The Museum’s popular Free Main Floor returns with additional programming for summer 2023.
TORONTO, June 1 – Building on the overwhelming success of Free Main Floor, launched last summer, ROM announces the return of this popular initiative for the summer of 2023. Starting Sunday, July 2, until Monday, September 4, the Museum’s expansive main floor galleries will be fully open to the public to enjoy, seven days a week, with no ticket required. Additionally, ROM's free summer program will celebrate Toronto's diverse cultural communities through live music and dance performances presented inside the Museum and at the ROM’s outdoor performance space. ROM’s Free Main Floor initiative is generously supported by the Temerty Foundation.
Offering this free summer experience for Toronto residents and visitors is part of ROM's greater vision to create a more open and accessible Museum for all.
“We are thrilled to throw open our doors to the public again this summer,” says Josh Basseches, ROM Director & CEO. “With our Free Main Floor program, we can welcome thousands of first-time visitors, making ROM an even more vital community hub where people gather, find inspiration, and engage with the relevant issues of our day.”
Free Main Floor enables guests to enjoy the Daphne Cockwell Gallery dedicated to First Peoples art & culture, Gallery of Korea, Gallery of Chinese Architecture, Bishop White Gallery of Chinese Temple Art, Matthews Family Court of Chinese Sculpture and the Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Gallery of China.
In addition to free gallery access, ROM will be providing summer visitors with more things to see and do. To entertain younger guests, the ROM Learning team will host daily interactive activities to engage “hands-on” with the subjects and objects on display. Daily music and performance programming at 12:30 pm and 2:00 pm. This programming will be presented indoors in the Museum’s main floor on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and will enliven the neighbourhood with outdoor public performances overlooking Philosopher’s Walk on the Helga and Mike Schmidt Performance Terrace on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Upcoming performances include renowned vocalist Maryem Tollar, Medusa, a chamber folk quartet; Indigenous fancy shawl dancing by Cedar Smoke; and beatboxing champion Scott Jackson. Programming and performances are made possible by the generous support of The Schmidt Family.
While there will be much to experience as part of Free Main Floor, visitors choosing to upgrade to the full ROM experience will enjoy access to all upper galleries and several exhibitions included with General Admission. Canadian Modern offers a new perspective on the rich legacy of Canadian craft and design by presenting 100 innovative and iconic examples from ROM collections — from fashion to electronics to furniture. TUSARNITUT! Music Born of the Cold, invites visitors to discover the breadth and diversity of Inuit musical expression, through art, drum dancing and throat singing. And Noelle Hamlyn: Lifers, an art installation featuring 20 repurposed and retailored life jackets, hand-crafted by the artist from reclaimed and discarded garments, drawing attention to fashion’s role in the current environmental crisis.
Being and Belonging, a separately surcharged exhibition, showcases 25 globally renowned and emerging contemporary women artists presenting perspectives from the Islamic world and beyond.
The special exhibition T.rex: The Ultimate Predator, is a surcharged ticketed exhibition and not included with Free Main Floor. But for those that dare to enter, they will be thrilled by the 40 models and casts, interactive displays, fossil T.rex skull and Canadian-discovered tyrannosaur fossil specimens presented in the spectacular exhibition from the American Museum of Natural History and presented by Desjardins Group.
Free Main Floor is an extension of ROM’s access and engagement initiatives, including Third Tuesday Nights Free, with presenting sponsor TD Bank Group, and ROMCAN – ROM’s close collaboration with 100 community partners across Ontario In addition to Free Main Floor, ROM is offering free admission to the whole Museum on July 1, Canada Day.
No ticket is needed for access to Free Main Floor. Also starting on July 2, ROM will transition to a summer schedule of being open seven days a week, with operating hours of 10:00 am to 5:30 pm. Last admission is at 5:00 pm.