McMichael Canadian Art Collection to reopen to
members on July 30 and to the public
on July 31, 2020
July 13, 2020, KLEINBURG, ON –The McMichael Canadian Art Collection announces today that it will reopen to the public on Friday, July 31, 2020. It will open to members one day earlier on July 30. Following the opening weekend, the Gallery will be open from Thursdays through Sundays until further notice. The Gallery has implemented a number of new sanitation and safety protocols to help visitors reconnect with the art of Canada this summer.
Opening Weekend: July 30 – August 3, 2020
Thursday, July 30, 10 am – 5 pm: Members Only
Friday, July 31 – Monday, August 3, 10 am – 5 pm: Open to the general public and Members
Gallery Hours:
Thursdays, 10 am – 5 pm: Members Only
Fridays – Sundays, 10 am – 5 pm: Open to the general public and Members
Grounds Only:
Mondays – Wednesdays, 10 am – 5 pm
*includes parking and public restrooms
New Protocols
Visitors can expect the following practices and protocols to be in place:
- Timed ticketing for all visitors, including members
- Contactless payment and transactions
- Unidirectional travel through the Galleries
- 2m (6 ft) of social distancing required in the Galleries at all times
- Additional sanitation stations and increased cleaning frequency of public spaces
- All frontline staff will be required to wear faceshields
- All visitors over 5 are required to wear a mask indoors (medical conditions exempt)
“The health and safety of our visitors and staff is our top priority,” said Ian Dejardin, Executive Director of the McMichael. “We’ve enacted a full suite of safety procedures and protocols to ensure that visitors’ return to the McMichael is as safe as it is fun and beautiful. Our staff have been trained on the latest public health directives, and our building is ready to accommodate our visitors with safety and comfort in mind. We are eager to welcome everyone back to enjoy this special place and experience the beautiful art, but rest assured that we have not made any compromises to do so.”
“Ontario offers the world in one province, and the McMichael Gallery is one of our iconic sites that provides Ontarians with the unique ability to experience Canadian heritage and culture through art,” said Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries. “As we move forward with reopening our province, I encourage all Ontarians to safely explore the works on display and immerse themselves in Canada’s artistic talents that contribute over $75 billion for our culture industry and support thousands of jobs.”
Throughout the four-month closure, which began on March 13, 2020, the McMichael offered a range of ways for visitors to stay engaged with the McMichael online including #McMichaelfromHome videos, online studio visits, online art classes, curatorial talks and family-friendly art activities through the ArtVenture Online program.
Virtual tours for those who cannot yet visit in person will continue for the time being. Those include an online tour of Indigenous art from the permanent collection, as well as an online tour of the exhibition “A Like Vision”: The Group of Seven at 100.
What’s Open
The McMichael’s grounds, outdoor restrooms and parking lot will be open daily from 10 am – 5 pm. Please note that the parking booth will not be accepting cash payments at this time. Credit and debit touchless payment options are available.
The Gallery Shop will be open with limited capacity, social distancing and touchless payment in place. The online e-shop will reopen on or prior to July 30, 2020.
The McMichael Theater, cloakroom and lockers are temporarily closed. Please leave oversized baggage or coats in your vehicle. The McMichael Café is temporarily closed. Please stay tuned for more information about what dining options may be available when we reopen.
Virtual adult art programs and the ArtVenture Summer Club will continue uninterrupted.
Please note that some of the seating surfaces will be removed from the gallery spaces and grounds to ensure sanitation safety. Please contact the McMichael by telephone or email in advance if you have accessibility questions or concerns.
The McMichael will not be accepting guest or reciprocal passes at this time. All expiry dates will be extended for the amount of time that these measures are in place.
What’s On
“A Like Vision”: The Group of Seven at 100
To commemorate the centenary of the Group of Seven’s first exhibition in May 2020, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection presents a landmark exhibition of the group’s finest pieces from the permanent collection. The exhibition will run through 2021.
Tom Thomson
Often wrongly assumed to have been a member of the Group of Seven, Thomson’s legacy in Canadian legend is forever enshrined as the individual who ultimately influenced the formation of the Group of Seven. This exhibition of his work, including a number of Thomson’s dazzling oil sketches, remains on view.
Walter J. Phillips: At the Lake
Originally scheduled to close on October 4, this special presentation of works on paper by Canadian painter and printmaker Walter J. Phillips will be extended until October 12.
Brenda Draney
Brenda Draney’s paintings, with their gestural mark making and wide expanses of canvas, present fragmented narratives that stem from her personal history as a Cree woman, living in northern Alberta. This exhibition includes earlier paintings from as early as 2009 together with a new body of work created in response to her childhood encounters with settler landscape art, in particular the iconic work White Pine, 1957, by A.J. Casson. Brenda Draney closes October 25, 2020.
John Hartman: Many Lives Mark This Place
In 2014, Ontario-based painter and printmaker John Hartman (b. 1950) embarked on a project to capture the intimate relationship between more than thirty leading Canadian authors and the places that inspire them. Hartman’s diverse roster of subjects included writers Esi Edugyan, Ruth Ozeki, M.G. Vassanji, Thomas King, Lisa Moore, Neil Bissoondath, Susan Swan and David Macfarlane. The result was a body of large-format portrait paintings that celebrate the richness of Canada’s literary fabric. This exhibition, which debuted at the McMichael in late February, will remain on view until November 1, 2020.
Coming Soon
Early Days: Indigenous Art at the McMichael
November 21, 2020 – June 5, 2021
From its beginnings, the McMichael has had a long and proud history of collecting Indigenous art, now with more than 1,500 works ranging from eighteenth-century ceremonial regalia, through to items made for trade with settlers, to works by the vanguard of artists coming of age in the ’60s, ‘70s and ‘80s — among them Robert Houle, Carl Beam, Norval Morrisseau, Alex Janvier, Greg Staats, Faye HeavyShield and Shelly Niro — and onward to leading contemporary artists like Kent Monkman, Meryl McMaster and Rebecca Belmore. Opening in November 2020, Early Days: Indigenous Art at the McMichael will gather these remarkable artworks, and the stories that go with them, together in a celebration of these powerful legacies.
For more details on current and upcoming exhibitions or to register for a virtual tour, please visit mcmichael.com
About the McMichael Canadian Art Collection
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an agency of the Government of Ontario and acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, and the McMichael Canadian Art Foundation. It is the foremost venue in the country showcasing the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. In addition to touring exhibitions, its permanent collection consists of over 6,500 artworks by Canadian artists, including paintings by the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, as well as First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists. The gallery is located on 100 acres of northern landscape and hiking trails at 10365 Islington Avenue, Kleinburg, north of Major Mackenzie Drive in the City of Vaughan. For more information, please visit mcmichael.com.
Ces informations sont aussi disponible en français.
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Media Contacts
Sam Cheung
Media Relations and Communications Coordinator
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
905.893.1121 ext. 2210
scheung@mcmichael.com
Grace Johnstone
Director, Communications, Marketing and Sales
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
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