Aga Khan Museum
The First Museum In North America Dedicated To Islamic Art And Muslim Civilisations, Designed By Fumihiko Maki, Standing In A Formal Garden Beside Charles Correa'S Ismaili Centre · Toronto, Ontario
On a site beside the Don Valley Parkway, two buildings sit in a formal garden of five reflecting pools. One is the ISMAILI CENTRE by Charles Correa, with a translucent glass dome over its prayer hall. The other is the AGA KHAN MUSEUM by Fumihiko Maki, a white Brazilian granite box built around a central courtyard roofed in patterned glass, which throws changing geometric light across the floor through the day. It opened in 2014 as THE FIRST MUSEUM IN NORTH AMERICA DEDICATED TO ISLAMIC ART AND MUSLIM CIVILISATIONS, and the collection runs across a thousand years and from Spain to China - Iranian ceramics, Mughal painting, astronomical instruments, an eleventh-century Qur'an, textiles, and one of the finest holdings of Persian manuscript painting outside Iran. There is also a serious performance programme in the auditorium. It is a long way from downtown and almost nobody stumbles on it.
77 Wynford Drive, North York, Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
OPEN MOST OF THE WEEK WITH AT LEAST ONE CLOSED DAY - typically closed Monday, with A LATE EVENING ON WEDNESDAY that has been FREE OR REDUCED FROM AROUND 4PM. CONFIRM BOTH; the arrangement has changed. GENERAL ADMISSION HAS RUN ROUGHLY CAD 20-25 for adults with children, students and seniors cheaper, and SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS ARE SOMETIMES INCLUDED AND SOMETIMES EXTRA. THE GARDEN AND THE GROUNDS BETWEEN THE TWO BUILDINGS ARE FREE AND OPEN and are worth the trip on their own. THE ISMAILI CENTRE NEXT DOOR IS A WORKING PLACE OF WORSHIP and is not generally open to casual visitors - it opens for scheduled tours and specific events only. The auditorium runs a separate ticketed performance programme. It is at Eglinton and the Don Valley Parkway; driving is easiest, and parking on site is paid.