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| Aga Khan Museum |
We were very excited this year to get a chance to visit the
Aga Khan Museum as well as the Ismaili Centre over at Don Mills and Eglinton.
We had passed by the area a few times and wondered what the interesting
structure was. Good thing these were part of Doors Open Toronto this year and
we managed to squeeze in a few hours to join the tours.
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| Art projections @ Aga Khan museum |
At the magnificent Aga Khan building, several rooms housed
collections of Islamic art and heritage, including artefacts from the private
collections of His Highness the Aga Khan. The only exhibit we saw though was
the Bellerive Room which was open to the public during the Doors Open. On
display were such beautiful ceramics and pottery that DD#2 just had to take
photos of each and every piece! No kidding.
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| One of the displays of Iranian pottery @ Aga Khan museum |
The rest of the galleries required
admission. They do, however, hold free nights where these exhibits can be
visited free of charge.
There was a restaurant, a gift shop,
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| gift shop @ Aga Khan museum |
a nice courtyard,
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| courtyard @ Aga Khan museum |
and a
340-seat auditorium where a Disklavier piano showcased wonderful acoustics. It
was a wonderful place not only for exhibits but events and functions.
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| Disklavier at the Auditorium @ Aga Khan museum |
The 10,000 square-metre museum was designed by Pritzker
Prize winner Fumihiko Maki and was surrounded by a large park (Aga Khan Park)
designed by landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic. The site was also shared
with a new Ismaili Centre designed by the Indian architect Charles Correa. We
crossed the park by the reflecting pond to head there next.
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| Overlooking the dome of the prayer room at the Ismaili Centre |
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| Reflecting pond at Aga Khan park |
The Ismaili Centre Toronto is the sixth such Ismaili Centre
in the world.
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| Ismaili Centre Toronto |
It hosts lectures, seminars, exhibits, cultural and social events.
Various works of art on display were so beautiful to behold--the Islamic
culture reflected in modern art.
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| at the Ismaili Centre Toronto |
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| at the Ismaili Centre Toronto |
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| at the Ismaili Centre Toronto |
Mosaics, tapestries, metalwork and even the
sculpted wall (still unfinished even after months of work) mesmerized us. The girls were fascinated to observe all of this.
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| at the Ismaili Centre Toronto |
We
were able to take photos except for the prayer room, of course. Before entering
the prayer room, there was another room where we left our shoes and where one
can also leave coats and such. The guides were very informative and provided
some very interesting facts.
It was great to be able to visit these places we would not
be able to see at any other time. It was a glimpse of a rich culture that is
part of Toronto’s mosaic.
