Exhibitions –

McMichael at the Kleinburg Binder Twine Festival. Visit the McMichael in the Kids' Area at the Kleinburg Binder Twine Festival for hands-on art activities. For more information on the festival call 905 893 3083 or visit www.bindertwine.ca.

The Group of Seven: Revelations and Changing Perspectives – exceptional new installation of MCAC's renowned permanent collection. The collection has been arrayed in our galleries in new and dynamic ways, opening up new themes and ideas to explore.

Dorothy Knowles: Land Marks. Organized by Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery.
Retrospective exhibition offers an informed overview of the landscape artist's exemplary body of work. At first glance, the artist's humble and natural subject matter can be underestimated or overlooked. However, Knowles radically chose to document her own backyard during a time when abstract art was rapidly gaining ground. This exhibition celebrates Knowles' favourite subjects: the lush river valleys and prairie landscapes that characterized her rural childhood.

Traditional Stories: Unikkaaqtuat / Modern Stories: Unikkaat.
This exhibition explores storytelling as an essential element of Inuit oral cultural traditions as well as playing a significant role as a source for their visual imagery. Traditional stories, or unikkaaqtuat, which are retold from generation to generation may vary in the retelling but they provide narratives that address aspects of Inuit history, the spiritual nature of the people, and other beliefs. The modern stories, or unikkaat, are more recent. These stories may address an individual's experience or provide a commentary on changes within contemporary Inuit experience. Both of these narrative forms express the ethics, attitudes, and ideals of the culture.

Bruno Bobak: Love, Life and Death.
Take a closer look at Bruno Bobak's fascination with the human body and soul through his Expressionist images of lovers, family relations, life cycle, and portraits. His images contemplate our human condition from tender moments to despair.

Defiant Spirits: The Modernist Revolution of the Group of Seven.
Examine the stylistic evolution in the landscape paintings of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven, whose paintings were grounded in the elements of Canadian landscape but also took their cues from the modernist approaches to painting developed in Europe. This exhibition, organized by the McMichael, will show how the artists used a palette of modern techniques, blending Impressionism, Art Nouveau, and Neo-Impressionism, Synthetism and Fauvism.

Tom Thomson, Group of Seven and their contemporaries. First Nations and Inuit Collections. Outdoor sculptures include works by Piqtoukun, Saila.

Adult Programs, Tours & Studio Courses (call 905 893 1121 x2240 to register) –

ArtChat. Cost – General public: included with admission. McMichael members: free. Please register at admissions desk.
Jun 27: "Dorothy Knowles: The Land Before Us". This ArtChat highlights the exhibition, Dorothy Knowles: Land Marks, a retrospective of the artist's personal approach to her surrounding environment. Her depiction of the landscape has a timeless quality that evokes a time and place both specific and ephemeral. By using distinctive horizon lines, the picture plane addresses compositional questions that add to the expansive nature of Knowles' view, and this at a time when abstraction was the "hip" way to go.
Jul 25: "The Art of Travelling: Our Landscape as Muse". How often in your travels have you stopped in front of a magnificent vista and thought, "I wish I could capture this moment"? Our new website, Footprints: Legacy of the Group of Seven (www.groupofseven.ca) and exhibition, Following in the Footsteps of the Group of Seven, trace the travels of Jim and Sue Waddington as they passionately quested to find the exact locations where Group of Seven members felt compelled to stop and paint.
Aug 29: "The Painter's Palette". Can you characterize an artist by their colour palette? Join our docent leading you through the process of formal analysis of some of the best-loved Group of Seven paintings. This time the emphasis will be on the colour and its contribution to the final painting's design. Learn about different ways of using but also seeing a colour.
Sep 26: "Contemplating Women". The lower level of the gallery has a fresh, new look! You will see works that haven't been on our walls for a while, as well as some artists that may not be familiar. One theme being explored is that of the female figure. The Group of Seven, known for their paintings of the landscape, also examined the figure as a means of expression. Come and discuss some interesting ideas.

Canadian Stories Tours. Explore the narrative of the McMichael collection and your favourite artists in depth with these lecture-based tours. Expand your knowledge and participate in lively discussions facilitated by an experienced McMichael docent.
Cost – General public: included with admission. McMichael members: free. Please register at admissions desk.
Jun 20: Group of Seven – A Celebration.
Jul 18: Group of Seven – A Celebration
Aug 15: Group of Seven – A Celebration
Sep 19: First Peoples.

Art and History Classes. Back by popular demand – Emily Carr.
Sep 11: "Growing Pains"
Sep 18: "Klee Wyck"
Sep 25: "Modern Spirits"
Don't miss the returning series of lectures on Emily Carr. Led by Anna Stanisz, Assistant Curator, Education, this lecture series will discuss the life of Emily Carr. The lectures will be illustrated by archival photographs and examples of Carr's work in various collections across the country. It will be followed by discussions on Carr's paintings currently on view at the McMichael.
Run previously as Afternoon Tea with Emily Carr, this program returns as a series of three lectures for our weekend audience. The talks will be followed by a 15% discount for the McMichael Café's brunch.
Cost: $80 general public; $65 McMichael members.

Sunday Concert Series.
Sep 5: Christopher Lee, flute.
Sep 19: Kory Livingstone, jazz ensemble.

Family and Children's Programs & Events (call 905 893 1121 x2240 to register) –

Family Sundays: Kidsummer. Visit www.mcmichael.com for details.
Jul 11: Footsteps Adventure. Following in the footsteps of the Group of Seven, families can climb a wall with Black Rock Climbers, get creative with some hands-on art activities or become an art detective with the McMichael Scavenger Hunt.
Aug 8: Inside Out. Splash, spray, spin and blob! Celebrate summer with hands-on activities, family tours and a performance by Splash'N Boots.
Sep 12: Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes. Celebrate Grandparents Day at the McMichael with some hands-on art activities inspired by portraits and figurative work in the collection. Kids can play in the discovery space, explore the McMichael grounds or have a professional caricature done by our guest artist. To book reservations for a family brunch in McMichael Café, please call 905 893 1121 x2363.
Free with gallery admission.

Children's Classes & Workshops –

SAM: Saturdays at the McMichael. Ages 5 to 10.
Visit the gallery's exhibitions and explore the natural environment. Students work with a wide range of materials and methods in an atmosphere that's fun and rewarding!
Cost: $165 general public; $130 McMichael members.

SAM: Open Studio. Ages 11 to 16.
Students will work with a practicing artist to enhance their skills in drawing, painting, and sculpture.
Cost: $190 general public; $165 McMichael members. Includes $25 materials fee.

(See Art Schools & Courses for info on MCAC's Children's Classes – click here).