Art Gallery of Ontario Announces Opening Date for $73m Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery

The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in Toronto has set the opening date for its new Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery for 25 September 2027. This five-storey addition will be dedicated to displaying approximately 400 modern and contemporary works from the AGO’s collection. The project has a budget of C$100 million (about US$73.4 million).

The expansion will add 40,000 square feet to the AGO, overlooking downtown Toronto’s Grange Park. This will increase the gallery’s display space by around 30%. Included in the new wing are 5,000 square feet of gallery spaces with ceilings reaching 23 feet in height, allowing for the exhibition of larger works and installations.

The need for additional space is underscored by the AGO’s rapidly growing collection of modern and contemporary art, which has expanded by about 18,000 pieces over the past decade. This growth has created a demand for new display areas to accommodate recent acquisitions and long-term holdings.

The project was initiated following a lead gift of C$35 million (US$25.7 million) from Dani Reiss, an art collector, chairman and CEO of Canada Goose, and a member of the Order of Canada. The gallery has since secured full funding for the project through contributions from a community of supporters and the governments of Ontario and Canada.

The architectural design of the new gallery is a collaboration between three firms: Diamond Schmitt, based in Toronto; Selldorf Architects, based in New York; and Two Row Architect, headquartered in Ohsweken, Ontario. Each firm brings experience from previous projects involving major cultural institutions in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Recent notable acquisitions by the AGO include more than 200 photographs by Peter Hujar and over 450 works from the late collectors Carol and Morton Rapp. These works feature artists such as Robert Rauschenberg, Claes Oldenburg, Kara Walker, Rachel Whiteread, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Lee Bontecoue, and David Hockney.

The AGO also holds the largest public collection of Henry Moore’s work outside the United Kingdom. Two years ago, to mark the 50th anniversary of the gallery’s Henry Moore Sculpture Centre, the city of Toronto declared 13 November to be Henry Moore Day. Federal government officials have described the new gallery as a sustainable, state-of-the-art facility that will host modern and contemporary art for generations to come.