Craving something a little different for lunch? The Art Gallery of York University (AGYU) is offering a serving of art and culture every Tuesday at noon beginning Sept. 20 when it leads guided tours of the University’s outdoor sculpture collection.
Through fall, the AGYU will take interested patrons on walking tours around Keele campus for a lesson on the history of modern sculpture and the evolution of York’s collection.
Tours, which run about an hour, must be arranged in advanced and can be booked up until 10am the day of the tour by calling 416-736-2100 ext. 88608. Tours can also be arranged for another time through calling or emailing agyu@yorku.ca, or they can be self-guided using the AGYU Summer Outdoor Sculpture Tour printout as a reference.
In the early 1970s York acquired, through purchases and donations, a number of large-scale works of modern art by prominent sculptors such as Alexander Calder, Anthony Caro, Hugh LeRoy, Mark di Suvero and George Rickey.
These works were permanently installed on the campus grounds, and they established the foundation of the collection. Today, the University works to build on this foundation, and has commissioned works by Jocelyne Alloucherie, Enzo Cucchi, Rodney Graham, Brian Groombridge, Susan Schelle and Liz Magor for the campus.
York’s most recent addition, a sculpture of an Inuit soccer player located at the entrance of Lions Stadium unveiled in June, will be included in this year’s tour.
“Creating public spaces that are transformative, that can stimulate the imagination by speaking to many diverse uses and users, is a guiding principle for the development of the York University sculpture collection,” says the AGYU website.
For more information or to book a sculpture tour, visit the gallery’s website at theagyuisoutthere.org.