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April 2008 - Nr. 4

 

Toronto — When the Art Gallery of Ontario opens in fall 2008, expanded access programs will include free after-school general admission for all Ontario secondary students.

"We’re nearing the completion of an extraordinary new home for extraordinary art," says Matthew Teitelbaum, the AGO’s Michael and Sonja Koerner director, and CEO. "Even as we step onto the world stage as a cultural destination, we want to make the AGO accessible and welcoming to the people of Toronto and Ontario. We want them to feel this is their art museum, a place where they will connect with art and want to return time and again."

As part of a strengthened commitment to accessibility, all Ontario secondary school students will have free general admission to the AGO Tuesdays through Fridays from 3 to 5:30 pm.

"In making the AGO a free after-school destination and resource for Ontario’s young people, we are providing a safe, creative space when after-school options are diminishing," says Teitelbaum. "We can make a meaningful difference."

Among other free-access programs:

  • The transformed AGO will continue to offer free general admission on Wednesday evenings.
  • As a founding partner in the Toronto Public Library’s Sun Life Financial Museum Arts Pass program, the AGO will offer free access to library users.
  • Building on its precedent-setting Citizen AGO program, where new citizens at selected Toronto citizenship ceremonies receive a one-year pass, the AGO will continue with initiatives that enable　new citizens　to learn more about their new homeland through art.
  • The AGO’s education department will launch its adopt-a-school program, where each year, three elementary schools in the GTA participate in free specialized art programs. Teachers from the designated schools will also have free professional development and their students will have free access to the Gallery.
  • The Neighbourhood Access Program, which currently offers free self-guided group visits to 12 local schools, community centres and daycares, will be expanded.
  • The Community Membership Program, which provides free access to galleries and family programming to more than 30 local organizations working with challenged communities, will also be expanded.　

The AGO is also in discussions with area post-secondary institutions to further student access.

When completed, the transformed AGO, designed by Canadian-born architect Frank Gehry, will feature almost 50 percent more gallery space than pre-transformation. Thousands of new works, among them the late Ken Thomson’s internationally acclaimed collection of Canadian and European art, will join perennial AGO favourites innovatively presented in 110 light-filled galleries.

A single adult general admission ticket will be $18. General admission for all youths ages 6 to 18, as well as full-time students with ID, will be $10.　 Families of up to two adults and five children will be $45 and $15 for seniors.　 Children, ages five and under, will be free.　

"A key focus of our transformation is bringing diverse communities and great art together," says Teitelbaum.　 "It’s a commitment shared by all who have supported our transformation, and we will continue to work with corporations and individuals in finding new and innovative ways to remove the barriers to art and the AGO."

  

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