Amil Niazi and her son take in the newly re-opened Yayoi Kusama exhibit at the AGO.Amil Niazi/The Globe and Mail
After an agitated start to a recent trip to the Art Gallery of Ontario (“I’m thirsty!” “I’m bored!” “Can we get candy?”), my four-year old son, Sommerset, and I found a shared moment of nirvana that I’ll never forget. As soon as we entered an installation tucked into a dark corner of the gallery’s top floor, I watched my impatient son suddenly go quiet. He was utterly mesmerized by the video piece, eyes wide and mouth agape at this performance of two sets of Icelandic twins walking through a lush, green landscape, singing a beautiful, captivating song. The carpeted area invited running around and lying down on the floor, both of which my son immediately enjoyed. After that day, where momentary bliss was so quickly achieved, the piece, called Death is Elsewhere by Ragnar Kjartansson, became a regular stop for us on visits to the art gallery, a calming checkpoint where we could both just relax and enjoy the art in front of us.
My son and I spent most of this summer ambling around the city, splashing through wading pools, chasing after bugs and visiting as many art galleries and museums as we could. In the same way we were admiring all the flowers in our neighbourhood, we were taking pleasure in the art and experience that places like the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto (MOCA) have to offer. This felt especially revelatory after two years of not being able to visit these spaces, either at all or in a limited capacity, because of the pandemic. Being able to go back there, without the added stress of a major COVID-19 outbreak, just reminded me of how vital this activity is, both for us as parents and for our kids.
It’s not a new facet of our family lives. Since my son was born, my husband and I have been taking him to places like the Tate and the National Portrait Gallery in London, where we used to live. And since we came back to Toronto in 2020 and had our second child that same year, we’ve been carting both kids around to the Art Gallery of Ontario (we have a yearly membership) and the Gardiner Museum, which has an interactive family clay day every Sunday. It has become an essential part of our family routine, as commonplace and necessary as going to the playground.
Niazi and her son attend a pinch pot clay workshop at the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto.Amil Niazi/The Globe and Mail
The intention behind this was never about education (or at least not outwardly so) but that is an added bonus to the appreciation and enjoyment. We already know how important creating art is for developing everything from children’s fine motor skills to their language and cognitive development, but studies also show how enriching going to museums and galleries can be for young kids. It allows them a more empowered and self-directed entry into weighty subjects such as history and biology and creates opportunities for hands-on learning far before they ever enter a classroom.
Of course, if you ask my son about it, he won’t tell you anything quite so lofty about what he enjoys at the art gallery. “I like the tiny tinies,” he tells me, referring to the part of the AGO’s permanent Ken Thomson collection that features a host of miniature objects and curiosities that we peruse every time we go. He also loves the experiences around the actual visit, riding the streetcar down Dundas Street, stopping at the adventure playground behind OCAD, the art-focused university, for a runaround and grabbing noodles in Chinatown on our way home. We can build an entire day out of a visit, creating memories out of much more than just the art on the gallery walls.
Similar to my son, twins India and April have been going to see art since they were babies, growing up in London with their mom, writer Pragya Agarwal. At just six years old, they’re familiar with painters such as Paula Rego and the sculptor Louise Bourgeois. “I love seeing it all because I want to be an artist and have my own exhibition one day and I am going to be the best artist in the world, I think,” India tells me. While art appreciation doesn’t necessarily have to lead to a career in the arts down the line, exposure to the arts can certainly fuel a curiosity and passion for culture that lasts into adulthood.
Marisa Kelly, 23, grew up in Aurora, Ont., just 45 minutes north of Toronto. Her parents used to bring her into the city often to visit the AGO and watch small-run, indie movies. “Any March Break that I had or any holidays you get in school, we’d come down,” she tells me over Zoom from her apartment in Toronto. One of her earliest and fondest memories of going to the art gallery was when she was “5 or 6” and she and her mom went to the AGO, but more importantly, “we went to Peter Pan over on Queen Street to eat beforehand.” Half the fun for her was what you did before and after the visit itself. Kelly was so inspired by these regular jaunts to museums that she ended up becoming an artist herself. “I grew up being around art and loving historical, whimsy things because of my mom, so I ended up at OCAD.”
Niazi and her son take photos after seeing a photo exhibit at the AGO.Amil Niazi/The Globe and Mail
Esme Rahn, 15, has also spent much of her young life exploring galleries, both in Toronto where she lives with her family and on their travels. “Whenever we go [somewhere] like Europe, we’ll go to whichever art galleries are in the city we’re in. This summer, we went to the Reina Sofia in Madrid. And that was really cool because they had art about the Spanish revolution,” she tells me. She loves how quiet galleries are and the feeling of being in a large room with just the art. Her first memory of seeing art with her parents takes her back to being a very young kid, sitting on the back of her dad’s bike as they cycled through the city taking in Nuit Blanche, a Toronto-wide art festival where large-scale installations take over downtown streets and buildings. Esme gleefully recalls “these really big pink bubbles,” which she liked a lot. Like Kelly, Esme is an aspiring artist herself now.
While it can seem daunting to spend an entire day with small children at an art gallery – no parent wants to spend a precious afternoon off whisper-screaming, “don’t touch that!” – one of the reasons we invested in a membership to our nearest big art gallery was so that we could pop in and out, sometimes for a day, sometimes for just an hour. There are also a lot of sliding-scale payment options depending on your city. In Toronto for example, anyone under 25 can visit the AGO for free and the Toronto Public Library also has free day passes to different galleries and museums.
We also love going to smaller, independent galleries around the city, where a chat with the artist themselves is sometimes possible and a visit can be quick and more spontaneous. Sometimes my son and I have a great conversation about the art we’re seeing; sometimes we don’t talk at all, we just look. But every time we do go, it feels like time well spent.
Bring your kids to these galleries for family fun
AGO (Toronto)
The AGO has lots of family-friendly activities and in October, it will start to reopen some of its more interactive play spaces for kids, which were shuttered because of the pandemic. Starting on Oct. 15 the AGO will host one-day painting workshops for parents and children 6 to 10. The kid-pleasing Yayoi Kusama exhibit has also reopened and you can book a timeslot on the AGO’s website. October exhibitions include installations by Ken Lum and a beautiful photo show called What Matters Most: Photographs of Black Life.
Art Gallery of Burlington (Burlington, Ont.)
This public gallery is the seventh largest in Ontario and has Canada’s largest collection of contemporary Canadian ceramics. On Saturdays, it welcomes families to its open studios where you can learn block printing or photocopy art together.
Gardiner Museum (Toronto)
One of Toronto’s best museums, the Gardiner has a fantastic interactive program on Sundays, where families can enjoy a host of clay-making activities in the courtyard for free with admission. Recent crowd-pleasing exhibits have included Shary Boyle’s fantastic show, Outside the Palace of Me. The Gardiner also offers paid kids classes on Saturdays.
Polygon (Vancouver)
The stunning Polygon gallery in Vancouver used to be known as Presentation House and has been holding engaging, adventurous exhibitions for decades. Its Kids First Saturdays have long aimed to give kids and families an interactive, joyful opportunity to engage with art that inspires even the youngest cultural consumer. It currently has Stan Douglas’s vivid photos on display.
Vernon Art Gallery (Vernon, B.C.)
Saturdays at the Vernon art gallery are designed for families to come down, explore the gallery and engage with art.
Okotoks Art Gallery (Okotoks, Alta.)
On Oct. 29, the Okotoks Art Gallery is creating space for families, especially with young toddlers, to make time for art. Check out the exhibitions and then engage in some craft and activity stations designed for the youngest artists. Recommended ages 1 to 5. Space is limited. Pre-registration is encouraged, but drop-ins are welcome.