What’s interesting to discover in this exhibition is how ceramics and artefacts are brought together.Over 110 objects including Chinese porcelain, Islamic metalware, Venetian ceramics and glass are on display. In addition to the Gardiner’s exceptional collection, stunning pieces were brought from across the city including from the ROM, AGO, Bata Shoe Museum, Textile Museum of Canada, Aga Khan Museum, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, and Toronto Public Library, as well as The Met, V&A, Detroit Institute of Arts, Corning Museum of Glass, and other world-class public and private collections.

Also included are installations in response to the historical works by three contemporary artists — Nadia Myre, Lindsay Montgomery, and Dorie Millerson.

The exhibition’s curator, Dr. Karine Tsoumis tells us the three artists were chosen because their work, or their artistic practices more broadly, have a connection either to the city of Venice, the art of the Renaissance (more specifically its ceramic traditions), or salient themes of the exhibition. “In their own unique way, each brings a feminist perspective on historical objects or popular stories of the time and opens a thoughtful dialogue between past and present,” said Tsoumis. She continues to tell us…

“The installation by Nadia Myre, an Algonquin member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, is a very important work that invites us to reflect on Venice’s historical ties to the Atlantic world and its role in disseminating European ideas, myths, and prejudice about Indigenous American peoples through a range of printed publications. The multimedia installation, which includes ceramic, beadwork, wallpaper design, and sound, asks us how ideas of origins can shape our shared future. This is the second edition of an installation first presented in an exhibition coinciding with the 2019 Venice Biennale.

Dorie Millerson’s work reinforces a counter-narrative focusing on Renaissance women that runs through the exhibition. A textile artist, Millerson created Cocca Veneta, a Venetian merchant ship sculpted in needle lace, as a response to the historical conditions of lacemaking in the city, the contrast between male and female experiences, and the exploitation of female, domestic labour. While Venetian needle lace was then among the most expensive products made in the city, it was made by the poorest and worn by the wealthiest.

Lindsay Montgomery address the legacies of the past through the medium of maiolica. In her work, Montgomery appropriates the popular stories of the Renaissance as encountered on maiolica to reflect on contemporary issues and experiences. In her piece, Daphnes and Lauras, she offers a feminist re-telling of the myth of Daphne and Apollo as told by Ovid in his Metamorphoses. Montgomery encourages the beholder to reflect on the connections between past and present, including the prevalence of structures of patriarchy and oppression.”

This exhibition is very special in the way that it brings together objects on loan from some of the city’s most important cultural institution. “You can see ceramics, paintings, carpets, shoes, textiles, books, and more, all in one place,” said Tsoumis. “Our city has such an incredible wealth of culture, and this exhibition offers a rare opportunity to see institutions across Toronto come together and support each other in this way. It feels like a really exciting and joyful moment as we emerge from the pandemic, and our cultural institutions return to life.”

Renaissance Venice: Life and Luxury at the Crossroads also has few special events planned…

Highlight Tour with Dorie Millerson (ticketed event)
Wednesday November 24, 12 – 1 pm
Join Dr. Karine Tsoumis for a special tour in conversation with exhibiting artist Dorie Millerson, Associate Professor, Material Art & Design, Faculty of Design, OCAD University.

Highlight Tour with Karine Tsoumis: From Lacemakers to Courtesans (ticketed event)
Wednesday November 24, 5 – 6 pm
Step into the lives of Renaissance women in this special exhibition tour highlighting select objects created by female artisans, owned by women, or conveying ideals of femininity.

Transcultural Earth: Mimetic earthenware and artisanal knowledge between Italy and Asia in the Long Renaissance (Free online registration)
Thursday November 25, 1 – 2 pm
Dr Marta Ajmar, Head of Postgraduate Programmes at the V&A, will draw on recipe books, treatises, and surviving artefacts to shed light on a little-explored chapter of Italian Renaissance artisanal expertise: pottery glazes.

Virtual Artist Demo with Lindsay Montgomery (Free online registration)
Thursday December 2, 1 – 2 pm
Award-winning ceramic artist Lindsay Montgomery is known for her contemporary interpretations of Medieval and Renaissance imagery. Watch her stream live from the studio and get a peek into her fascinating process.

Questioning Quarantine in the Jewish Ghetto of Venice (Free online registration)
Thursday December 9, 1 – 2 pm
Dana E. Katz, Joshua C. Taylor Professor of Art History and Humanities at Reed College, explores the concept of quarantine as it relates to the enforced residential restriction of the Venetian Jewish ghetto.

Highlight Tour with Dr. Fahmida Suleman (ticketed event)
Wednesday December 15, 12 – 1 pm
Join Dr. Karine Tsoumis for a special tour in conversation with Dr. Fahmida Suleman, Curator of the Islamic World at the Royal Ontario Museum, who will discuss a selection of Islamic artworks featured in the exhibition.

The Gardiner Museum is located at 111 Queen’s Park. For more information on this exhibition and what else is happening, visit gardinermuseum.on.ca.

The post Renaissance Venice at the Gardiner Museum appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

The new exhibition features the works of 36 international contemporary artists representing 22 countries, including Ai Weiwei, Brendan Fernandes, and Mona Hatoum, exploring the theme of Sanctuary and how it relates to immigration in the context of conflict, mass migration, climate change, and economic upheaval. “You look at the amount of displacement in the world today and in the past and how people had to flee for political or other reasons,” said Henry Kim, Museum Director and CEO. “What’s amazing was not only the need to get out of a country but also the places and countries that people end up going to.”

The entranceway to the exhibition gives visitors a sense of the scale of migration and sanctuary needed. The whole question of migration and sanctuary is very much alive in today’s world. The Syrian conflict, for example, had 12 million people displaced from one country alone.  “The act of giving sanctuary is one of the most noble and important actions by people and a nation,” said Kim. “Basically, it’s saying we’re letting you into our country and this is a safe place. This is what we’re trying to highlight. The number of countries in the past 1500 years that are willing to open up their doors and accept people who they may not know whatsoever speaks a lot to the nature of that country is incredible.” By the way,  if you didn’t know, Toronto became the first municipality in Canada to declare itself a “Sanctuary City” in 2013.

What was unexpected in this exhibition is the medium in which the artists’ stories that reflect their personal views, responses, heritage, and experiences were translated onto hand-woven wool carpets. Each 4-by-6-ft piece was made by artisans in Lahore, Pakistan using centuries-old techniques.  The exhibition can be explored with the interactive guide with mobile devices (QR Codes available to scan) with more detailed explanations. What also was unexpected is how some of the works are displayed — on the floor with no barriers. Not only does the space encourages one to pause and think about physical distancing, but we were told it was perfectly okay to step on and to walk across.

While the exhibition explores this concept of sanctuary it also takes asks, “What does sanctuary mean to you?” With what we’re experiencing now, this concept is more relevant than ever as we find comfort in our own spaces, both mentally and physically, whether it’s being in the backyard, on the front porch, or walking on a nearby trail. “People have been seeking places where they can find inner peace and that is what we’re also looking at with this exhibition,” said Kim. Each artist reflects their own notion of sanctuary either finding it personally or where they felt sanctuary. What’s interesting to note is this exhibition was conceived two years ago and was intended to open the very week the city was ordered to close down due to Covid19. As the city begins to lift restrictions it’s a time when people are yearning to find their sanctuary in places that they’ve missed and loved, or maybe haven’t had a chance to visit before for lack of time in the past – places where they can venture and explore safely.

What the Museum also felt important was creating visual structures that were also sustainable. An important element to the museum not only for this exhibition but how they can work with repurposing materials in the future. Kim noted that so often art installations use materials once – they are built and then torn down but they’ve tasked themselves to find ways to reuse items creatively and thoughtfully.  Artist Azra Akšamija created the flow with the use of recycled materials complete with an immersive sanctuary made with over 7000 T-shirts.

In addition to the new exhibition, the Museum launched an interactive installation with the public. What’s Your Sanctuary? will continue to invite everyone to share their photos and video submissions of how and with whom people have found sanctuary during the COVID-19 lockdown. The installation that represents creativity, optimism, and global unity is on view in The Bellevue Room within the Museum as well as online with people across Canada and globally.

Another captivating exhibition is found as visitors enter the Museum. Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From is a collaboration between the Aga Khan Museum and Benetton’s Fondazione Imago Mundi. 15 international artists use their chosen art form to share how they’ve navigated between cultures and the realities of past, present, and future.

Not to be missed is the impressive Wagner Garden Carpet located within the permanent collection on the main floor. On loan from the Burrell Collection in Glasgow, Scotland, it is one of the oldest known Persian carpet masterpieces and one of the grandest we’ve seen. The 17th-century piece reveals a “paradise” garden that is quite remarkable to see in person. It can be viewed up close but the second level bird’s eye view gives a worthy perspective.

The Aga Khan Museum is set to reopen its doors this coming Saturday, June 27, 2020, with a pay-what-you-can admission until September 7th, 2020. A limited number of daily visitors and timed-entry apply. Online ticket purchases are encouraged to secure entry times — although on-site ticket sales will be available but limited. All galleries within the museum, the Shop, Cafe, and Diwan Restaurant will follow provincial health and safety guidelines along with enhanced measures for staff, visitors, and volunteers inside the building.

Full details can be found on the Aga Khan Museum website.

The post Aga Khan Museum reopens with new Sanctuary exhibition appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

The Gardiner Museum in Toronto is our city’s ceramic arts museum, the only one of its kind in Canada. It is located opposite the Royal Ontario Museum on University Avenue and is part of the newly formed Bloor St. Culture Corridor. The museum contains thousands of artifacts, some dating back to the 1500s and even later. One can find pieces from the Italian Renaissance, the Ancient Americas, some Chinese and Japanese porcelain, European porcelain and English Delftware. The museum also hosts exhibitions that change throughout the year.

Ron Thom Exhibit and the Allied Arts runs until April 27

Born in BC, Ron Thom has designed a ton of really cool houses out west as well as some famous pieces here in Toronto. Just around the corner from the Gardiner museum is Massey College, one of Thom’s crowning achievements. I walked over and got permission to snap a few shots.

Ron Thom’s idea behind his work was that he wanted to create a “whole world” rather than just a building. His works include architecture, ceramics, visual arts, furniture and landscape as part of his holistic approach to architecture.

For more information see the Gardiner Website.

The post Gardiner Museum and the Ron Thom Exhibit appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

I got a chance to chat with their historical researcher at the museum who filled me in on the daily running of the museum, the types of donations they get from police officers and their families, and some of the displays and their history.

The museum has a lot of cool interactive exhibits and displays. Display cases containing everything from weapons to badges to items carried on a belt are all displayed with the variations over the years being compared.

The classic Plymouth Police car from the 1980s has been dissected and installed in one of the rooms. The live feed from the radio inside the car can still be heard by visitors.

Mounted units and motorcycles of several generations are also on display. Plaques outline the history and development of many of the different departments of the Police force.

A series of panels takes you through several decades at a time through the history of the Toronto Police Services that date back to their conception in 1834. This date pre-dates the police forces of both New York City (1845) and Boston (1839). The panels discuss the efficiency and the evolution of the police services as they adapted to the growing city of Toronto.

Many police officers also served our country overseas in the Canadian Military. Some of the donations that the museum receives come from these soldiers and include clothing, medals and flags from tours and service.

Above are 2 different popularized court cases involving murders in Toronto in the past century. Descriptions of the events as well as evidence from the crime scene are available for viewing. In one case a replica of the building the crime took place in has been assembled for display.

Below are cases containing famous artifacts from over the years such as the rope used in the last capital punishment carried out in Canada was the double hanging of Arthur Lucas and Ronald Turpin on December 11, 1962.

Uniforms from over the decades, as well as uniforms from the different faction of the Toronto Police Service are also on display such as this ETF officer dropping in from the roof and the late 1800s officer pictured below tending the call-box at station #7, a restored section of an old police station.

The picture above shows two officers sitting in what would have been station #7. The old typewriter apparently gets asked about a lot by kids who are too young to know what they are.

Located in the right of the picture is a poster on the wall asking for a reward of Ambrose Small who was a famous businessman and theatre builder who went missing in 1919 and was never heard from again. There was great mystery and press surrounding the event which was re-popularized by the Michael Ondaatje book “In The Skin of a Lion”.

The memorial area contains hats, artifacts, and names of soldiers who lost their lives in the line of duty, officers who served over-seas, and those of retired or deceased officers that served on the police force ove the past 100+ years.

The museum is open Monday to Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Toronto Police Museum exists solely on the profits of our gift shop and donations. We hold a charitable status and all donations collected during tours or research will go back into the museum reserve fund.

All visits to the museum must be booked ahead of time by calling the museum information line at 416-808-7020, or via e-mail. Visitors will be required to hand-in their booking receipt along with their donation on the day of visit.

Tour groups are welcome but a call in advance is appreciated to avoid any conflict with other groups that may be visiting.  416-808-7720 ids the contact number.

Gift shop hours: Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Suggested Donations

Admission: Children 12yrs. & under $1.00
Seniors 65yrs. & over $2.00
Adults $3.00

http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/museum

The post Toronto Police Museum and Discovery Centre appeared first on Toronto Guardian.