Get Your Art On

Question: What do Frank Gehry’s architecture, the Group of Seven’s paintings and your children all have in common?

Answer: They are all astonishing achievements and things of beauty!

If you are home for the break, consider bringing your objects d’art out for some aesthetic inspiration—we’ve got just the plan to create some quality time, inspire your kids to appreciate art and do it all without spending too much cash.

Go to the Library
Start at the TPL (that’s Toronto Public Library, mom). For younger kids (3 – 6) we recommend The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. For older kids (7 – 13) Meet the Group of Seven by David Wistow, Kelly McKinley and the AGO. Order them online two or three days in advance and have them delivered to your local branch.

Very good to know: Take out a Sunlife Financial Museum and Arts Pass (MAP). Starting on March 7, you can borrow a FREE family pass to some of the city’s top cultural attractions, like the AGO, just like you borrow a book. Full details are on the Toronto Public Library site.

Head to the Gallery
Although the AGO has a great little café with lots of healthy options, we suggest you save the cash and BYOL (bring your own lunch). The gallery provides a clean and comfortable eating area on the concourse level.

If you’re driving, we recommend parking on McCaul or just past the Ontario College of Art and Design at the above ground parking lot (try NOT to park in the Village by the Grange parking lot).

Walk up to Dundas to admire the new Frank Gehry façade and take pictures with the Henry Moore sculpture! Then get into the gallery. Grab a map and look for the “H” icons (for Hubs). These are great child-friendly areas that act as an interactive guide to several of the galleries. Watch for the blue plastic briefcases called “Discovery Boxes”, which you can borrow as you tour the galleries. They contain multimedia materials and resources for kids to get the most out of their gallery experiences. The African and Canadian Hubs on level 2 are savvy faves.

Check out the Henry Moore Sculpture Centre. Get your kids to sketch their favourite sculpture shape or try to make the shapes they see with their bodies. (Pencils and paper are available at the Hubs.)

Although there are no Hubs up there, we also loved level 5 where we saw totem poles made out of sports bags and a mural made of beads. Stop at the “Drawing Station” to sketch the “Long Face” (Evan Penny’s Sketch #1) and get mom refueled with a cappuccino at the espresso bar. If you are stroller-free, walk down the south exterior spiral staircase near the espresso bar. It provides a beautiful view of the CN Tower.

Finally, visit the Shop AGO before you go. The kids’ section could be one of the best children’s arts and crafts stores in the city. Here you’ll find all of the stuff you need for a few more days worth of projects inspired by your visit.

Get Your Art On
Apply some of that inspiration while it’s still fresh with these fun art ideas to do at home.

• Use clay or play dough to recreate some of the great Henry Moore shapes you saw. Bring home your sketches to act as your guide.
• Dig through the blue bin and find the building blocks for your own totem poles. What else can you construct with the stuff you normally throw out?
• Use tissue paper to recreate the Lawren Harris paintings in the Canadian Gallery. Rip shapes from colourful tissue paper and glue on to white cardboard. Overlapping colours will create new tones and the colours get stronger as you build more layers. When the glue is dry use crayons or markers to add details. (You can buy postcards of the originals at the AGO to act as a guide or find the images online).

Remember not to leave all the fun stuff for the kids. You might enjoy getting your creative juices flowing too.

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