Aga Khan Museum

24 Best Things to Do in Toronto

"Set in a 17-acre park, the elegant Aga Khan Museum, designed by architect Fumihiko Maki and opened in 2014, is the first museum in North America dedicated to Islamic art. The Aga Khan Museum is named after the spiritual leader of Shia Ismaili Muslims, who funded the project with the mission to share the artistic and scientific contributions of global Muslim communities with the world. While the museum has a 1,000-piece permanent collection, it also hosts rotating exhibitions and special events; one notable recent exhibit addressed the role of female citizens of Saudi Arabia (and featured an installation made from women’s travel documents), while another—inspired by the 2003 destruction of the library at the University of Baghdad’s College of Fine Arts—featured an ever-evolving installation of books that were later donated to the college." - Stefanie Waldek

24 Best Things to Do in Toronto

"Set in a 17-acre park, the elegant Aga Khan Museum, designed by architect Fumihiko Maki and opened in 2014, is the first museum in North America dedicated to Islamic art. The Aga Khan Museum is named after the spiritual leader of Shia Ismaili Muslims, who funded the project with the mission to share the artistic and scientific contributions of global Muslim communities with the world. While the museum has a 1,000-piece permanent collection, it also hosts rotating exhibitions and special events; one notable recent exhibit addressed the role of female citizens of Saudi Arabia (and featured an installation made from women’s travel documents), while another—inspired by the 2003 destruction of the library at the University of Baghdad’s College of Fine Arts—featured an ever-evolving installation of books that were later donated to the college." - Stefanie Waldek

Art and Culture in Toronto

"The Aga Kahn museum, named after the Imam and spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims, is the world’s first museum dedicated to the artistic, intellectual, and scientific heritage of Muslim civilizations past and present. The museum displays ceramics, metalworks, paintings, and religious manuscripts, and its has rotating exhibitions and programs, including music and dance performances, theater, lectures, workshops, and film screenings. The museum’s overarching mission is to foster dialogue and promote tolerance and mutual understanding among people." - MATADOR_NETWORK

"The Aga Khan himself suggested to award-winning architect Fumihiko Maki that an appropriate inspiration for the design of his museum would be the element of light. The result is a building in which light, both direct and diffuse, pours in all day long. Fittingly, the museum’s mission is to shed light on Muslim civilizationand art though exhibitions, music, dance, and more. Permanent collections focus on everything from calligraphy to Korans; rotating displays have explored topics such as what it means to be a modern-day Persian. There’s also an on-site restaurant, Diwan, which serves stellar food from aroundthe Muslim world."

10 Best Museums in Toronto | Condé Nast Traveler

"Set in an extensive complex in the North York neighborhood, with a lush park and formal gardens, this is the largest museum dedicated to Islamic arts and culture outside of any Islamic country. The museum was founded by His Highness the Aga Khan, Harvard-educated spiritual leader of the Ismaili community, and opened in 2014 in a building designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Fumihiko Maki. While the pieces inside span millennia, the building itself is strikingly modern, with exterior walls of Brazilian granite, an interior open-roofed courtyard, and a design that takes into consideration how the changing natural light transforms the atmosphere of the spaces throughout the day." - Sandra Ramani