Canada

At the renowned Aga Khan Museum (AKM), people are greeted by a mesmerizing pop-up performance by musician Amin Reihani playing an Iranian santoor, a kind of hammered dulcimer. Pop-ups feature an array of music played on instruments not often heard in North America. AKM features a stunning design by architect Fumihiko Maki. Across a pond-filled courtyard sits the Ismaili Centre Toronto, a pyramid designed by architect Charles Correa. The tranquil courtyard, known as the Aga Khan Park, is the work of a third architect, Vladimir Djurovic. AKM’s mission is to foster an appreciation of the artistic, intellectual and scientific contributions to the world by Muslim civilisations over the centuries from the Iberian Peninsula to China.

The Aga Khan Museum (AKM) is celebrating the artistic contributions of newcomers in its "Season of Immigration" that will feature 51 visual artists, 15 performances and 10 speakers representing more than 50 countries. Many of the artists and speakers are immigrants or refugees themselves while other are descendants of recent immigrants. AKM's winter/spring 2020 season includes three exhibitions that showcase the creativity of migrants and the artistic contributions they are making around the world. Ulrike Al-Khamis, AKM's Director of collections and public programmes said: "We are proud to amplify the voices of artists and thinkers with deeply personal connections to migration. Their stories and the artistic practices they inspire have much to tell us about how immigration can enhance and enrich society."

In March at the Aga Khan Museum, three exhibitions about global migration will feature works from more than 50 visual artists from around the globe. This exhibition will showcase artists who are either immigrants themselves or whose parents or grandparents were immigrants. They were invited by the Aga Khan Museum and the Luciano Benetton Foundation’s Imago Mundi to explore the ways a person’s ancestral past informs their present reality and their hopes for the future. Many of the works on display are meditations on the idea of home. As Afghanistan-born, Berlin-based contributor Jeanno Gaussi says, home is an idea that "keeps growing and reshaping itself." It’s an observation with particular resonance in Toronto, which is home to more than 1.2 million people born outside of Canada.