Update : The AGO reopened on July 21, 2021! I saw myself how careful they are about keeping everyone safe, so go ahead and book your visit without worry. Their site is linked below. The Warhol show that was previously scheduled and then forced to be postponed is now on!
———————————
Follow Up, from their site : “The health and safety of our employees, volunteers, visitors and our extended AGO community is always our top priority. It is for this reason, and on the direction of the Government of Ontario, that the AGO closed temporarily, effective Sunday, November 22 at 5 p.m. We will continue to monitor the situation and look forward to welcoming visitors to the AGO again.”
———————————
Today we look around the AGO in Toronto (aka the Art Gallery of Ontario), as it is during this unusual time.
The many steps they’ve taken to make visiting the gallery a safe experience are well thought out and reassuring. For the first time in months, I actually forgot we were in the midst of a pandemic, as I lost myself within the beautiful building and wonderful art.
This visit I concentrated on their permanent collection, and within ten minutes of arriving, I’d seen works by Picasso, Matisse, Monet, Renoir, Modigliani and Warhol, amoung others, confirming once again, that we are very lucky to have the gift of this place in the middle of the city.
Since a picture paints a thousand words, these images will do some of the talking, but, for the first time, I made a short film of my time at the AGO. It’s been said that videos are are worth 1.8 million words, so please have a look to see all that I simply can’t say here …
One of the changes they’ve made is asking everyone to arrive with a pre-arranged ticket or bar-code on your phone, which is scanned as you enter the gallery and again as you leave, so that they may maintain the maximum visitor limit of 80 people at a time.
To learn everything you need to know about going to the gallery, see their site here.
In addition to the extensive permanent collection, there are also two special temporary shows on at the moment, “Illusions: The Art of Magic” and “Diane Arbus Photographs”, previously written about in this post. These both began just before coronavirus hit and then the gallery had to close down completely for a period. However, thankfully, these shows were extended and you can still see them until November 8th. They’re included with regular admission.
The AGO is currently open from 10:30 until 5pm, Thursday through Sunday. As usual, entry to anyone 25 and under is free. Others can pay $35 for an annual pass and visit as often as they’d like, or it’s $25 for a single admission.
I hope you’ll go. It’s a fun and interesting thing you can safely do during these trying times.
Thanks for reading, xo loulou
