Toronto Aga Khan Museum + Ismaili Centre | ?m | ?s | Aga Khan Dev. | Maki and Associates

computist said:
don mills is a very quiet community, i haven't seen a single muslim living around there. i think toronto chose to build the museum in the wrong place, because don mills is not a islamic community at all.
save the money to educate those young muslim to be canadian culture oriented individuals, instead of building this musee.

my 2 cents.
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Completely clueless! lol Take a walk through Thorncliff Park, which is just south of the museum. I think you're the one who could use some education about your own city.
 
sikandar said:
LOL, trust me you don't have to worry about us not being "Canadian" enough. Go check out a Muslim ball hockey league on a weekend sometime, if you can find space for parking. The world is a lot more complicated than newspaper headlines.
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Ah, but uncomplicating the world doesn't sell ad space ;)
 
Sakıp Sabancı Museum to host Aga Khan collection

Tuesday, October 5, 2010
GÃœL DEMİR and NİKİ GAMM
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The Aga Khan calligraphy collection is becoming renowned around the world after much of it has traveled to various museums throughout Europe. The collection is currently being exhibited at Istanbul’s highly regarded Sakıp Sabancı Museum, with the show 'Treasures of the Aga Khan Museum - Arts of the Book and Calligraphy in the Islamic World' bringing together examples of the written word on a variety of objects. The Aga Khan believes such exhibitions foster recognition and tolerance

Istanbul’s Sakıp Sabancı Museum, one of the most respected museums in Turkey, recently announced that it is set to exhibit one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of the art and paraphernalia of Islamic calligraphy.

The museum announced through its website that the exhibition, running from Nov. 5 until Feb. 27 will show a collection it is calling “Treasures of the Aga Khan Museum - Arts of the Book and Calligraphy in the Islamic World.â€

While the exhibition is being held as part of Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture festivities, it is the first time since 2007 that it will be shown in near entirety, with artifacts of the history of the written word “on a variety of objects (ceramics, wood, metalwork, textiles, etc.) with their counterparts on parchment and paper artifacts on display,†rather than a mere general presentation of “highlights†from the collection, according to the announcement.

“The exhibition aims to show how the art of the book - in calligraphy, illumination and illustration - evolved over time in the Islamic world,†the announcement said.

Few people know of the Aga Khan’s collections. In Turkey for example, the Aga Khan – which is the hereditary title of the Imam of the largest branch of the Ismaili followers of the Shia faith – is primarily known for the architectural prizes it has conferred on various projects here, including Ertegün House in Bodrum, the Nail Çakırhan House in Akyaka and this year possibly the İpekyolu Textile Factory in Edirne.

However, the Aga Khan’s calligraphy collection is becoming more renowned as parts of it have traveled to various museums throughout Europe since 2007, while a large portion of the collection is usually housed at the Institute for Ismaili Studies in London.

The Institute's Library has an important and significant collection of Islamic manuscripts, consisting of over 1,700 volumes. Besides a small nucleus of manuscripts that contain the text of the Quran, the scope of this collection encompasses a variety of subjects, including scholarly works on jurisprudence, theology, philosophy, logic, grammar, medicine, astronomy and alchemy, and non-theoretical works of poetry and biography.

The beginnings of this collection go back to the 1930s and 1940s when the Russian scholar and pioneer of modern Ismaili studies, Vladimir Ivanow, together with other Ismaili scholars, gathered a large number of manuscripts for The Ismaili Society in Bombay. These acquisitions provided the basis for the Institute’s own collection, which over the past decade has grown considerably thanks to contributions from private collections.

Museum collection

The museum collection, which comprises some 1,000 pieces, includes several superb examples of Quran manuscripts that demonstrate the variety of script, media and decorative styles that evolved in the Muslim world. Among them, an eighth century North African folio demonstrates the earliest style of kufic script written on parchment. A page from the well known Blue Quran provides an example of gold kufic script on indigo-dyed parchment. The Blue Quran is considered one of the most extraordinary Quran manuscripts ever created, the origins of which are ninth or tenth century North African, likely created for the Fatimid caliphs.

To date, major exhibitions have taken place in Parma, London, Paris, Lisbon, Toledo, Madrid, Barcelona and Berlin. Over the next two years, further exhibitions are envisaged in Istanbul and five other cities in the Muslim world. By 2012, these exhibitions will have been seen by nearly one and a half million people and will have created a framework for cooperation and collaboration with museums and institutions throughout the world.

Museum does not exist

The Aga Khan Museum ironically doesn’t exist yet. It is being built in Toronto, Canada and is expected to be completed in 2013. Why Toronto? According to the current Aga Khan’s brother, Prince Amyn, “Toronto – and indeed North America – has become home to a growing Muslim community, whose diversity is reflective of the broad plurality of traditions, interpretations and cultures that constitute the ummah [or world of Islam]. The cosmopolitan ethic of Toronto and Canada’s pluralist values provide a suitable backdrop for the new museum and its collection.â€

“Like the caravans that crisscrossed the Silk Road centuries ago, museums and their collections have become crucibles of cross-cultural dialogue that can create greater understanding among peoples. In showcasing the artifacts of the Muslim world, the Aga Khan Museum will foster a greater appreciation of our collective human heritage and shared history,†he said.

The new museum will be dedicated to the acquisition, preservation, display and interpretation of artifacts relating to the intellectual, cultural, artistic and religious traditions of Muslim communities, past and present. Artifacts will include ceramics, metalwork, and paintings covering all periods of Islamic history.

Manuscripts in the collection will include the earliest known copy of Avicenna’s “Qanun fi’l-Tibb†(“The Canon of Medicineâ€) dating from 1052. A music program is also planned to feature in the collection’s permanent display, which will work to expand knowledge of the traditional music of Asia and the Islamic world as well as its contemporary expression.

The museum will become a repository of historical materials related to the Ismaili community and house research programs related to each one of the aspects of its institutional mission. It will also provide a space for permanent exchanges between the Islamic and Western worlds on educational, cultural and socioeconomic issues.

Islam according to the Imam of the Shia faith

The Aga Khan has pointed out that over the centuries, Islam has embraced many civilizations and is by nature pluralistic. The Aga Khan collection therefore aims to exhibit objects from every region and period, created from every kind of material in the Muslim world. The collection seeks to demonstrate the openness of Muslim civilizations to every aspect of human life, even going so far as to work in partnership with intellectual and artistic sources originating in other cultural matrices.

According to the current Aga Khan, Shah Karim al-Hussayni, there are two main tendencies, traditional and modern, trying to maintain, indeed develop, Islamic legitimacy. “For the populations of the Ummah, loss of identity is an unquestionable reality, as it is for all societies. Perhaps one of the keys for the Muslim world will be to perpetuate their cultures in the modern world by means of rediscovered ancient and newly inspired sources. The Muslim world’s two main tendencies, traditional and modern, will both have a role to play but if one attempts to achieve exclusivity at the expense of the other, the consequences will be predictable and highly damaging,†he said at the closing address of an exhibition at Paris’ Louvre Museum in Oct., 2007.

The Sakıp Sabancı exhibition is a keenly anticipated event, and will also no doubt be bolstered by the museum’s own extensive calligraphic collection. The Aga Khan collection will be on exhibition until Feb. 27, 2011.
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went to Don Mills today, dropped by the Aga Khan site, it is easily reachable on the south side of Wynford Drive, just east of Don Mills Rd.....lots of activity onsite, all 4 cranes working, and a small army of workers....

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some formwork above grade....
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Apparently there is going to be an exhibition on this complex at the Ontario Science Centre in a couple of weeks. There doesn't seem to be anything on their website, though. Does anyone have any information about it?
 
hari said:
Apparently there is going to be an exhibition on this complex at the Ontario Science Centre in a couple of weeks. There doesn't seem to be anything on their website, though. Does anyone have any information about it?
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I believe this information to be correct. My understanding is that it is a public viewing of the very nice displays that were created for the foundation ceremony. The exhibition will be open from December 23 to January 12, 2011.
 
Has anyone on this thread gone to the exhibition? It is only up for one more week.

View future Aga Khan centre at exhibition

Last May, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Aga Khan attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a $300-million Ismaili centre in the area of Eglinton Avenue and Don Mills Road.

Now, you see the project for yourself.

An exhibition of drawings and renderings of the development, which will include the Ismaili Centre Toronto, the Aga Khan Museum and a park, is on display at the Ontario Science Centre.

"These landmark projects, stunning additions to the cultural and architectural landscape of Toronto, are currently under construction on Wynford Drive in Toronto, and will offer platforms for the search for mutual understanding among all communities and cultures," according to a statement from the Aga Khan Council for Canada.

"The Aga Khan Museum and its collection reflect the plurality of the Muslim world, while the adjacent Ismaili Centre will create spaces for interaction and dialogue."

The 17-acre development is expected to be completed in 2013.

The exhibition runs daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Wednesday, Jan. 12. Entrance is free.

For more information, visit www.ontariosciencecentre.ca
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InsideToronto article ...

This was just published by InsideToronto ...

http://www.insidetoronto.com/news/local/article/930079--ismaili-centre-will-spotlight-islamic-culture-shine-light-into-broader-community
A new Ismaili centre being built in North York will be a beacon of Islamic culture and a bridge of understanding and harmony between Muslims and other communities.
<snip>
It will include a prayer hall and spaces to host a number of educational and cultural activities such as book launches and community discussions. Its glass roof will allow a warm glow from within to shine outwards in the evening.

Dedicated to Islamic art, the museum will showcase intellectual, cultural, artistic and religious heritage of Muslim civilizations. Its auditorium will host various cultural and performing arts displays, possibly including Toronto International Film events.

The two buildings will be set in a park which will include a formal garden, reflecting pools, walkways and other features.
<snip>
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I think it would be cool to have a Toronto International Film event there!
 
Construction update from TheIsmaili.org

The pictures aren't absolutely recent, but there is some commentary there and a couple shots from the 'inside' and from a crane overlooking the Ismaili Centre portion.

http://www.theismaili.org/cms/1151/As-construction-progresses-Torontonians-get-to-peek-at-plans-for-the-Ismaili-Centre-the-Aga-Khan-Museum-and-their-Park

*pictures Courtesy of Imara Wynford Drive via TheIsmaili.org*

As the walls on the museum part slope out, I'm a little confused as to what part exactly this is - perhaps the inside courtyard?
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Here is the prayer hall floor poured part way:
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Prior picture of the same space - unsure of what is required below that floor. Some aspects might be related to holding up the multi-layer glass roof. Will be interesting to see progress.
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Does anyone have updated construction shots? The ones I posted a couple weeks ago were already two months old at that time, so there really hasn't been anything of recent. I'm wondering how the leaning walls are coming along, as well as the cultural centre. Would also be particularly interested in knowing the time line for installation of the glass roof on the cultural centre's gathering space - that should be cool to watch.
 
3xotic said:
I read in theismaili.org article that the glass roof is expected to come up around May 2011 and that will definitely be very exciting.
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Very exciting indeed! Can't wait to see the pictures.

On a related note, Jim Bowie has created a video from the construction pictures he is taking from his condo vantage. You can watch the progress from March 2010 to 2011 here.
 
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