Region: Greater Toronto & Hamilton

From towering dinosaur skeletons to awe-inspiring contemporary paintings, ROM is home to more than 13.5 million artworks, artifacts, and specimens from around the world and across the ages. So, it should be no surprise ROM is also the most visited museum in Canada.

Don’t miss our FREE* 45-minute English and French tours. Tours start at the hour from 11am to 2pm daily.

*FREE with General Admission

Tour Descriptions

Museum Highlights
Explore the wonders of ROM. In a 45-minute tour that brings iconic objects to life, you’ll enjoy highlights of arts, culture and nature… throughout the world and throughout time.

Descriptions des visites

Les trésors du musée
Explorez les merveilles du ROM. La visite donne vie à des objets emblématiques à la croisée de l’art, de la culture et de la nature et ce à travers le monde et à travers le temps. Elle vous donnera aussi une bonne idée de l’ampleur des collections du musée.

In the late 19th century, the Impressionist movement found a footing in Canada, and Quebec artists quickly responded with works of rare beauty and sophistication. Many Quebec artists trained in France during this period, carrying the pollen of European modernism back with them to Canadian soil. Landscape and city scenes were staples of their work, and this show will assemble a choice collection of master works that trace a journey from the bustling streets of Montreal—then Canada’s financial capital—down the St. Lawrence River to Quebec City, through the beloved Charlevoix region and out to the windswept cliffs of the Gaspé Peninsula. The exhibition will offer not just a magisterial statement on the outstanding quality of Quebec painting, but also a glimpse into the heart and soul of a culture, seen through the eyes of her most beloved and foundational artists. The survey will include works by William Brymner, Ozias Leduc, James Wilson Morrice, Henrietta Mabel May, Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté, Maurice Cullen, Clarence Gagnon, and others, and will be drawn from a host of public and private collections. To accent these works, archival photography and objects of material culture from the period will be added to deepen the viewer’s experience of the moment in which the artists were working, augmented by historic recordings drawn from Quebecois musical culture. The result will be an immersive time-travel experience like no other.

Curated by Anne-Marie Bouchard and Sarah Milroy.

Refuge Canada explores Canada’s place in the global refugee crisis. Through images, soundscapes, first person accounts and artifacts, this powerful exhibition begins “no one wants to be a refugee, anyone could become a refugee.” Moving through major waves of arrival from Second World War era up to present day, Refuge Canada does not shy away from opportunities to portray the darker chapters of history. Hopeful stories of optimism and success are balanced by moving accounts of shattered lives, fear, and examples of Canada’s mixed record in welcoming refugees. Refuge Canada is a travelling exhibition created by the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, on view at Joseph Brant Museum from November 2, 2024 – April 19, 2025.

Among the great treasures of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection is a group of 54 jewel-like miniatures by the artist Clarence Gagnon. Completed in the early 1930s, these are the final paintings made for what is arguably the most famous illustrated book by a Canadian artist: Maria Chapdelaine, a novel written by the French novelist Louis Hémon and published in 1933 by Éditions Mornay in Paris. These paintings were gifted to the McMichael in 1969 by Colonel R.S. McLaughlin and were the first works by a francophone Quebec artist to enter the collection.

Due to conservation concerns, these delicate artworks can only be displayed once every three years and the McMichael is delighted to have them on view for the 2024 holiday season. Visitors can also purchase a book with the entire suite of fifty-four illustrations from the Gallery Shop. The book includes an essay by Ian M. Thom, former Chief Curator at the McMichael and most recently, Senior Historical Curator at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

John Scott: Firestorm presents the work of the late Canadian artist John Scott (1950–2022), gathering paintings, drawings, and sculptures made by Scott from the 1980s through the 2010s.

The exhibition focusses on works that explore machine imagery, conflict, violence, and surveillance. Growing up on the Canadian/American border in Windsor, Ontario, in the 1950s and 1960s, Scott developed an acute awareness of American politics and militarism. Depictions of stealth bombers, firearms, and tanks were used by Scott to comment on human vulnerability and the threat of nuclear arms, violence, and the threat of tyranny – all subjects expressed in his raw and urgent graphic style.

Firestorm is guest curated by Dr. John O’Brian, who has undertaken new research to position Scott’s accomplishment within a global context. The exhibition celebrates a unique and singular voice in the history of Canadian art, one grappling with the acute threats to humanity in our times.

Anywhere you look in nature, colour holds meaning. From the fiery reds of warning to the soothing blues of calm waters, Nature in Brilliant Colour will take you on a kaleidoscopic journey through the vibrant hues of our planet.

Awaken your senses, and have your perception forever altered, as you make your way through a series of spaces, each dedicated to a colour of the rainbow. Through over 200 specimens, photo-worthy projections, and shifting soundscapes, this exhibition promises to be a transformative experience that will deepen appreciation for the complex artistry of our world and celebrate its vivid and untamed beauty.

Annually, photographers spanning ages and abilities submit tens of thousands of images to the international Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest. This winter, ROM is thrilled to once again host the renowned exhibition. Organized by London’s prestigious Natural History Museum, UK, this fan-favourite showcases the very best in nature photography from around the globe.

Experience our world in vivid detail, beholding extraordinary species through unimagined perspectives. Each photograph, exquisitely backlit, unveils unparalleled quality and depth. Through the lens, viewers become privy to animals’ lives and the challenges they face. Emotive, surprising glimpses of life on our planet are showcased via exceptional talent, technical mastery, and perfectly captured moments.

Mark your calendars and get ready to embark on a visual journey that will leave you inspired and enlightened by the incredible beauty that surrounds us.

Food and drink? Poetry? Music? A new installation offers a window into the pleasures, pastimes, and artistic heritage of Iran during the Safavid dynasty (1501-1736). A royal picnic, depicted on a large, treasured tile arch from the collections, is complemented by exceptional objects from the period.

Gracing the Osler Gate on Level 1, a colourful tiled archway made over 350 years ago in Isfahan, Iran takes centre stage, showing picnic-goers out for an afternoon of leisure and luxury. Individual tiles reveal immaculately dressed figures relaxing, enjoying delicious food and drink, and being entertained with music, poetry, and feats of archery. Lively and cheerful, the scenes on the arch offer a wonderful glimpse into the cultural vibrancy of Iran when it was ruled by the Safavids, a Shi’a Muslim dynasty, who were great patrons of the arts and architecture, and who fostered international trade and diplomacy from Isfahan, their newly built capital city.

The internationally touring exhibition, created by Musealia, co-produced by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Poland, and developed with an esteemed international panel of curators and historians, is one of the most comprehensive exhibitions ever presented on the subject, and ROM is the only Canadian stop on its international tour. Survivor testimonials, historical documentation, and first-hand accounts by emancipating forces create a powerful connection to the exhibition’s more than 500 original objects — many of which have never been seen before in Canada — on loan from the Auschwitz Memorial and more than 20 other major institutions and private collections around the world.

The turn of the 17th century saw sweeping changes in music, among them the rise of virtuoso instrumentalists, and music written for them in the “modern style.” The music featured unfettered improvisations, dramatic contrasts, and the passionate give-and-take of friends in musical conversation. We explore the concept of the “modern” in 300-year old music by Castello, Bertali, Leonarda, and others.

Johanna Novom & Christopher Verrette, violins
Keiran Campbell, cello
Dominic Teresi, dulcian
Jonathan Stuchbery, lute/guitar
Charlotte Nediger, harpsichord

Saturday, January 25, 2 to 3:15 p.m.
Public $25, TBG Members and Tafelmusik Subscribers $23 (plus fees and HST)
Indoor Concert
General Admission Seating.
Doors open approximately 45 minutes before the performance.

Group Sales
Bring your group of 10 or more to this event and take advantage of great savings. For more information on Group Sales, please contact programsupport@torontobotanicalgarden.ca.

Accessible Seating
Accessible seating is available in the hall. Please contact us in advance so we can better assist you, and/or arrive early for priority seating before the hall is open to the public. For more information on Accessible Seating, please contact programsupport@torontobotanicalgarden.ca.

Support Person
The support person who accompanies a patron with special needs is eligible for a complimentary ticket/admission. Support person tickets/admission are subject to availability. For more information on Accessible Services at our venues or support persons, please contact programsupport@torontobotanicalgarden.ca.

About Tafelmusik
Tafelmusik is one of the world’s leading period-instrument ensembles, performing on instruments and in styles appropriate for the era of the music. Renowned for dynamic, engaging, and soulful performances, Tafelmusik performs for audiences across Toronto and digital audiences around the world and is Canada’s most toured orchestra, having performed in more than 350 cities in 32 countries. The critically acclaimed Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, and its director Ivars Taurins, often share the stage with the orchestra. Tafelmusik’s recordings on the Sony, CBC Records, Analekta, and Tafelmusik Media labels have garnered ten JUNOs and numerous international recording prizes.

A ROM SPEAKS presentation for INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY, and to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz. ROM’s new exhibition is Auschwitz. Not Long Ago. Not Far Away.

After his recent triumphant one-man show, Canadian Stage’s hit production of “Playing Shylock”, ROM welcomes Saul Rubinek in a performance of excerpts from his new play “All in the Telling”.

A mystery, a comedy, a love story, and a tale of miraculous survival, “All in the Telling” travels through time and place and is about bridging the divides caused by intergenerational trauma. “All in the Telling” is Saul Rubinek’s love letter to his family, the true story of their journey across two continents and four generations.

After Saul’s performance, esteemed producer and writer Michael Hirsh will moderate a fireside chat with Saul about their experiences as children of Holocaust survivors.

Included with your ticket is a reception, and viewing of ROM’s newest exhibition, Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away.

Program Partners
Starvox Entertainment
Verité Films

ROM Speaks is generously supported by The Schmidt Family.

From towering dinosaur skeletons to awe-inspiring contemporary paintings, ROM is home to more than 13.5 million artworks, artifacts, and specimens from around the world and across the ages. So, it should be no surprise ROM is also the most visited museum in Canada.

Don’t miss our FREE* 45-minute English and French tours. Tours start at the hour from 11am to 2pm daily.

*FREE with General Admission

Tour Descriptions

Museum Highlights
Explore the wonders of ROM. In a 45-minute tour that brings iconic objects to life, you’ll enjoy highlights of arts, culture and nature… throughout the world and throughout time.

Descriptions des visites

Les trésors du musée
Explorez les merveilles du ROM. La visite donne vie à des objets emblématiques à la croisée de l’art, de la culture et de la nature et ce à travers le monde et à travers le temps. Elle vous donnera aussi une bonne idée de l’ampleur des collections du musée.

In the late 19th century, the Impressionist movement found a footing in Canada, and Quebec artists quickly responded with works of rare beauty and sophistication. Many Quebec artists trained in France during this period, carrying the pollen of European modernism back with them to Canadian soil. Landscape and city scenes were staples of their work, and this show will assemble a choice collection of master works that trace a journey from the bustling streets of Montreal—then Canada’s financial capital—down the St. Lawrence River to Quebec City, through the beloved Charlevoix region and out to the windswept cliffs of the Gaspé Peninsula. The exhibition will offer not just a magisterial statement on the outstanding quality of Quebec painting, but also a glimpse into the heart and soul of a culture, seen through the eyes of her most beloved and foundational artists. The survey will include works by William Brymner, Ozias Leduc, James Wilson Morrice, Henrietta Mabel May, Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté, Maurice Cullen, Clarence Gagnon, and others, and will be drawn from a host of public and private collections. To accent these works, archival photography and objects of material culture from the period will be added to deepen the viewer’s experience of the moment in which the artists were working, augmented by historic recordings drawn from Quebecois musical culture. The result will be an immersive time-travel experience like no other.

Curated by Anne-Marie Bouchard and Sarah Milroy.

Refuge Canada explores Canada’s place in the global refugee crisis. Through images, soundscapes, first person accounts and artifacts, this powerful exhibition begins “no one wants to be a refugee, anyone could become a refugee.” Moving through major waves of arrival from Second World War era up to present day, Refuge Canada does not shy away from opportunities to portray the darker chapters of history. Hopeful stories of optimism and success are balanced by moving accounts of shattered lives, fear, and examples of Canada’s mixed record in welcoming refugees. Refuge Canada is a travelling exhibition created by the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, on view at Joseph Brant Museum from November 2, 2024 – April 19, 2025.

Among the great treasures of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection is a group of 54 jewel-like miniatures by the artist Clarence Gagnon. Completed in the early 1930s, these are the final paintings made for what is arguably the most famous illustrated book by a Canadian artist: Maria Chapdelaine, a novel written by the French novelist Louis Hémon and published in 1933 by Éditions Mornay in Paris. These paintings were gifted to the McMichael in 1969 by Colonel R.S. McLaughlin and were the first works by a francophone Quebec artist to enter the collection.

Due to conservation concerns, these delicate artworks can only be displayed once every three years and the McMichael is delighted to have them on view for the 2024 holiday season. Visitors can also purchase a book with the entire suite of fifty-four illustrations from the Gallery Shop. The book includes an essay by Ian M. Thom, former Chief Curator at the McMichael and most recently, Senior Historical Curator at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

John Scott: Firestorm presents the work of the late Canadian artist John Scott (1950–2022), gathering paintings, drawings, and sculptures made by Scott from the 1980s through the 2010s.

The exhibition focusses on works that explore machine imagery, conflict, violence, and surveillance. Growing up on the Canadian/American border in Windsor, Ontario, in the 1950s and 1960s, Scott developed an acute awareness of American politics and militarism. Depictions of stealth bombers, firearms, and tanks were used by Scott to comment on human vulnerability and the threat of nuclear arms, violence, and the threat of tyranny – all subjects expressed in his raw and urgent graphic style.

Firestorm is guest curated by Dr. John O’Brian, who has undertaken new research to position Scott’s accomplishment within a global context. The exhibition celebrates a unique and singular voice in the history of Canadian art, one grappling with the acute threats to humanity in our times.

Anywhere you look in nature, colour holds meaning. From the fiery reds of warning to the soothing blues of calm waters, Nature in Brilliant Colour will take you on a kaleidoscopic journey through the vibrant hues of our planet.

Awaken your senses, and have your perception forever altered, as you make your way through a series of spaces, each dedicated to a colour of the rainbow. Through over 200 specimens, photo-worthy projections, and shifting soundscapes, this exhibition promises to be a transformative experience that will deepen appreciation for the complex artistry of our world and celebrate its vivid and untamed beauty.

Annually, photographers spanning ages and abilities submit tens of thousands of images to the international Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest. This winter, ROM is thrilled to once again host the renowned exhibition. Organized by London’s prestigious Natural History Museum, UK, this fan-favourite showcases the very best in nature photography from around the globe.

Experience our world in vivid detail, beholding extraordinary species through unimagined perspectives. Each photograph, exquisitely backlit, unveils unparalleled quality and depth. Through the lens, viewers become privy to animals’ lives and the challenges they face. Emotive, surprising glimpses of life on our planet are showcased via exceptional talent, technical mastery, and perfectly captured moments.

Mark your calendars and get ready to embark on a visual journey that will leave you inspired and enlightened by the incredible beauty that surrounds us.

Food and drink? Poetry? Music? A new installation offers a window into the pleasures, pastimes, and artistic heritage of Iran during the Safavid dynasty (1501-1736). A royal picnic, depicted on a large, treasured tile arch from the collections, is complemented by exceptional objects from the period.

Gracing the Osler Gate on Level 1, a colourful tiled archway made over 350 years ago in Isfahan, Iran takes centre stage, showing picnic-goers out for an afternoon of leisure and luxury. Individual tiles reveal immaculately dressed figures relaxing, enjoying delicious food and drink, and being entertained with music, poetry, and feats of archery. Lively and cheerful, the scenes on the arch offer a wonderful glimpse into the cultural vibrancy of Iran when it was ruled by the Safavids, a Shi’a Muslim dynasty, who were great patrons of the arts and architecture, and who fostered international trade and diplomacy from Isfahan, their newly built capital city.

The internationally touring exhibition, created by Musealia, co-produced by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Poland, and developed with an esteemed international panel of curators and historians, is one of the most comprehensive exhibitions ever presented on the subject, and ROM is the only Canadian stop on its international tour. Survivor testimonials, historical documentation, and first-hand accounts by emancipating forces create a powerful connection to the exhibition’s more than 500 original objects — many of which have never been seen before in Canada — on loan from the Auschwitz Memorial and more than 20 other major institutions and private collections around the world.

This solo exhibition highlights a recent body of work by the leading Toronto-based conceptual artist Derek Sullivan. The works were inspired by Sullivan’s twelve-month site-study of Shift, a landart work by the American sculptor Richard Serra long-hidden in a field in King, Ontario.

The exhibition features a series of Sullivan’s signature large-scale drawings responding to this important site of international modernism in rural Ontario, not far from where the artist grew up. For Sullivan, walking around the site was central to his research, as was note-taking, taking pictures, collecting stones, and researching in archival collections. His thoughtful drawings consider the history of Serra’s work, and the present context in which it exists.

“I used Serra’s Shift 1970 as an orienting device for me to consider networks of interconnection encountered in this location (colonial expropriation of land, agricultural impacts, property development, tactics of preservation, trespassing, community use, imported artistry), but it also drew forth my own tangled histories in this region,” says Sullivan. “The project aimed to put Serra in his place, so to speak, whilst better understanding my own.”

From towering dinosaur skeletons to awe-inspiring contemporary paintings, ROM is home to more than 13.5 million artworks, artifacts, and specimens from around the world and across the ages. So, it should be no surprise ROM is also the most visited museum in Canada.

Don’t miss our FREE* 45-minute English and French tours. Tours start at the hour from 11am to 2pm daily.

*FREE with General Admission

Tour Descriptions

Museum Highlights
Explore the wonders of ROM. In a 45-minute tour that brings iconic objects to life, you’ll enjoy highlights of arts, culture and nature… throughout the world and throughout time.

Descriptions des visites

Les trésors du musée
Explorez les merveilles du ROM. La visite donne vie à des objets emblématiques à la croisée de l’art, de la culture et de la nature et ce à travers le monde et à travers le temps. Elle vous donnera aussi une bonne idée de l’ampleur des collections du musée.

Refuge Canada explores Canada’s place in the global refugee crisis. Through images, soundscapes, first person accounts and artifacts, this powerful exhibition begins “no one wants to be a refugee, anyone could become a refugee.” Moving through major waves of arrival from Second World War era up to present day, Refuge Canada does not shy away from opportunities to portray the darker chapters of history. Hopeful stories of optimism and success are balanced by moving accounts of shattered lives, fear, and examples of Canada’s mixed record in welcoming refugees. Refuge Canada is a travelling exhibition created by the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, on view at Joseph Brant Museum from November 2, 2024 – April 19, 2025.

John Scott: Firestorm presents the work of the late Canadian artist John Scott (1950–2022), gathering paintings, drawings, and sculptures made by Scott from the 1980s through the 2010s.

The exhibition focusses on works that explore machine imagery, conflict, violence, and surveillance. Growing up on the Canadian/American border in Windsor, Ontario, in the 1950s and 1960s, Scott developed an acute awareness of American politics and militarism. Depictions of stealth bombers, firearms, and tanks were used by Scott to comment on human vulnerability and the threat of nuclear arms, violence, and the threat of tyranny – all subjects expressed in his raw and urgent graphic style.

Firestorm is guest curated by Dr. John O’Brian, who has undertaken new research to position Scott’s accomplishment within a global context. The exhibition celebrates a unique and singular voice in the history of Canadian art, one grappling with the acute threats to humanity in our times.

Anywhere you look in nature, colour holds meaning. From the fiery reds of warning to the soothing blues of calm waters, Nature in Brilliant Colour will take you on a kaleidoscopic journey through the vibrant hues of our planet.

Awaken your senses, and have your perception forever altered, as you make your way through a series of spaces, each dedicated to a colour of the rainbow. Through over 200 specimens, photo-worthy projections, and shifting soundscapes, this exhibition promises to be a transformative experience that will deepen appreciation for the complex artistry of our world and celebrate its vivid and untamed beauty.

Annually, photographers spanning ages and abilities submit tens of thousands of images to the international Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest. This winter, ROM is thrilled to once again host the renowned exhibition. Organized by London’s prestigious Natural History Museum, UK, this fan-favourite showcases the very best in nature photography from around the globe.

Experience our world in vivid detail, beholding extraordinary species through unimagined perspectives. Each photograph, exquisitely backlit, unveils unparalleled quality and depth. Through the lens, viewers become privy to animals’ lives and the challenges they face. Emotive, surprising glimpses of life on our planet are showcased via exceptional talent, technical mastery, and perfectly captured moments.

Mark your calendars and get ready to embark on a visual journey that will leave you inspired and enlightened by the incredible beauty that surrounds us.

Food and drink? Poetry? Music? A new installation offers a window into the pleasures, pastimes, and artistic heritage of Iran during the Safavid dynasty (1501-1736). A royal picnic, depicted on a large, treasured tile arch from the collections, is complemented by exceptional objects from the period.

Gracing the Osler Gate on Level 1, a colourful tiled archway made over 350 years ago in Isfahan, Iran takes centre stage, showing picnic-goers out for an afternoon of leisure and luxury. Individual tiles reveal immaculately dressed figures relaxing, enjoying delicious food and drink, and being entertained with music, poetry, and feats of archery. Lively and cheerful, the scenes on the arch offer a wonderful glimpse into the cultural vibrancy of Iran when it was ruled by the Safavids, a Shi’a Muslim dynasty, who were great patrons of the arts and architecture, and who fostered international trade and diplomacy from Isfahan, their newly built capital city.

The internationally touring exhibition, created by Musealia, co-produced by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Poland, and developed with an esteemed international panel of curators and historians, is one of the most comprehensive exhibitions ever presented on the subject, and ROM is the only Canadian stop on its international tour. Survivor testimonials, historical documentation, and first-hand accounts by emancipating forces create a powerful connection to the exhibition’s more than 500 original objects — many of which have never been seen before in Canada — on loan from the Auschwitz Memorial and more than 20 other major institutions and private collections around the world.

This solo exhibition highlights a recent body of work by the leading Toronto-based conceptual artist Derek Sullivan. The works were inspired by Sullivan’s twelve-month site-study of Shift, a landart work by the American sculptor Richard Serra long-hidden in a field in King, Ontario.

The exhibition features a series of Sullivan’s signature large-scale drawings responding to this important site of international modernism in rural Ontario, not far from where the artist grew up. For Sullivan, walking around the site was central to his research, as was note-taking, taking pictures, collecting stones, and researching in archival collections. His thoughtful drawings consider the history of Serra’s work, and the present context in which it exists.

“I used Serra’s Shift 1970 as an orienting device for me to consider networks of interconnection encountered in this location (colonial expropriation of land, agricultural impacts, property development, tactics of preservation, trespassing, community use, imported artistry), but it also drew forth my own tangled histories in this region,” says Sullivan. “The project aimed to put Serra in his place, so to speak, whilst better understanding my own.”

The recent digitization of the Kinngait Drawings Archive—89,000 works strong and held by the McMichael for more than three decades—has allowed unprecedented curatorial access to the origins of this now world-renowned graphic tradition.
Curated by Emily Laurent Henderson, Associate Curator, Indigenous Arts and Culture at McMichael, this once-in-a-generation exhibition of more than 200 works will foreground the cultural continuities of life in Kinngait in the face of dramatic societal change over more than five decades. The adaptability and resilience of this unique community has been documented in works that depict intergenerational knowledge transfer, community building, and boundless imagination.

This exhibition will reveal overlooked bodies of work by some of the country’s most beloved artists including Kenojuak Ashevak, Pitseolak Ashoona, Kananginak Pootoogook, and Pudlo Pudlat as well as introduce audiences to hitherto unknown artists whose work was suppressed by the aims of the print program that prioritized the tastes of settler markets in the South.

TAFELMUSIK BAROQUE ORCHESTRA

Solo: A Violinist’s Journey

Sei Solo—these words J.S. Bach wrote on the title page of his revolutionary works for solo violinists. The words can be interpreted as “six solos” or “I am alone”—a clever double-entendre: a challenge to the performer. This program features the remarkable G-Minor Sonata that opens Bach’s collection, as well as works for solo violin by his compatriots Westhoff and Telemann. The performance is balanced by Missy Mazzoli’s Dissolve, O my heart, a 21st-century response to Bach.

Performer
Cristina Zacharias, violin

From towering dinosaur skeletons to awe-inspiring contemporary paintings, ROM is home to more than 13.5 million artworks, artifacts, and specimens from around the world and across the ages. So, it should be no surprise ROM is also the most visited museum in Canada.

Don’t miss our FREE* 45-minute English and French tours. Tours start at the hour from 11am to 2pm daily.

*FREE with General Admission

Tour Descriptions

Museum Highlights
Explore the wonders of ROM. In a 45-minute tour that brings iconic objects to life, you’ll enjoy highlights of arts, culture and nature… throughout the world and throughout time.

Descriptions des visites

Les trésors du musée
Explorez les merveilles du ROM. La visite donne vie à des objets emblématiques à la croisée de l’art, de la culture et de la nature et ce à travers le monde et à travers le temps. Elle vous donnera aussi une bonne idée de l’ampleur des collections du musée.

Refuge Canada explores Canada’s place in the global refugee crisis. Through images, soundscapes, first person accounts and artifacts, this powerful exhibition begins “no one wants to be a refugee, anyone could become a refugee.” Moving through major waves of arrival from Second World War era up to present day, Refuge Canada does not shy away from opportunities to portray the darker chapters of history. Hopeful stories of optimism and success are balanced by moving accounts of shattered lives, fear, and examples of Canada’s mixed record in welcoming refugees. Refuge Canada is a travelling exhibition created by the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, on view at Joseph Brant Museum from November 2, 2024 – April 19, 2025.

John Scott: Firestorm presents the work of the late Canadian artist John Scott (1950–2022), gathering paintings, drawings, and sculptures made by Scott from the 1980s through the 2010s.

The exhibition focusses on works that explore machine imagery, conflict, violence, and surveillance. Growing up on the Canadian/American border in Windsor, Ontario, in the 1950s and 1960s, Scott developed an acute awareness of American politics and militarism. Depictions of stealth bombers, firearms, and tanks were used by Scott to comment on human vulnerability and the threat of nuclear arms, violence, and the threat of tyranny – all subjects expressed in his raw and urgent graphic style.

Firestorm is guest curated by Dr. John O’Brian, who has undertaken new research to position Scott’s accomplishment within a global context. The exhibition celebrates a unique and singular voice in the history of Canadian art, one grappling with the acute threats to humanity in our times.

Anywhere you look in nature, colour holds meaning. From the fiery reds of warning to the soothing blues of calm waters, Nature in Brilliant Colour will take you on a kaleidoscopic journey through the vibrant hues of our planet.

Awaken your senses, and have your perception forever altered, as you make your way through a series of spaces, each dedicated to a colour of the rainbow. Through over 200 specimens, photo-worthy projections, and shifting soundscapes, this exhibition promises to be a transformative experience that will deepen appreciation for the complex artistry of our world and celebrate its vivid and untamed beauty.

Annually, photographers spanning ages and abilities submit tens of thousands of images to the international Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest. This winter, ROM is thrilled to once again host the renowned exhibition. Organized by London’s prestigious Natural History Museum, UK, this fan-favourite showcases the very best in nature photography from around the globe.

Experience our world in vivid detail, beholding extraordinary species through unimagined perspectives. Each photograph, exquisitely backlit, unveils unparalleled quality and depth. Through the lens, viewers become privy to animals’ lives and the challenges they face. Emotive, surprising glimpses of life on our planet are showcased via exceptional talent, technical mastery, and perfectly captured moments.

Mark your calendars and get ready to embark on a visual journey that will leave you inspired and enlightened by the incredible beauty that surrounds us.

Food and drink? Poetry? Music? A new installation offers a window into the pleasures, pastimes, and artistic heritage of Iran during the Safavid dynasty (1501-1736). A royal picnic, depicted on a large, treasured tile arch from the collections, is complemented by exceptional objects from the period.

Gracing the Osler Gate on Level 1, a colourful tiled archway made over 350 years ago in Isfahan, Iran takes centre stage, showing picnic-goers out for an afternoon of leisure and luxury. Individual tiles reveal immaculately dressed figures relaxing, enjoying delicious food and drink, and being entertained with music, poetry, and feats of archery. Lively and cheerful, the scenes on the arch offer a wonderful glimpse into the cultural vibrancy of Iran when it was ruled by the Safavids, a Shi’a Muslim dynasty, who were great patrons of the arts and architecture, and who fostered international trade and diplomacy from Isfahan, their newly built capital city.

The internationally touring exhibition, created by Musealia, co-produced by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Poland, and developed with an esteemed international panel of curators and historians, is one of the most comprehensive exhibitions ever presented on the subject, and ROM is the only Canadian stop on its international tour. Survivor testimonials, historical documentation, and first-hand accounts by emancipating forces create a powerful connection to the exhibition’s more than 500 original objects — many of which have never been seen before in Canada — on loan from the Auschwitz Memorial and more than 20 other major institutions and private collections around the world.

This solo exhibition highlights a recent body of work by the leading Toronto-based conceptual artist Derek Sullivan. The works were inspired by Sullivan’s twelve-month site-study of Shift, a landart work by the American sculptor Richard Serra long-hidden in a field in King, Ontario.

The exhibition features a series of Sullivan’s signature large-scale drawings responding to this important site of international modernism in rural Ontario, not far from where the artist grew up. For Sullivan, walking around the site was central to his research, as was note-taking, taking pictures, collecting stones, and researching in archival collections. His thoughtful drawings consider the history of Serra’s work, and the present context in which it exists.

“I used Serra’s Shift 1970 as an orienting device for me to consider networks of interconnection encountered in this location (colonial expropriation of land, agricultural impacts, property development, tactics of preservation, trespassing, community use, imported artistry), but it also drew forth my own tangled histories in this region,” says Sullivan. “The project aimed to put Serra in his place, so to speak, whilst better understanding my own.”