Advance Tickets: $13 Non-Members / $11 AGO Members

At the Door: $16 Non-Members / $14 AGO Members

First Thursday Admission exhibition entry to Georgia OKeeffe

Advance Tickets: $23 / $11 AGO Members

At the Door: $26 / $14 AGO Members

Torontos biggest art party celebrates the breadth and the diversity of the Canadian experience with headliner Bear Witness, plus Esie Mensah, Manifest Destinys Child and more

This summer is Canadas 150th anniversary and the AGO is marking the occasion with Every.Now.Then: Reframing Nationhood http://www.ago.net/every-now-then-reframing-nationhood, an exhibition that questions the official narrative of Canadian history and imagines new potentials through the eyes of artists. Julys First Thursday offers a first look at that exhibition, bringing together artists whose work calls us into a future that is complex, critical and celebratory. Bear Witness, founding member of the Indigenous DJ collective A Tribe Called Red, whose sounds and activism reverberate across nations and around the world, will headline with a DJ set at 10 pm.

The night will also feature performances by dance artist Esie Mensah and a showcase by the Indigenous comedy troupe Manifest Destinys Child. Stemming from Afrofusion roots, Esie Mensahs original choreography for Shades of Blackness tackles shadism at its roots. The work is an expression of difference, cultural visibility and representation. Manifest Destinys Child, a collective of Indigenous women comedians, express their lived experiences through provocative and hilarious comedy. And dont miss Esmaa Mohamoud and Qendrim Hotis performative extension of the installation One of the Boys that is part of the exhibition itself.

The AGOs Fredrik S. Eaton Curator of Canadian Art Andrew Hunter and curatorial assistant Anique Jordan will offer their insights in pop-up talks. DJ Lissa Monet will add sounds to Galleria Italia. A special selection work from the AGOs collection will be on view in our monthly Out of the Vaults installation. And dont miss Reblink, a digital intervention by artist Alex Mayhew that remixes historical paintings with contemporary life, in addition to other surprises.

This program was conceived in consultation with Anique Jordan, Curatorial Research Assistant, and Quill Christie, Indigenous Youth Intern.

Join us for the final First Thursday of the season. See you again in September!