Babies like Picasso : AGO Toronto

The Picasso exhibit is currently on at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) and the family and I were invited to explore the wonderful kid friendly exhibition.  See… no more talk of galleries being kid (in)tolerant.. the AGO is very kid friendly and you can read about  our recent visit to the ShopAGOkids here. We had chosen a busy night to catch up with Mr. Picasso, either that or he’s a very popular man! Wednesday nights are free general admission and half priced exhibit entrance fees, so do expect a bit of a line up if you decide to visit on a Wednesday evening.

The space is very stroller friendly, though we did not time our visit well heading out  around bedtime (what was I thinking!!).  Which meant a bit of a cranky baby and Bjorn to the rescue! Given the rare works of art, no snackertainment either! Though there is a comfortable lounge area by the entrance and exit of the exhibit which meant that a bottle (or boob) or some snacks can be easily dished out within a matter of minutes.

We spent an hour and a half exploring the pieces under the tutelage of the audio tour. What’s cool is that there is a special audio tour especially created for the young ones and it’s free with the purchase  of an adult tour.  This means that kids can tour around with their own little headset, stopping at seven designated areas to learn about the pieces and hear other children giving their opinions about each artwork. I thought this was quite neat and actually  stopped in to listen at each of the kid focused pieces (I’m weird I know)! I look forward to the Little Monkey being a bit older and us learning and discussing about music, art and sound at a future exhibit.

We were lucky enough to see a few of Picasso’s peices on our recent visit to the Louvre in Paris but this was the first time that we got to see a range of his work. You get a good insight into the women in his life (..yes he’s had a few affairs, 6 muses popped out to me and he was married to two of them. Who’s judging?) and the various periods in his life. To my geeky readers, yes you see works from the blue and rose periods in addition to his contribution to cubism. I was surprised to learn that he designed costumes and infact this is how he met his first wife. The colourful paintings and drawings are sure to capture the attention of the  little ones in your life and did you know that recent research conducted by Zurich researchers has illustrated that babies prefer Picasso to Monet? Hah! Even little ones know that Picasso’s a fun man.If you’re looking to beat the heat, a visit to the AGO and the exhibit is sure to help drain some of your child’s energy.. err.. I mean… is sure to help in creating some family bonding time. Round it off with a visit to the shopAGOkids and a quick meal at  FRANKS.. they have tapas! I do love me my chorizo tapas! The Picasso exhibit goes on till August 26th and a family pass (2 adults and 2 children aged 6-17) comes to $62.50 on a regular evening and includes general admission.

As you know we can’t take pictures inside the exhibit, but here’s some images that the AGO has shared with us.

Pablo Picasso,Le Fou (The Jester), 1905

© Picasso Estate SODRAC (2012)

If you’re looking for a baby shower gift or some nifty gadgets to help whip up some treats for your little one, be sure to enter the Hamilton Beach giveaway I’m hosting! You can enter here.