McMichael to host the only exhibition in Canada of paintings by Indian Nobel laureate
Rabindranath Tagore in culmination of national celebrations
For Immediate Release
April 24, 2012 Kleinburg, ON – The McMichael Canadian Art Collection announced today it will
host the one-and-only Canadian showing of the exhibition, The Last Harvest: Paintings by
Rabindranath Tagore, opening on May 19, 2012. Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) is beloved by
Indians as a poet and writer. He was recognized around the world as the first non-European to be
awarded a Nobel Prize for literature, yet few outside India know that he was also a highly regarded
visual artist.
The exhibition is organized by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India and the National Gallery
of Modern Art as part of the commemoration of the 150th Year Celebrations of Rabindranath
Tagore, which involves a number of national and international programs, including showcasing
Tagore’s paintings at select museums across the world from 2011 to 2012. The Last Harvest:
Paintings by Rabindranath Tagore, curated by Professor Raman Siva Kumar of Visva- Bharati
University, comprises more than sixty works on paper drawn from three collections in India. The
exhibition has been presented in New York’s Asia Society Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago,
with other versions being exhibited in Paris, Rome, London, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, and Berlin.
The Canadian exhibition at the McMichael is presented in collaboration with Panorama India and the
Tagore Anniversary Celebrations Committee, Toronto (TACCT). Panorama India, a non-profit
umbrella organization that helps unite all Indo-Canadian cultural associations and groups in the
GTA, provides a platform to exhibit and showcase arts and culture. “It brings us great pleasure to
work with the McMichael in hosting this exhibition as we continue gaining greater recognition for
Rabindranath Tagore’s work,” said Ajit Khanna, Chair, Panorama India. “The McMichael Canadian
Art Collection is one of Canada's leading cultural institutions and an ideal venue for the culmination
of Tagore’s 150th anniversary celebrations, in the South Asian community and Canada.”
“We enthusiastically embrace the opportunity to celebrate Tagore with our local communities,” said
Upkar Arora, Chair, McMichael Board of Trustees. “It is an honour to host this exhibition and we
welcome and encourage everyone to visit the McMichael and experience the works and life of such
a versatile and prolific artist, one who has been a great influence on both his native India, and on the
world stage.”
"Rabindranath Tagore was an important influence on artists in the early decades of the twentieth
century, when artists were exchanging ideas regarding theosophy and spiritualism,” said Victoria
Dickenson, CEO. “During Tagore’s visit to Canada in 1929, he met with Fred Varley and Lawren S.
Harris. It is very fitting that the Canadian exhibition will take place here, at the McMichael—we are
delighted to renew that connection!”
10365 Islington Avenue, Kleinburg, Ontario L0J 1C0
Phone: 905.893.1121 • Fax: 905.893.2588 • www.mcmichael.com
Related Programming at the McMichael
Saturday, May 26, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Raman Siva Kumar, curator, and Dipak Mazumdar, translator, on The Latest Harvest:
Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore and His Later Poems
Celebrated as a poet, writer, and musician, Rabindranath Tagore turned to visual arts relatively late
in his life, creating a series of highly accomplished paintings in the 1930s that will be on view at the
McMichael gallery during the exhibition period. Through a curator-led tour and readings of Tagore's
poetry, this unique Art Encounter will highlight the remarkable versatility of Tagore’s talent and shed
light on his influence on modernism internationally. Curator Raman Siva Kumar, visiting us from
Visva-Baharati University in India, will lead the tour and Tagore's poetry will be read by Dipak
Mazumdar, a passionate fan who has translated Tagore’s later poems in A Poet’s Death (Rupa,
2004) from Bengali into English.
Cost: $25 general public; $20 McMichael members. Registration required by May 11.
Thursday, May 31, 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Rabindranth Tagore Curriculum Night
Tagore's lifelong interest in integrating social justice, the environment, and arts into a teaching
curriculum inspired a group of dedicated Ontario teachers to develop school programs based on his
educational ideas that could be incorporated into The Ontario Curriculum. During this special
evening event, teachers and educators will have an opportunity to participate in a Tagore workshop
led by the teachers who developed the programs and continue to follow them in their classroom. A
display of their students' work will be on view at the McMichael between May 26 and June 3, 2012.
Participants will also be offered a special after-hours viewing of The Last Harvest: Paintings by
Rabindranath Tagore exhibition. Light refreshments will be served. Cost: Free for teachers and
educators.
Sunday, June 3, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Ananda Mela: Celebrating Rabindranath Tagore at the McMichael
Each year at his school in Santiniketan, Rabindranath Tagore, who is also celebrated as a pioneer
of modern education, would organize a joyful fair—Ananda Mela—celebrating the year’s learning
and teaching. Today, we invite everyone to participate in workshops developed along the lines of
Tagore’s teaching philosophy that integrates visual, poetic, and musical arts. Come enjoy our festive
offerings, with musical performances by the Geetanjali Music and Dance Group (directed by
Manashi Adhikari), and a presentation of Satyajit Ray’s films inspired by Tagore’s writings.
 Ananda Mela workshops, ongoing, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
 Satyajit Ray films, starting at 12:00 p.m. with an introduction by Kathleen O’Connell, lecturer
in South Asia Studies at the University of Toronto
 Dance, music, and poetry performance at 1:30 p.m.
10365 Islington Avenue, Kleinburg, Ontario L0J 1C0
Phone: 905.893.1121 • Fax: 905.893.2588 • www.mcmichael.com
Sunday, June 24 at 11:30 a.m.
Rabindranath Tagore: East Meets Great North
The Group of Seven’s fascination with Rabindranath Tagore reflects the Western pre-occupation
with Eastern philosophy and aesthetics at the turn of the twentieth century. In this Art Chat, discover
how smoothly these two cultural worlds were able to fuse ideas through the art and life of this great
Bengali poet, composer, artist, and thinker. Cost: Included with gallery admission.
About the McMichael Canadian Art Collection
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an agency of the Government of Ontario and
acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. It is the foremost venue in
the country showcasing the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. In addition to touring
exhibitions, its permanent collection consists of almost 6,000 artworks, including paintings by the
Group of Seven and their contemporaries, First Nations and Inuit artists. The gallery is located at
10365 Islington Avenue, north of Major Mackenzie Drive in Kleinburg. For more information about
the gallery, visit www.mcmichael.com.
-30Media contact: Michelle Kortinen, Communications Coordinator, McMichael Canadian Art
Collection, 905.893.1121 ext. 2210, [email protected]
10365 Islington Avenue, Kleinburg, Ontario L0J 1C0
Phone: 905.893.1121 • Fax: 905.893.2588 • www.mcmichael.com