continuation of Indigenous knowledge, creativity, and cultural expression. It features works from Manitoulin Island, Six Nations of the Grand River, and Curve Lake, including ancestral belongings. Cornelius’s design, titled yelákhwaˀ (container – “one uses it to be in”), consists of a wooden frame that takes the shape of a vessel clad in copper mesh. A video projection of the sky that compresses 24 hours into 20 minutes changes the visitor’s experience each time they enter the space.
• The William B.G. Humphries Collection Galleries: The reimagined Collection Galleries showcase ceramics from the distant past to today, organized by geography, culture, time period, and technique. Indigenous Immemorial centres ceramic voices of the territory on which the Museum stands; Ancestral Abiayala includes works from Indigenous Latin America made before 1550; Connected Worlds considers European pottery in a global context; and Modern & Contemporary showcases recent sculptural approaches by Canadian and international artists. Together, the galleries invite visitors to discover connections across time and place and encourage them to reflect on their own lived experiences.
• The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation Entrance Hall: This new space serves as the Museum’s welcoming point and central axis, featuring year-round presentations of ceramics, including community projects. Bright and open, the design reflects the Museum’s mission to reduce barriers to access.
• Makerspace: The Museum is putting hands-on making at the forefront with a fully equipped clay studio where visitors of all ages can experiment with the medium, watch artists at work, and participate in hands-on workshops and drop-in clay sessions.
• Community Learning Centre: A multi-purpose hub, the Community Learning Centre amplifies the Gardiner’s educational programs, community partnerships, and public talks while hosting 200+ school groups annually.

Launching with a Major Commission by Nadia Myre

The reopening also marks the debut of a major new commission by Nadia Myre, a contemporary visual artist from Montreal and an Algonquin member of Kitigan Zibi Anishinaabeg First Nation. The 2014 Sobey Art Award winner, Myre is celebrated for her multidisciplinary practice exploring themes of belonging, resilience, memory, and the politics of recognition. Welcoming visitors as they enter the building, the work establishes a tone of connection, creativity, and place that resonates throughout the ground floor.

Fashioned from handmade ceramic beads, similar to bugle beads, and clay pipe stems Myre collects along the River Thames, the installation speaks to histories of trade, transcultural exchange, and local geologies. Myre experiments with scale, shape, and texture, and a new palette to communicate her territory, the Canadian Shield. The commission is generously supported by the Sabourin Family Foundation.

Reopening Celebration

The public is invited to experience the new Gardiner beginning on November 6. On November 8 and 9, the Museum will host a free weekend celebration with curator tours, hands-on clay workshops, and live performances. More information will be forthcoming.

Building Community with Clay

Founded in 1984 by George and Helen Gardiner, the Museum has become one of the world’s leading institutions dedicated to ceramics, housing a collection of over 5,000 objects and presenting acclaimed exhibitions by artists such as Ai Weiwei, Yoko Ono, Magdalene Odundo, and Shary Boyle.

The Gardiner Museum is situated on the ancestral and traditional territories of many nations, including the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples, and is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. It is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. As a museum that celebrates the material of the earth, the Gardiner Museum recognizes and is committed to honouring Indigenous self-determination as integral to our work as a museum. We strive to celebrate Indigenous knowledge and creativity through our collections, exhibitions, and programming.
For more information, visit www.gardinermuseum.com.

For more information, visit www.gardinermuseum.com. 

ABOUT THE GARDINER MUSEUM

The Gardiner Museum brings together people of all ages and communities through the shared values of creativity, wonder, and community that clay and ceramic traditions inspire.

We engage audiences with exhibitions, programs, and hands-on classes, while stewarding a significant permanent collection. We interpret historical ceramics to emphasize their relevance today, and champion emerging and established Canadian artists and their role in the broader world. We innovate through clay education, as we bring together the experience of making with a deeper understanding of the art of ceramics.

We believe in making, looking, and thinking through clay.

The Gardiner Museum has a collection of over 5,000 objects from the Ancient Americas, Europe, Japan and China, as well as contemporary works with an emphasis on leading Canadian artists. 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
[email protected]