Featured Events in Toronto in June, 2025 (April Updated)

For more than 60 years, Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama (born 1929) has invited people to participate in her groundbreaking visions of infinity. Over the past three decades, this prolific experimental artist has become an internationally acclaimed art-world icon, with work presented across the globe. INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM - LET’S SURVIVE FOREVER features mirrored spheres suspended from the ceiling and arranged on the floor. A mirrored column inside the room invites visitors to peer into a seemingly infinite field of silver orbs. Thanks to the generosity of over 4,700 #InfinityAGO donors who participated in the AGO's ambitious crowdfunding campaign and the David Yuile & Mary Elizabeth Hodgson Fund, Yayoi Kusama’s INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM - LET’S SURVIVE FOREVER is now a part of the AGO Collection.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

For more than 60 years, Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama (born 1929) has invited people to participate in her groundbreaking visions of infinity. Over the past three decades, this prolific experimental artist has become an internationally acclaimed art-world icon, with work presented across the globe. INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM - LET’S SURVIVE FOREVER features mirrored spheres suspended from the ceiling and arranged on the floor. A mirrored column inside the room invites visitors to peer into a seemingly infinite field of silver orbs. Thanks to the generosity of over 4,700 #InfinityAGO donors who participated in the AGO's ambitious crowdfunding campaign and the David Yuile & Mary Elizabeth Hodgson Fund, Yayoi Kusama’s INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM - LET’S SURVIVE FOREVER is now a part of the AGO Collection.

Inspired by traditional Chinese artwork, Cloudscape is a mesmerizing installation that blends traditional artistry with contemporary themes. Artist Xiaojing Yan masterfully crafts intricate cloud forms using paper and natural reed, evoking the essence of traditional Chinese landscape painting. This awe-inspiring work presents a complex interplay of water and cloud motifs that challenge our perception of the natural world.Immerse yourself in Yan's floating masterpiece, where each sculpted cloud tells a story of cultural heritage and environmental consciousness, and invites us to reflect on our relationship with nature.

Inspired by traditional Chinese artwork, Cloudscape is a mesmerizing installation that blends traditional artistry with contemporary themes. Artist Xiaojing Yan masterfully crafts intricate cloud forms using paper and natural reed, evoking the essence of traditional Chinese landscape painting. This awe-inspiring work presents a complex interplay of water and cloud motifs that challenge our perception of the natural world.Immerse yourself in Yan's floating masterpiece, where each sculpted cloud tells a story of cultural heritage and environmental consciousness, and invites us to reflect on our relationship with nature.

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.

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.

Inspired by traditional Chinese artwork, Cloudscape is a mesmerizing installation that blends traditional artistry with contemporary themes. Artist Xiaojing Yan masterfully crafts intricate cloud forms using paper and natural reed, evoking the essence of traditional Chinese landscape painting. This awe-inspiring work presents a complex interplay of water and cloud motifs that challenge our perception of the natural world.Immerse yourself in Yan's floating masterpiece, where each sculpted cloud tells a story of cultural heritage and environmental consciousness, and invites us to reflect on our relationship with nature.

Inspired by traditional Chinese artwork, Cloudscape is a mesmerizing installation that blends traditional artistry with contemporary themes. Artist Xiaojing Yan masterfully crafts intricate cloud forms using paper and natural reed, evoking the essence of traditional Chinese landscape painting. This awe-inspiring work presents a complex interplay of water and cloud motifs that challenge our perception of the natural world.Immerse yourself in Yan's floating masterpiece, where each sculpted cloud tells a story of cultural heritage and environmental consciousness, and invites us to reflect on our relationship with nature.

Inspired by traditional Chinese artwork, Cloudscape is a mesmerizing installation that blends traditional artistry with contemporary themes. Artist Xiaojing Yan masterfully crafts intricate cloud forms using paper and natural reed, evoking the essence of traditional Chinese landscape painting. This awe-inspiring work presents a complex interplay of water and cloud motifs that challenge our perception of the natural world.Immerse yourself in Yan's floating masterpiece, where each sculpted cloud tells a story of cultural heritage and environmental consciousness, and invites us to reflect on our relationship with nature.

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.

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.

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.

Exploring the many ways that the French artist James Tissot represented modern women and envisioned their relationship to time during the last decades of the nineteenth century, this exhibition presents two of the AGO’s most beloved Tissot paintings alongside a selection of more than 30 works on paper donated by Allan and Sondra Gotlieb. The contradictions of the period come alive in these works, as the quickness of modernity, exemplified by the newfound speed of travel, fashion and commodity culture, is juxtaposed against the constrained pace of women’s everyday lives, characterized by the wait to find a husband, caregiving, tending to customers or recovering from illness. Curated by Mary Hunter, Associate Professor, McGill University and by Alexa Greist, AGO Curator and R. Fraser Elliott Chair, Prints & Drawings, and Caroline Shields, AGO Curator of European Art, this exhibition illustrates the many ways that time, and a gendered understanding of it, shaped women’s identities.

At the dawn of the 20th century, on both sides of the Atlantic, the human mind was of great interest to scientists, scholars, and artists alike. What does it look like, they wondered, to learn and to dream? What is the shape of imagination? This installation of 13 beloved paintings from the AGO collections of European and Canadian Art brings together dream-like landscapes, portraits of children reading, and adults lost in thought, to consider the many ways artists gave form to that intangible thing – one’s interior thoughts. Featuring examples of Realist, Impressionist, Expressionist and Symbolist art, the installation demonstrates how this pursuit helped push the bounds of traditional representation.

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.

This exhibition brings together two of the 20th century’s greatest painters—Rita Letendre (1928–2021) and Norval Morrisseau (1932–2007). Demonstrating the expressive potential of bold colour and line, these two artists pushed the boundaries of painting. During a career that spanned over sixty-five years, Letendre used brush, airbrush, palette knife, and her hands to make her work. Vibrating with physical and emotional energy, her paintings, —five of which are on view here, —embody her ongoing quest for connection and understanding. Morrisseau’s six-panel masterpiece, Man Changing into Thunderbird (1977), illustrates the theme of transformation, an idea central to Anishinaabe philosophy. This painting records the artist’s personal evolution into Miskwaabik Animiiki, or “Copper Thunderbird”, a name he received in a healing ceremony. The name carries connotations of protection, healing, mystery, and power, and Morrisseau used it as his signature. Merging personal narrative with intense colour and elaborate design, Morrisseau called this work, “the ultimate picture for me,” - it is featured here alongside two other works by him from the 1970s.

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.