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

The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in Toronto has revealed that its new Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery will open on 25 September 2027. This five-storey addition represents a C$100 million (approximately $73.4 million) investment and will display around 400 modern and contemporary works.

The new wing is designed by a collaboration of architectural firms: Diamond Schmitt from Toronto, Selldorf Architects from New York, and Two Row Architect from Ontario. The expansion adds 40,000 square feet of space overlooking downtown Toronto’s Grange Park. This project increases the AGO’s display area by about 30%, including 5,000 square feet of gallery spaces with ceilings reaching 23 feet in height.

The AGO’s need for additional space has grown as its modern and contemporary collection has expanded by around 18,000 pieces over the past decade. Recent acquisitions include more than 200 photographs by Peter Hujar and over 450 works from the late collectors Carol and Morton Rapp, featuring artists such as Robert Rauschenberg, Claes Oldenburg, Kara Walker, Rachel Whiteread, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Lee Bontecou, and David Hockney.

The AGO also holds the largest public collection of Henry Moore’s work outside the UK. Two years ago, to mark the 50th anniversary of the gallery’s Henry Moore Sculpture Centre, the city of Toronto declared 13 November as Henry Moore Day.

The project was initiated by a lead gift of C$35 million from Dani Reiss, an art collector, chairman and CEO of Canada Goose, and member of the Order of Canada. The Reiss Gallery project is now fully funded, thanks to contributions from a community of supporters and the governments of Ontario and Canada. The federal government has expressed pride in supporting this sustainable, state-of-the-art gallery, which will host modern and contemporary art for generations to come.

The opening of the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery is expected to enhance the AGO’s global standing and provide expanded opportunities for visitors to engage with modern and contemporary art in Toronto.