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| - Thanks to being a new citizen I managed to get in for free so I can't complain about the admission price, but I do admit that it is a little steep but since it's an art gallery I wouldn't feel too bad spending on a ticket here especially since I spend the same amount on movies these days.
I however did not get a warm and friendly feeling from the staff upon entering, but my mini tour guide who gave us the tour of the Canadian works (aka the Group of Seven) was friendly, informative and for the most part seemed an expert on the subject.
I honestly feel that for someone like me who decides to begin my art education by just jumping in to art galleries (or at least that's what I plan on doing) the AGO is not ideal. I learnt so much more by eavesdropping on other's conversations than any plaque could have told me and unless you go on a proper tour (not the 30 minute mini tour I did) you might leave feeling a little overwhelmed, museums I've been to that have proper information about their pieces leave me feeling a lot more appreciative for the subjects but the AGO just didn't seem to do that for me. But then again almost everyone else loves the AGO here so I'm probably just a part of a very very small minority.
I also found the overall layout of the museum a little confusing and the map while clear could have been better, perhaps highlighting some of the pieces found in certain galleries.
I was very unhappy to learn that photos are not allowed, I hear that flashes could damage the works over time, but just let people take pictures sans flash, there's no harm in that, and I've met friendlier customs agents at the border than the security here.
The volunteers walking around the galleries were very friendly and were honest in admitting that they were not uber experts on the pieces, just knew about them in general but had great interest in them and engaging in conversations with the likes of me.
Oh yeah, the top 3 floors including the beautiful gallery that opens out on to Dundas street were closed so I could not check out their cafe either, that was a major bummer too.
But I will definitely be coming back here especially if they have exhibits that interest me and hopefully I'll be back with someone that really knows their art so they could educate me as the AGO does not do a good enough job of that.
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