Great Canadian Museums and Art Galleries Thread

[HumberBloor]

Post some photos of your favourite museums and art galleries across the country.

Bonus debate: what are the best in Canada, and what cities have the most impressive overall collection of museums, galleries and cultural infrastructure in general?

[J.OT13]

Well, to continue a conversation in the porposals thread.

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Well this was an exciting announcement to see today - even if not the most architecturally exciting project - the AGO will be getting a new 5-storey, 40,000 sqft wing with an additional 13 contemporary gallery spaces: https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2023/03...-project.51524

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

Here is the original A.G.O structure built in 1910. Most of it is now inside newer additions. I say keep adding on and see where it goes at this point. It will be our Frankenstein Art Gallery.
source: https://ago.ca

I think we can see the roof of the original building in aerial shots, at the bottom of the weird stairs going down the blue box.


https://aasarchitecture.com/2013/05/...oogle_vignette

[J.OT13]

In Ottawa, we have the National Gallery of Canada, which was established in 1880. It had quite a few temporary homes until the Moshe Safdie Gallery was completed in 1988.

It started out in the old Supreme Court Building, 1882 to 1911.



Move to the Victoria Memorial Museum, where it had space from 1911 to 1960.



In 1960, they moved into an office building on Elgin, the Lorne Building.



And of course, they finally moved to their current location on the Ottawa River in 1988.









https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation...TEOrd200312-11

[O-tacular]

Calgary's Modern Art Gallery took over the Brutalist former site of the Planetarium. I was meaning to visit but then Covid and kids happened. Having loved the former Planetarium I'm really curious and excited to see how it turned out. A wonderful re-use and re-imagining of an architecturally significant building. There is an expansion planned as well.

[HumberBloor]

Wow, really digging that Calgary expansion plan!

[J.OT13]

Clockwise from upper, left, National Art Gallery, Canadian Museum of Nature, Canadian Museum of Science and Technology, Canadian Museum of (sigh) History.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Clockwise from upper, left, National Art Gallery, Canadian Museum of Nature, Canadian Museum of Science and Technology, Canadian Museum of (sigh) History.

Why a sigh for the Canadian Museum of History?

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Why a sigh for the Canadian Museum of History?

I much preferred when it was called the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The name change was unwarranted considering it was (and still is) the most visited museum in Canada. Civilization had a more interesting sound to it. History is just generic and boring. Very "Conservative", one might say.

[ToxiK]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I much preferred when it was called the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The name change was unwarranted considering it was (and still is) the most visited museum in Canada. Civilization had a more interesting sound to it. History is just generic and boring. Very "Conservative", one might say.

Could that be that the Conservative Party is against civilization?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I much preferred when it was called the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The name change was unwarranted considering it was (and still is) the most visited museum in Canada. Civilization had a more interesting sound to it. History is just generic and boring. Very "Conservative", one might say.

It used to be the Museum of Man, though maybe that was before your time - late 1980s I think.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Acajack

It used to be the Museum of Man, though maybe that was before your time - late 1980s I think.

Yeah, I heard of it, but that was before my time. That was worse than history and definitely not PC nowadays. Name was changed to Civilization when they moved in their new building in Hull back in 1989. I always assumed it was Trudeau who renamed it Civilization (he commissioned the museum, along with the new National Art Gallery), hence Harper's Conservative's motivation for the name change, but I guess it was Mulroney's Government who made the name change.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Yeah, I heard of it, but that was before my time. That was worse than history and definitely not PC nowadays. Name was changed to Civilization when they moved in their new building in Hull back in 1989. I always assumed it was Trudeau who renamed it Civilization (he commissioned the museum, along with the new National Art Gallery), hence Harper's Conservative's motivation for the name change, but I guess it was Mulroney's Government who made the name change.

https://www.un.org/fr/universal-decl...-human-rights/

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by ToxiK

Could that be that the Conservative Party is against civilization?

Haha!

Back in the day, there were signs in downtown Ottawa pointing to museums and other attractions. In the spirit of bilingualism and keeping things short, they only had the name of the museum and not the word "museum" or "musée".

So you had road signs in Ottawa pointing to the bridge to Quebec indicating that this was the way to "Civilization".

[ToxiK]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Haha!

Back in the day, there were signs in downtown Ottawa pointing to museums and other attractions. In the spirit of bilingualism and keeping things short, they only had the name of the museum and not the word "museum" or "musée".

So you had road signs in Ottawa pointing to the bridge to Quebec indicating that this was the way to "Civilization".

If the sign says it...

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Haha!

Back in the day, there were signs in downtown Ottawa pointing to museums and other attractions. In the spirit of bilingualism and keeping things short, they only had the name of the museum and not the word "museum" or "musée".

So you had road signs in Ottawa pointing to the bridge to Quebec indicating that this was the way to "Civilization".

There was one particular road sign I recall just to the west of Parliament Hill, directing people to different museums in the city and it read:

<- War
-> Civilization

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

There was one particular road sign I recall just to the west of Parliament Hill, directing people to different museums in the city and it read:

<- War
-> Civilization

Holy cornelian dilemmas, Batman!

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I much preferred when it was called the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The name change was unwarranted considering it was (and still is) the most visited museum in Canada. Civilization had a more interesting sound to it. History is just generic and boring. Very "Conservative", one might say.

Yeah I always thought that was a great name, and it's one of the most interesting museums I've ever been to in my entire life.

[J.OT13]

Ottawa Art Gallery at Arts Court, the City's municipal gallery. It occupies the former provincial court house (hence the name "Arts Court", built in 1870. When a new courthouse opened on Elgin Street, the building was handed over for that use.

In 2018, an addition was built at the back on the former site of the Ottawa Police HQ (built in 1955, shuttered in 1983 with temporary uses for emergency housing and food bank, demolished in 1994 for a parking lot due to structural issues). This addition is a the base of a Hotel Germain and condo tower.

The Arts Court Complex is connected to the old Carleton County Jail, now a youth hostel.


https://www.google.com/search?q=arts...ZQdnRFaFZQM3g5




https://facadesplus.com/the-new-otta...ver-detailing/

It's interesting that the Vancouver Art Gallery is also in a former courthouse, though a far grander one.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Art_Gallery

[MonctonRad]

Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton NB

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton NB

Wow. This looks like something you might see in a nice district of a Nordic country