Through the eyes of Amy…

Summer is here and what better time to really get to know our beautiful city of Toronto. Here are the top five Toronto cultural institutes that get us really excited about history and culture:

1. Art Gallery of Ontario: Founded in 1900, the Art Gallery of Ontario is one of the largest art museums in Canada and has a collection of over 80,000 works. It's a great place to see Canadian heritage pieces, European masterpieces, and contemporary art. The Art Gallery of Ontario also hosts exclusive exhibitions such as the art work of Ancient Egypt and the masterpieces of Picasso.
2. Royal Ontario Museum: For a better understanding of how nature and humanity are intertwined, take a look around the Royal Ontario Museum. Here you see exhibits from all over the world, such as the Forbidden City Exhibit, giving insight into different cultures and histories. There are also family activities such as arts and crafts which make the Royal Ontario Museum an amazing place to learn and be inspired.
3. Gardiner Museum: Clay workshops are offered to all ages at the Gardiner Museum. With upcoming exhibitions such as the “The Queer Baroque of Léopold L. Foulem, Paul Mathieu and Richard Milette” and “Clare Twomey: Piece by Piece,” the Gardiner Museum reveals some of the most innovative and inspirational clay art work in the world.
4. Museum of Inuit Art: Officially opened in 2007, the Museum of Inuit Art displays both past and present artistic expressions of the Inuit. Current exhibitions include the “New Acquisitions: Drawings from the Kivalliq” and the “The Matchbox Gallery: A Retrospective.” Coupled with an atmosphere inspired by the Arctic landscape, one can become fully emerged in Inuit history and art.
5. Textile Museum of Canada: Located in the core of downtown Toronto and open seven days a week, the Textile Museum of Canada is home to 12,000 objects from more than 200 regions, displaying different clothing, fabrics, and textiles. The Textile Museum of Canada is currently hosting three exhibits: “From Geisha to Diva: The Kimonos of Ichimaru,” “Fashioning the Intangible: the conceptual clothing of Ying Gao,” and “Telling Stories.”