If you have time for a day trip while in Toronto, I highly recommend the McMichael Gallery for a truly Canadian art experience. Located about a one-hour drive northwest of Toronto, this gallery is devoted exclusively to showcasing Canadian art, including works by First Nations, Inuit and other artists.
This is the perfect place to enjoy Canadian landscape paintings: the rural-style building is built with hand-hewn logs and set on 100 acres of conservation land. Floor-to-ceiling windows allow visitors to enjoy views of the densely wooded Humber River Valley. Through a network of outdoor paths and hiking trails, you can also spend time outside.
A day can easily be spent gazing in any of the thirteen exhibition galleries, the theatre or gift shop. The gallery boasts the largest collection of the Group of Seven landscape painters in Canada, those who painted distinctly Canadian landscapes from 1920 to 1933. The First Nations Art includes traditional, ceremonial and religious art, as well as contemporary pieces.
The Inuit Art collection includes paintings, prints, drawings and sculptures created using many different materials.

www.mcmichael.com
10365 Islington Avenue, Kleinburg, Canada
+1 905 893 1121
Google map: bit.ly/TBJyRc

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The exhibition, Frida & Diego: Passion, Politics and Painting, features over 70 works by these prolific 20th century artists, a couple who shared a passion for each other and for Mexico's revolutionary culture during the 1920s and 1930s.
Running until January 20, 2013, the exhibit features almost one-quarter of Kahlo’s paintings, a selection of Rivera's works, with styles from his early cubist period, to his Mexican murals and his portraits and landscapes. There are also watercolours, prints and over 60 photos of the couple. As the name of the exhibit suggests, the works showcase Rivera and Kahlo’s lives together and apart, their politics and how their passionate views and social activism affected their work.
Kahlo is best known for her surreal self-portraits, while Rivera was famous for his mural frescos, which helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in Mexican art. This exhibition highlights both their developments as artists through the years.

www.ago.net
317 Dundas Street West, Toronto, Canada
Google map: bit.ly/10E074C

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Toronto is the second city in the world to showcase Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style, following its premiere at London’s Barbican Centre this past summer. What claims to be the largest and most comprehensive exhibition ever devoted to the famous spy, it features costumes, gadgets, set designs, artwork and other special gadgets.
The exhibit runs until January 20, 2013 and is part of the 50th anniversary of Bond in cinema, and examines how the famous spy has influenced design, culture and technology. Bond items featured in the exhibition include the poker table from Casino Royale and multiple gadgets from Q Branch. Also on view are elegant clothes designed by Giorgio Armani, Donatella Versace, Tom Ford, Hubert de Givenchy and Oscar de la Renta.
Special tours are also available on a first-come, first served basis and run weekly: Thursdays at 6 pm, Saturdays at 11am & 6pm and Sundays at noon. Each tour lasts approximately 45 minutes.
Prices, not including taxes, are:
Adults: $15
Students & Seniors: $12
Children: $10.50
Don’t forget to stop for martinis and great food at the Luma restaurant, also located in the TIFF Bell Lightbox upstairs, or for something more casual, Canteen restaurant, located on the main floor.

www.tiff.net
TIFF Bell Lightbox, 350 King Street West, Toronto, Canada
+1 416 968 3456
Google map: bit.ly/UUYNny

* Giulia is our Been there local for Toronto. You can see her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/places/canada/toronto/index.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/GiuliaFalsetti

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401 Richmond is a restored, heritage-designated, industrial building in downtown Toronto that houses over 140 artists, including some of the city’s best-run art galleries, a vibrant community of designers, arts organizations, festivals, and shops. A few tenants include the Textile Museum of Canada, Centre for Indigenous Theatre, Faustwork Mask Theatre, Native Women in the Arts Studio and South Asian Visual Arts Centre.
Since 1994, 401 Richmond has undergone a dramatic transformation from rundown factory to a thriving centre for the arts in Toronto. Constructed in 1899, the building originally operated as a tin lithography factory. The original character and architectural features have been preserved, including over 800 double-hung, wood frame windows. In 1994, the building underwent a dramatic transformation by adding more modern and green elements such as the 6,500 square foot roof garden and an interior courtyard.

www.401richmond.net/events/specialEvents.cfm
401 Richmond Street West, Studio 111, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5V 3A8
+1 416 595 5900
Google map: bit.ly/10UfHsb

*Giulia is our Been there local for Toronto. You can see her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/places/canada/toronto/index.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/GiuliaFalsetti

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The leading public gallery in Toronto has a manageably-sized collection. Intricately carved medieval prayer beads, a selection of some lesser works of 20th Century greats, some interesting Canadian pieces and a world-renowned collection of Henry Moore.

317 Dundas Street West
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
M5T 1G4
www.ago.net

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