Toronto Mayor David Miller Opens the New Art Gallery of Ontario - Free Admission

The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) building expansion transformation is being supported by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund and actually began in 2002, but the museum closed its doors for a year for its completion and the exciting televised ribbon cutting ceremony took place today with Toronto mayor David Miller greeting the new guests that were anxiously awaiting to enter the modern architectural wonder that is gracing central Dundas Street near Toronto's west end.
The $276-million transformation of the AGO was realized by the Toronto-born architect of the world, Frank Gehry. Building on the generous gift of the late Ken Thomson’s unparalleled collection of Canadian and European art.
Sonja Koerner director CEO says: " the architecture restoration was an integral part of the art installations and the programming."  
Directors Michael and Sonya Koerner honoring the gift of over 2,000 works by the late Ken Thomson in the internationally acclaimed Thomson Collection featuring seven artists first time seen in Canada along with his 100 million dollar donation that helped highlight the event.
As I entered, the first thing that draws the eye is the sculptured staircase that emerges from the Walter Court entrance spiraling into the glass skylights that tie into the exterior glass design.
A whole series of new exhibitions are mounted throughout making it an exceptionally well endowed gallery. There were many collections - Canadian art, European art, Pablo Picasso paintings and sculptures by Henry Moore.
Through Frank Gehry's amazing modern concept design for the museum, that spans in glass across the entire block; the design itself stands for joining the art museum and the city of Toronto in a creative marriage with an open invitation to enter and enjoy the inside surrounding art with natural light embarking through the building. Free admission all weekend November 14 to 16 until midnight. 

~Tomitheos reporting from Toronto 

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Art Gallery of Ontario
317 Dundas Street West
Toronto, ON M5T 1G4
Canada
Map Art Gallery of Ontario 
Phone 1 (416) 979-6648
http://www.ago.net

http://www.ago.net/transformation/newbuilding/