[current]

Here are more pictures taken on Dec 22, thank you for the updates walli.

 

[canmark]

I hope this centre participates in Doors Open in 2013.

 

[Torontovibe]

I hope this centre participates in Doors Open in 2013.

If it does, I will definitely make the trek to North York to see it.

 

[walli]

Another set of December 24th construction photos:
https://picasaweb.google.com/104846363423995421569/AgaKhanWynfordParkConstructionProjects22
By Mehdi Esmail via Picasa

Not sure what this large piece of class is for. Thought the exterior was virtually completed! Maybe the inner courtyard?
https://picasaweb.google.com/104846...arkConstructionProjects22#5825654238224079202

 

[walli]

Recent mentions of this project in the media:

The Toronto Star - "Ten things Toronto can look forward to in 2013"

... here are a few of the things we’re looking forward to in the 12 months ahead ...
Occupying a large suburban site at Eglinton Ave. E. and Wynford Dr., the Aga Khan Museum and Ismaili Centre will transform this part of Toronto. Already the magnificent complex is turning heads — for now, mostly those watching as they drive by on the northbound DVP. When complete, its effect will be felt across the city. The architects — including Fumihiko Maki and Charles Correa — have created a place of surpassing beauty. As an act of faith in Toronto, a gift to the city, the centre is unparalleled.

The Globe and Mail - "Reader picks for what to watch in 2013"

A Toronto intersection to watch
Don Valley Parkway and Eglinton: "Expected to open in 2013 is the Aga Khan Museum and Ismaili Centre in Toronto. The project represents what I would term the first 'international' museum in the country. The museum will house the largest collection of Islamic artifacts in all of North America, and will represent a marker for Canadian pluralism on the International stage. This will be an event for which all Canadians should be proud."

Islamic Arts Magazine - "20 Top Exhibitions in 2012"

01 Treasures of the Aga Khan Museum: Architecture in Islamic Arts
'Treasures of the Aga Khan Museum: Architecture in Islamic Arts,' a travelling exhibition of objects and art from the Aga Khan Museum collection, which has been touring renowned museums in key European cities, was exhibited at the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia.

 

[walli]

Awesome photo!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...e=1&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Via the AKM Facebook Page

 

[walli]

New blog by a Toronto museums media / comms person:

http://emmajenkin.wordpress.com/2013/01/25/newest-crush-2/

I was asked recently which nonprofit organization I thought had the best social media. I normally answer with one of the local powerhouses, like SickKids Foundation, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario and Alexander Neef (yes, he’s an individual, but he presents himself as an extension of the Canadian Opera Company, and in so doing makes the COC accessible and relatable).

But there is a new social media stud on the scene – the Aga Khan Museum.

visit link for the rest ...

 

[walli]

Room to be re-created in the AKM:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.p...7292882.126064.485619821462818&type=1&theater

 

[walli]

Interesting article about the Petronas Towers, Islamic Architecture, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture and the Aga Khan Museum ...

http://ridingthebuses.com/2013/02/kuala-lumpurs-petronas-towers-a-symbol-of-islamic-architecture/

I was visiting Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, a multicultural country with the majority population being Muslim. I assumed Kuala Lumpur would be a conservative city, one that would keep its assets under cover, but when I saw its much-heralded landmark, the Petronas Towers, I started to rethink my assumptions.

The Petronas Towers are twin skyscrapers, 88-stories high and connected halfway up by a sky bridge. They are among the tallest buildings in the world. They are also dazzling in design, not boxy at all in appearance but tapered at six intervals. Each tower is capped by a conical spire, which is topped by a pinnacle 73.4m (241 ft) tall.

<>

But the Petronas Towers went on to win the international Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2004. ... A travelling exhibition on Islamic architecture happened to be on display at the Museum of Art when I was there. Interestingly, it was from the Aga Khan Museum so there was a connection between that and the Petronas Towers. The Aga Khan himself had opened the exhibit and in his remarks said that while the architectural heritage in the Muslim world was rich and diverse it was often neglected; he wanted to change that through his organization’s awards.

<>

The Aga Khan jury said that while the design of the Petronas Towers stimulated and responded to cultural expectations, it also represented a “new direction in skyscraper design, featuring advanced technology while symbolizing local and national aspirations”.

Sorry for quoting so many words. It was difficult to select just a few, as there were threads that would command reflection for anyone commenting about the design of the Wynford projects, as well as what the contents of the Aga Khan Museum represent. Interestingly, whenever people mention history or a museum, unless overtly stated, it often makes us think of things that have passed, but not as much about the continuum that continues to this day and projects into the future. In my view, there fore, a "good" museum doesn't just tell about the past, but is a dynamic mechanism that bridges the past to the present to the future. This is actually one of the reasons I'm (almost) as excited about the musical, theatrical and educational components that the AKM will bring to Toronto, and North America as a whole.

Anyway, lots of elements to this train of thought. Would be cool in the future for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture ceremony to be hosting at the park in the middle of Toronto in-between the Dini and the Dunyavi, the Ismaili Centre and the Aga Khan museum.

Aside: The facebook page seems quite active. I like how they are introducing individual pieces, while also highlighting other programs and web-sites. A fantastic mechanism for education by slow osmosis!

Background:

- Petronas Towers win the largest architectural prize in the world, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2004 (including interesting video, and a project brief that reveals the thoughtful design elements not obvious as first glance):
http://www.akdn.org/architecture/project.asp?id=1969

- Press release about AKM exhibit in Kuala Lumpur from March 2012 (including video)
http://www.akdn.org/Content/1123

 

[interchange42]

The below is not directly related to the Aga Khan Museum, but is very interesting nevertheless, and may give an indication of what level of interest to expect once the complex has opened:

Islamic art helps boost Louvre's No. 1 attendance status
Annual survey lists best-attended museums, exhibits worldwide
CBC News Posted: Mar 28, 2013 4:07 PM ET

The Louvre's large new wing devoted to Islamic art helped the famed French gallery solidify its No. 1 spot atop an annual list of the world's best-attended museums.

The Art Newspaper has released its annual list of the past year's most popular museums and exhibits around the globe.

Familiar names scored in the top 10, including Paris's Louvre, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum in London.

One interesting factor that emerged for researchers was that the top two venues of 2012 had unveiled much-anticipated gallery spaces devoted to Islamic art during the year. The Louvre's long-gestating addition is the largest of its kind in Europe, with approximately 3,000 Islamic art pieces and artifacts on display, some dating back to the seventh century.

The chart-topping Louvre had 9.7 million visitors, an increase of nearly a million over the previous year. Meanwhile, the second place Met recorded 6.1 million, about 100,000 more than a year earlier, after revamping its galleries dedicated to Islamic Art.

"What we're seeing is, I suppose, ultimately a kind of [audience reaction] to museums responding — in the best way that they can — to everyone's interest and concern about our relationship with Islamic countries," Javier Pes, the Art Newspaper's London-based deputy editor, told CBC News on Friday.

"They're all trying to show Islam's great contributions to civilization."

Though museums like the Louvre and the Met "always had wonderful collections" of Islamic art, there is great significance to presenting them "in their new, much grander setting," he noted.

Especially in France's iconic Louvre where "occupying a whole courtyard puts Islamic art on a completely different status than it ever did in the past," Pes acknowledged.

"I did ask them what they thought [their increased attendance] was due to and they did say that they thought the Islamic galleries had an impact."

Two Canadian museums made it onto the count of the 100 most-visited art museums in the world: the Royal Ontario Museum (58th) and the Art Gallery of Ontario (81st), both in Toronto.

Top 10 most-attended museums in 2012
Louvre (Paris) - 9,720,260
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) - 6,115,881
British Museum (London) - 5,575,946
Tate Modern (London) - 5,304,710
National Gallery (London) - 5,163,902
Vatican Museums (Vatican City) - 5,064,546
National Palace Museum (Taipei) - 4,360,815
National Gallery of Art (Washington) - 4,200,000
Centre Pompidou (Paris) - 3,800,000
Musée d'Orsay (Paris) - 3,600,000

Blockbuster shows
As part of the yearly examination, the Art Newspaper also tracked the exhibitions that drew the highest number of visitors worldwide.

Topping the list was the kickoff of the Dutch Old Masters exhibit Masterpieces from the Mauritshuis in Tokyo, headlined by Paul Vermeer's famed portrait Girl with a Pearl Earring. The show attracted more than 10,000 visitors a day and 758,266 people overall to the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.

The figure was more than double the overall attendance for the second most-attended exhibit: the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil's free show The Amazon: Cycles of Modernity, which drew 7,928 visitors daily and 374,846 overall to Rio de Janeiro.

Canadian exhibits that made the cut in the Art Newspaper's extensive list included:

Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario - Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso (2,959 visitors daily/308,582 overall) and Chagall and the Russian Avant Garde (2,256 visitors daily/152,637 overall).
Ottawa's National Gallery of Canada - Van Gogh: Up Close (1,911 visitors daily/230,146 overall).
Quebec City's Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec - Pellan: an outstanding donation (1,544 visitors daily/4,632 overall); In Wonderland: Brightening Shadows (973 visitors daily/87,580 overall); Up Close and Personal with the Caillebotte Brothers (782 visitors daily/62,565 overall); Fashion and Appearance in Quebec, 1880-1945 (650 visitors daily/50,043 overall).
Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum - Maya: Secrets of their Ancient World (1,429 visitors daily;202,946 overall).
Montreal's Musée d'art contemporarin - Québec Triennial 2011: the Work Ahead of Us (921 visitors daily/75,000 overall) and Zoo (902 visitors daily/69,818 overall).

 

[walli]

Recent picture by Jim Bowie via Flickr of the Ismaili Centre portion of the complex. The blurring creates a surreal feel, but blocks out some of the other details. Looks like a lot of clean-up in-progress with landscaping, and the far side of the glass topped structure now can also be seen with trees.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cobby17/8598031212/in/photostream/lightbox/

 

[walli]

The below is not directly related to the Aga Khan Museum, but is very interesting nevertheless, and may give an indication of what level of interest to expect once the complex has opened:

Islamic art helps boost Louvre's No. 1 attendance status
Annual survey lists best-attended museums, exhibits worldwide
CBC News Posted: Mar 28, 2013 4:07 PM ET

The Louvre's large new wing devoted to Islamic art helped the famed French gallery solidify its No. 1 spot atop an annual list of the world's best-attended museums.

With the AKM's agreement in place with the Louvre, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the pieces that helped it get the ~10M visitors will also come through Toronto as a visiting exhibit in the future. I think the AKM's network of museums with which it has cultivated relationships is an aspect that is very exciting.

 

[walli]

Transformation over the last three years - compliments of forum member Jim Bowie:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cobby17/8633118704/in/photostream/lightbox/

 

[walli]

This is very cool! Another example of the rarity and importance to world heritage of the artefacts in the AKM collection.

http://en.qantara.de/A-New-Chapter-in-the-History-of-Arab-Literature/9178c171/index.html

An almost 800-year-old manuscript is shedding new light on one of the hidden jewels of Arabic literature. Orientalist and translator Claudia Ott recently identified the oldest known manuscript of "The One Hundred and One Nights".
<>
If it turns out that the same writer was responsible for both books then it will prove that this manuscript of "101 Nights" is more than 500 years older than the currently oldest extant manuscript. The writing style indicates that the manuscript came from the Maghreb region of North Africa, or from Andalusia. This manuscript could be exactly the key that scholars have long hoped to find.
<>

 

[walli]

New internal pics:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...493985847292882.126064.485619821462818&type=1

The construction of the Museum is moving steadily. The themes of light and shadow are beautifully articulated through this reflection of the courtyard pattern on the Museum's walls.

https://www.facebook.com/AgaKhanMus...7292882.126064.485619821462818&type=1&theater

The newest addition to the Museum is the installation of this patterned window in the gallery spaces.

https://www.facebook.com/AgaKhanMus...7292882.126064.485619821462818&type=1&theater

More detail shots of the geometric panel.