Museums

To get a pass, students need to stop by with their TCard in one of several libraries (OISE, Engineering & Computer Science, Gerstein, U of T Scarborough, U of T Mississauga or Robarts libraries) and request a museum pass booklet at a library circulation desk. Booklets will be available at these locations until supplies run out.

To activate their pass, students need to bring their booklet and their TPL card to one of the following TPL branches: City Hall, Lillian H. Smith, Parliament, Scarborough Civic Centre and Toronto Reference Library).

The pass can be used for free admission for two visitors to one of the following venues: The Aga Khan Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Bata Shoe Museum, Black Creek Pioneer Village, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Textile Museum of Canada and City of Toronto Historic Sites.

“Students are on a budget,” Julie Hannaford, U of T’s deputy chief librarian told U of T News when the initiative began. “Some are coming to a brand new city and that can be pretty overwhelming. With the pass, they can access art and culture in the city for free, and this is a great way to learn about the city.”

The free pass is part of TPL’s Sun Life Financial Museum and Arts Pass (MAP) initiative and is valid for three months after the date activated.

TPL started the initiative as part of an effort to drive more university students to its public libraries. To get a TPL card, students need to live, work, go to school or own property in the city of Toronto.

Read about the start of the partnership between U of T Libraries and TPL last year

Students can also participate in the larger MAP program as long as they have a TPL card. Those passes can get them a free visit to the Toronto Zoo, the Ontario Science Centre and more.

Free museum passes for U of T students

ullahnor — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 15:16:52 +0000

Free museum passes for U of T students

ullahnor Tue, 11/01/2016 - 11:16

Cutline

The Art Gallery of Ontario is just one of the attractions students can enter for free with the pass (photo by Reg Natarajan via Flickr)

Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Author legacy

Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Topic

City & Culture

Toronto

Toronto Public Library

Subheadline

Select museums and cultural institutions are participating in the Toronto Public Libraries initiative

��Ƶ students can get passes to visit select city museums for free, thanks to a pilot initiative with Toronto Public Libraries (TPL).

All they have to do is stop by one of several U of T libraries and request a museum pass booklet. Booklets are available at Robarts, Engineering and Gerstein Libraries as well as the library circulation desks at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, U of T Mississauga and U of T Scarborough.

Next students need to take those museum pass booklets to a Toronto Public Library branch at City Hall, Lillian H. Smith, Parliament Street, the Scarborough Civic Centre and the Toronto Reference Library. They’ll need to show the booklet and a TPL card to get the museum pass activated as part of TPL’s Sun Life Financial Museum and Arts Pass (MAP) program.

The pass is good for free admission for two to the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Bata Shoe Museum, City of Toronto Historic Sites or the Textile Museum of Canada.

“Students are on a budget,” said Julie Hannaford, U of T’s deputy chief librarian. “Some are coming to a brand new city and that can be pretty overwhelming. With the pass, they can access art and culture in the city for free, and this is a great way to learn about the city.”

And a little time spent gazing at art might even be good for students' health. (Read about the U of T Mississauga researcher exploring the health impact of positive emotions, including the awe we feel in the presence of great art.)

It’s all part of an effort to drive more university students to the Toronto Public Libraries.

The program is starting initially at U of T and Ryerson University. If successful, TPL and U of T hope to expand the program to include more cultural institutions.

“Students see their campus libraries as their libraries,” says Brian Francis, marketing manager for TPL. “Our goal is to get them to come into TPL branches because we want them to get a sense of all the things TPL offers.”

At U of T Libraries, students will need to show their T-card to confirm they are a student in order to get the booklet.

To get a TPL card, students need to live, work, go to school or own property in the city of Toronto.

Students can also participate in the larger MAP program as long as they have a TPL card. Those passes can get them a free visit to the Toronto Zoo, the Ontario Science Centre, the Royal Ontario Museum and more.

Students can pick up their museum pass booklets at the designated U of T libraries until Jan. 31 or until supplies run out.

Building museums, building cities: U of T hosts all-star panel of artists and architects

lanthierj — Tue, 28 Jun 2016 21:17:27 +0000

Building museums, building cities: U of T hosts all-star panel of artists and architects

lanthierj Tue, 06/28/2016 - 17:17

Cutline

(photo by Romi Levine)

Romi Levine

Author legacy

Romi Levine

Topic

Imagine Toronto without the Royal Ontario Museum or the Art Gallery of Ontario.

The ROM’s Lee-Chin Crystal and Frank Gehry’s long glass and wood façade at the AGO have reached iconic status in the city – and Toronto would feel emptier without them. The buildings themselves have become as important as the artifacts they house.

The relationship between cities and their cultural institutions was the topic of “Building Museums: Building Cities” – a discussion, organized by the Art Museum at the ��Ƶ and the French Consulate General in Toronto, which took place on June 24 at Hart House.

Moderated by Richard M. Sommer, dean of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the ��Ƶ, the talk centred on the cultural role of museums and the importance of making these spaces accessible to a broader audience.

Speakers included artist Adrian Blackwell, architect Éric Lapierre and journalist Philippe Tretiack – both from France, architect Charles Renfro who is a partner at design studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro and alumna Shirley Blumberg, founding partner of KPMB Architects.

A diverse group of people from students and alumni to architects and art curators packed into the Debate Room at Hart House to listen to and participate in the discussion.

For attendee Cynthia Roberts, who holds a Masters of Museum Studies from U of T, the event highlighted the importance of talking about art and architecture so that decision makers are aware of its importance and the need for funding.

“It’s a never-ending task to engage people in arts, culture and preserving heritage,” says Roberts, who is currently a content manager at an international design firm.

Sociology graduate student Noga Keidar and Architecture and geography grad Jessie Ouyang were part of a group of ��Ƶ students who recently traveled to Israel to learn about urban growth and regeneration. Inspired by what they learned, they decided to come to the event to hear the panellists’ perspectives.

More about their trip

“I’m interested in the role of museums in the urban economy and the connection between art and industry,” says Keidar.

Toronto is an interesting backdrop for a talk about the relationship between city and culture. While its creative scene is growing, Sommer told U of T News that Toronto’s cultural institutions are struggling to keep up.

“They don’t have the scale or the extent or the resources that are in sync with the growth and the exuberance of the city itself,” he says.

Panelists weigh in

“It’s very much trying to establish a new relationship between the artist, the institution, the audience and the wider community,” said Blumberg on what goes into designing a museum.

She spoke about her involvement in the creation of the Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon – a project she says was designed to respect both the landscape that surrounds the museum and the city’s indigenous community.

Architects must also foster relationships with art curators to ensure that the interior gallery space does the art justice.

“Museums have both an opportunity and obligation to provide new experiences for the public but we’re also really conscious of and concerned about the art everyone is seeing inside,” says Charles

Renfro, whose firm has designed major cultural buildings around the world from Rio de Janeiro to Berkeley California.

Diller Scofidio + Renfro is currently collaborating with Architects Alliance to design the new ��Ƶ Centre for Civilizations and Cultures where the McLaughlin Planetarium currently stands.

“Building Museums: Building Cities” was not without some friendly debate, but the panel had nothing but praise for one of Toronto’s most unique cultural spaces – the Hearn Generating Station – the decommissioned plant that has hosted a number of events. It most recently housed performances and installations for the Luminato Festival.

“I was blown away by what it is,” said Renfro.

The relationship between technology and art was also a hot-button issue – with agreement across the panel that while anything and everything can be found online, there’s still something special that still draws people to museums and galleries.

Museums

Free museum passes for U of T students

Read about the start of the partnership between U of T Libraries and TPL last year

Read more about the MAP program

Free museum passes for U of T students

Building museums, building cities: U of T hosts all-star panel of artists and architects

More about their trip

Panelists weigh in