Featured Events in Toronto in August, 2025 (May Updated)

MARVEL AT THE POWER OF COLOUR IN THE NATURAL WORLD. Anywhere you look in nature, colour holds meaning. From the fiery reds of warning to the soothing blues of calm waters, Nature in Brilliant Colour will take you on a kaleidoscopic journey through the vibrant hues of our planet. Awaken your senses, and have your perception forever altered, as you make your way through a series of spaces, each dedicated to a colour of the rainbow. Through over 200 specimens, photo-worthy projections, and shifting soundscapes, this exhibition promises to be a transformative experience that will deepen appreciation for the complex artistry of our world and celebrate its vivid and untamed beauty. This exhibition was created by the Field Museum.

Radical. Playful. Iconic. During the 60s, 70s and 80s, Joyce Wieland’s humorous and biting artistry helped give shape to this country’s changing ideas about gender, nationhood and ecology. An artist of great influence, whose work included textiles, collage, print, drawing and film, her legacy lives in the works of subsequent generations. In this ambitious retrospective, the first since 1987, more than five decades of artistic output come together to highlight the breadth and originality of her practice and to position her as a key figure in 20th century art and film. In addition to situating Wieland’s work in its artistic, social and political context, the exhibition will highlight the many ways she anticipated current debates about feminism, social equity and ecology. The exhibition is curated by Georgiana Uhlyarik, Fredrik S. Eaton Curator of Canadian Art, AGO and Anne Grace, Curator of Modern Art, MMFA.

What makes for a delightful picnic? Food and drink? Poetry? Music? A new installation offers a window into the pleasures, pastimes, and artistic heritage of Iran during the Safavid dynasty (1501-1736). A royal picnic, depicted on a large, treasured tile arch from the collections, is complemented by exceptional objects from the period. Gracing the Osler Gate on Level 1, a colourful tiled archway made over 350 years ago in Isfahan, Iran takes centre stage, showing picnic-goers out for an afternoon of leisure and luxury. Individual tiles reveal immaculately dressed figures relaxing, enjoying delicious food and drink, and being entertained with music, poetry, and feats of archery. Lively and cheerful, the scenes on the arch offer a wonderful glimpse into the cultural vibrancy of Iran when it was ruled by the Safavids, a Shi'a Muslim dynasty, who were great patrons of the arts and architecture, and who fostered international trade and diplomacy from Isfahan, their newly built capital city. The tile arch provides a magnificent focal point for the installation, which also showcases several stunning objects from the same period. A gorgeous lute with exquisite inlays and detail, an ornately decorated bow and arrow, a delicate swan-neck bottle, and beautifully crafted dishes - one of which carries words by medieval scholar Omar Khayyam (1048-1131) beginning with the lines: "This dish, which the intellect applauds, and on whose forehead it places a hundred kisses!" - bring the action on the tile arch to life. This beautiful collection of objects not only complements the arch scenes, but showcases the stunning artistry and intricacies of artisanal work iconic to the Safavid dynastic period. One has only to take in the physical objects to be transported to the scenes in the arch, enjoying music, poetry, food, and entertainment.

Moments in Modernismhighlights the diversity and high quality of the AGO’s modern art collection, which has been built over time by generations of museum curators and patrons. This installation will show collection strengths from artistic movements such as Pop Art, Abstraction, Realism, and Minimalism. An international approach in artistic styles will be presented, including a body of work from the AGO holdings by Brazilian artists, recognizing the global nature of modernism. A selection of contemporary works that respond to modernist movements will also be shown. Many of the artists, including Andy Warhol, Helen Frankenthaler, Jules Olitski, Gerhard Richter, and Mark Rothko are well known while others are still yet to be broadly recognized such as Tomie Ohtake, Rubem Valentim, Gene Davis and Kazuo Nakamura.A particular focus will be Canadian artists including Alex Colville, Rita Letendre, Jack Bush, Agnes Martin, Guido Molinari and Norval Morrisseau. Moments in Modernismfeatures artworks that will form the cornerstone for the expansion of the new Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery, starting construction in 2024. The new building is being designed by architects Diamond Schmitt, Selldorf Architects and Two Row Architect to showcase the AGO's growing collection of modern and contemporary art.

A prodigious collector of contemporary art, the late Phil Lind (1943-2023) was drawn to artworks that illuminated social and political histories. An enthusiastic supporter of what has since come to be known as the Vancouver school of conceptual photography, this exhibition features works by noted Vancouver-born artists Stan Douglas, Rodney Graham, Ron Terada and Jeff Wall. Complementing these lens-based works – some intimate, some large-scale light boxes, some multimedia - are paintings, photographs and sculptures by Thomas Demand, William Eggleston, Antony Gormley, Philip Guston, William Kentridge, Thomas Ruff, Laurie Simmons, Wolfgang Tillmans and Ai Weiwei. This exhibition is curated by AGO's Curator of Modern Art Adam Welch.

From the Bader Collection at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, the AGO welcomes a remarkable selection of seventeenth century Dutch paintings. Shown in dialogue with paintings from the AGO’s European Collection of Art, at the centre of this focused installation are seven artworks attributed to Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669), shown together for the first time. Featuring intensely observed still life paintings, detailed interiors and mesmerizing portraits, these striking artworks offer a rare glimpse of Dutch artistry at work. This exhibition is co-curated by Adam Harris Levine, AGO Associate Curator European Art and Suzanne van de Meerendonk, Bader Curator of European Art, Agnes Etherington Art Centre. This exhibition is co-organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen's University.

As part of our annual zodiac installation, January 29, 2025 ushers in the Year of the Snake (蛇), the sixth animal in the Chinese zodiac. Those born under this sign are believed to be wise and charismatic. The snake rarely appears as a decorative motif in Chinese art and design, however, when depicted with a tortoise, the pair have come to symbolize the mythical creature Xuanwu (玄武, the Dark Warrior), later evolving into the god Zhenwu (真武, the Perfected Warrior). The snake and tortoise symbolize the interplay of power, wisdom, and harmony of nature. Experience an exquisite array of snake and tortoise-themed objects and cultural belongings in this specially curated zodiac case. Marvel at impressive ceramics, including a mythical double-headed serpent from the early 500s. This and much more are now on view in this unique display celebrating the powerful snake.

Listen to nature’s symphony for it WILL shape our future. Step inside this cinematic odyssey, inspired by the vast natural history collections at ROM, and experience our planet through the eyes of a unique protagonist – a chimpanzee. Encounter breathtaking landscapes and diverse species that remind us that humanity is only a small chapter in Earth's expansive story spanning 4.5 billion years. A love letter to the natural world – this is a clarion call to protect and look after our Earth and everything in it. Scored by Donizetti's dramatic opera, L’elisir d’amore, the film transcends human perspective, revealing how every species, from the smallest insect to the most majestic mammal, plays a vital role in the ecosystem and nature's enduring narrative.

Katy Perry Toronto is set to be an unforgettable night of music and entertainment at the renowned Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. On August 6, 2025, at 7:00 PM, fans will gather to experience the electrifying performance of one of pop music's biggest stars. With ticket prices starting at just 55 CAD, this event promises to be accessible for a wide audience. Known for her chart-topping hits and spectacular stage presence, Katy Perry's concert will feature a mix of her classic songs and new releases, ensuring a memorable evening for all attendees. The Scotiabank Arena, located in the heart of Toronto, offers a state-of-the-art venue that enhances the concert-going experience with top-notch acoustics and comfortable seating. This highly anticipated event is expected to draw a large crowd, making it a highlight of the summer entertainment calendar in Toronto.

Toronto artists Frances Loring (1887–1968) and Florence Wyle (1881–1968) dedicated much of their careers to raising public awareness for sculpture. In this exhibition, Renée van der Avoird, Associate Curator of Canadian Art, and Melissa Alexander, theW. David Hargraft Fellow in Canadian Art,present a selection of rarely seen sculptures from the AGO’s Collection, highlighting Loring and Wyles’s commitment to the artform and their conviction that sculpture is a lifelong process. The ten works on view are made of various materials and at various stages of completion; they will be displayed alongside archival materials and an interview with the artists, dating from 1965.

The Vault Presents it's second show of they year. Join us for a night of unconventional healing practices as your favourite slutty performers express their relationship with religion (or lack thereof) through provocative low-flow pole performance numbers. We hope to get you on your knees praying to your new deities. Dress Code: Dress in whatever your religious parents wouldn't have let you wear in high school Tipping is SEXY - bring your cash to exchange for USD $1 Information Source: THE VAULT | eventbrite

An unprecedented exhibition that examines the history and legacy of Auschwitz. Created by Nazi Germany, the most significant site of the Holocaust, Auschwitz, was not a single entity. It gradually became a system of camps that combined two functions: a concentration camp and a killing centre in which some 1 million Jews— and tens of thousands of others, including Poles, Romani people, and Soviet POWs — were detained and murdered in a systematic and industrialized fashion. This powerful exhibition, which arrives in Toronto just ahead of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on January 27, 2025, explores the dual identity of the Auschwitz camp as a physical setting — the largest documented mass murder site in human history— and as a symbol of the borderless manifestation of hatred and human atrocity.

Experience Free Public Art at Union Station celebrating Black Artists & Cultural Legacy “A Transit Through Time” features a six-artist group exhibition co-curated by Union and MakeRoom Inc. as well as a special featured project by renowned artist Jordan Sook, “Nothing More Nothing Less”. The entire exhibition reminds viewers that everyone is part of the past, and we are responsible for shaping the future. Championing Black Artists with “A Transit Through Time” The featured works of artists Destinie Adélakun, Pixel Heller, Segun Caezar, Heritier Bilaka, Rico Poku and Camille Kiffin encourage exploration of the connections between the past and present, and the traditions that have shaped culture through time. They offer a glimpse into the enduring legacy and boundless creativity of Black communities. Transformative Beauty with “Nothing More Nothing Less” In addition to the group exhibition, Union has selected special guest artist Jordan Sook to present the solo exhibition, Nothing More Nothing Less, a collection of images of butterflies showcased in various mediums throughout Union for people to discover. The butterflies, containing the artist’s signature hand painted spots, represent self-expression and the joyfulness of the human spirit. Each piece merges entomology with curiosity, exploring themes of metamorphosis, transformation and evolution

Tracing Blackness through its many migrations and manifestations, the interdisciplinary artist Oluseye blends the ancestral with the contemporary and the physical with the spiritual. Inspired by merindinlogun, a Yoruba divination ritual, Oluseye presents a new installation that illustrates the spiritual, mythological, and biographical elements that have shaped his worldview and art practice. In Yoruba culture, cowrie shells symbolize wealth and prosperity and are used by diviners to communicate with ancestors and receive guidance. Paying homage to that cultural practice and his own narratives, Oluseye presents 16 large-scale bronze cowrie shells, resting atop a hand-carved divination tray.

How do our experiences shape our perceptions? ROM Connection Stations invite you to reflect on Museum objects to build a deeper understanding of the world and how others may experience it. How does your personal background shape your perceptions? How can current interpretations differ from when an object was produced? How could other people view the same object? These interactive stations can be enjoyed alone or with other guests and invite visitors to share in a collective conversation to recognize biases, consider the impact of perceptions, and foster greater understanding.

Recipient of the 2022 Gershon Iskowitz Prize at the AGO, American-born, Toronto based artist Tim Whiten, has, for almost five decades, fashioned a powerful visual language all his own. Drawing upon various spiritual traditions, mythologies, and rituals, Whiten’s work evades easy categorization, manifesting itself in ways that are spellbinding and technically profound. The more than 30 works on display range from works on paper and cotton, to sculpture, other three-dimensional objects, and mixed media installations. The exhibition features many of the artist’s most essential works, made with organic matter such as leather, bone, and stone, and precarious materials such as glass and crystal. This exhibition is organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario in partnership with the Gershon Iskowitz Foundation.

Emmanuel Osahor’s practice focuses on beauty as a necessity for survival, respite, and sanctuary. Known primarily for his paintings of lush, verdant gardenscapes—inspired by real and imagined locations—these works meditate upon the complicated histories of these sites that entail the domestication of lands, plants, and individuals alike. To dream of other places is the artist’s first major solo presentation in his home city of Toronto and includes paintings, drawings, prints, ceramic sculptures, and a site-specific photographic wallpaper commissioned for the Fleck Clerestory gallery at The Power Plant.

Highlighting new acquisitions and unseen works from the AGO’s Photography Collection, this poetic exhibition takes visitors on a journey from Mexico to Argentina, from the 1920s to today. “Recuerdo,” which in Spanish can mean both “memory” and “I remember,” – reflects the exhibition’s unique display of collective and personal stories, while exploring what it means to consider art of and from Latin America. Juxtaposing photographs from press collections as well as works by artists once known and noted photographers, including Manuel Alvarez Bravo and Tina Modotti, this exhibition is curated by AGO Curatorial Assistant Marina Dumont-Gauthier. The AGO is grateful for the generous support of a Photography Fellowship provided by The Schulich Foundation.

In her irreverent prints and drawings, Kinngait artist Surusilutu Ashoona (1941-2011) illustrates a world both fantastical and banal, where animals wear clothing while women sew, juggle and rest in equal measure. Featuring 17 works from the AGO’s foundational Inuit art collections – generously gifted by Samuel and Esther Sarick, the Klamer Family and Dr. Michael Braudo – this exhibition marks the late artists’ first ever solo exhibition at the AGO.

The Southern Netherlands — better known today as Flanders — was home to revolutionary artists such as Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony Van Dyck, Hans Memling, and others. These extraordinary painters found new ways to depict reality, portray humanity, and tell stories that created parallels to their world then - and to our world today. This large-scale exhibition, featuring over 80 stunning art works and objects — medieval, Renaissance, and baroque paintings, sculptures and more — offers a doorway into the Southern Netherlands of 1400 to 1700, a dynamic environment where new artistic genres and styles were created and flourished. The exhibition's unique presentation introduces the visitor, through these rare, extraordinary artworks, to stories of enterprising townspeople, prosperous cities, and an ever-developing society.

A career-spanning presentation of 20 exuberant woodcut prints by one of Canada’s leading printmakers, in her first solo exhibition at the AGO, Naoko Matsubara demonstrates her masterful handling of the medium, exploring personal and art historical subjects. Composed of vibrant, complementary colours animated with incisions and wood grain, anchoring the exhibition is Tagasode (2014), a monumental 2 meter single-sheet print, recalling an ikō – a piece of furniture on which a kimono hangs. Also featured are seven woodcut prints from her series In Praise of Hands (1973-2020). Inspired by the movements of her baby’s hands, in which the artist saw the “very beginnings of human communication fluently expressed in so much variety” this series illustrates the ingenuity of hands performing actions like weaving bamboo, playing the flute and carving wood. Curated by Renée van der Avoird, associate curator of Canadian Art, in addition to a dynamic grouping of more recent, abstract woodcut prints, the exhibition is bookended by two career-spanning self-portraits—one from 1966 (age 29); and the other from 2024 (age 87).

Katy Perry Toronto is set to light up the Scotiabank Arena on August 5, 2025, at 19:00. This highly anticipated event promises an unforgettable evening as the global pop sensation brings her electrifying performance to Toronto. Known for her chart-topping hits and spectacular stage presence, Katy Perry is expected to deliver a show that fans will not want to miss. With ticket prices starting at just 55 CAD, this concert offers an incredible opportunity to experience one of the music industry's most dynamic artists live. The Scotiabank Arena, located in the heart of Toronto, provides the perfect backdrop for what is sure to be a night filled with high-energy music, dazzling visuals, and memorable moments. Attendees can look forward to a setlist packed with both classic favorites and new releases, ensuring a captivating experience from start to finish.

Faye Heavyshield, recipient of the 2021 Gershon Iskowitz Prize at the AGO, has for more than three decades created powerful installations and sculptures, characterized by repeating forms and motifs, including spirals, circles, grids, and lines. Drawing from personal experience, her work reveals a deep relationship with the land, in particular the Kainai (Blood) Nation in Southern Alberta where she grew up and where she still lives. For her first solo exhibition at the AGO, Heavyshield will present several works, including a re-staging of her acclaimed 1995–96 multimedia installation Venus as Torpedo. This large-scale installation, with audio in both Blackfoot and English, features assorted clothing items draped over a protruding arm that extends across the museum floor. This exhibition is curated by Georgiana Uhlyarik, Fredrik S. Eaton Curator of Canadian Art, AGO, and organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario in partnership with the Gershon Iskowitz Foundation.

Art Adventures Camp: August 18 - 22 Come join us for a week of creativity and fun at Blue Crow Gallery! Summer is here & what better way to get the most out of it than with art and exploring our creative city! Our new Art Adventures Camp offers an exciting experience for your young budding artist! Adventure across the city to the AGO, create artworks in our studio, parks & other spaces. Each day brings new creative challenges, encouraging campers to explore different mediums and techniques; focusing on artistic skills, confidence, and self-expression. A whole week filled with exciting art activities is just around the corner! Ages 9-13 9am -4pm Please dress to get messy - we do have aprons in the studio but do not recommend you wear your favourite outfit in case it gets dirty. We will have lunch and snack breaks so please bring only a *Nut Free Lunch and snacks. Cancellation Policy If a student is sick or a no-show we will not be providing a refund. Information Source: Blue Crow Gallery | eventbrite