AGO Art Talks and Tours

Artist and urbanist Michael Awad discusses his exhibition, The Entire City Project. Using custom photographic equipment and techniques, Awad captures Toronto, not as a series of individual views, but as continuous images of the urban experience. Two commissioned images of the AGO capture the entire interior of the Gallery prior to its transformation.

Comprised of furniture and décor from the 1970s and 1980s, Luis Jacob's Habitat is a series of tableaux that is at once a commentary on the aesthetics of design and an interactive space intended for viewer inhabitation and use. In this artist's talk, Jacob discusses Habitat within the framework of the philosophical and cultural possibilities of social interaction and the evolution of his past artistic practice.

Richard S. Wortman is author of the pioneering study Scenarios of Power: Myth and Ceremony in Russian Monarchy (Princeton Univ. Press, 1995), for which he was awarded the George L. Mosse prize of the American Historical Association. He will discuss the role of myth, symbol and ritual in the exercise of monarchical power in the age of Catherine the Great.

Get intimate! Meet Catherine's close circle of famous, and not so famous men and women, from son Grand Duke Paul and acquaintances Princess Dashkova and philosopher Voltaire, to long-time lover Grigory Orlov. An array of talented individuals who helped the empress and empire attain greatness.

Rulers since ancient times used extravagant textiles, silver, and gold to enhance ceremonies and to demonstrate their wealth and taste. Catherine understood these uses of the decorative arts, but she was often quite specific about the message she wished to impart, especially at the dinner table. Anne Odom will explore the various political and cultural messages Catherine aimed to impart as she placed her most important commissions.

Three of Canada's most visionary arts leaders talk about their projects and their ambitions for tomorrow's cultural institutions. Featured at the Nov. 24 Ramsay Talks lecture series, the speakers are Matthew Teitelbaum – the Michael and Sonja Koerner Director, and CEO of the Art Gallery of Ontario; William Thorsell – Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Ontario Museum, and Piers Handling – Director and CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival Group. They are introduced by Bob Ramsay.

This lecture traces Catherine's interest in the ideas of the French Enlightenment philosophes. Through her correspondence with Voltaire, her support of Diderot and d'Alembert, and her flirtation with rationalist ideals, Catherine established a reputation as an exemplary ruler in the Age of Reason. However, the events of the French Revolution would challenge these convictions and reveal the contradictions in the practice of enlightened despotism. Dr Kenneth Bartlett is Professor of History and Renaissance Studies Victoria College University of Toronto.

She called it a disease! A look at Catherine's love of architecture and her insatiable desire to build – from the grandiose Academy of Fine Arts to the most intimate of private apartments. She collaborated with some of the most distinguished architects of her day from Italy, England and France and left an unrivalled legacy of beautiful neo-classical buildings. David Wistow, Interpretive planner, European Department at the AGO has studied Russian art and architecture for many years.