Opens October 18, 2024
Special Exhibition Hall. 3rd Floor

The Gardiner Museum is currently undergoing a full-scale reimagining of our ground floor. This major transformation includes the re-installation of a significant part of the Museum’s collection, including collections donated by George and Helen Gardiner upon the institution’s founding.

Test Kitchen: A Museum Project is part exhibition, part workshop, and part ideas generator. In it, we share our thoughts as curators, educators, and museum workers about the display and interpretation of ceramics. The concept of the test kitchen offers a metaphor for a space of experimentation, collaboration, and participation in the museum.

As we reimagine our collections galleries, we’re asking ourselves how we can better explore the past and tell new stories. Test Kitchen opens up this process, which usually happens behind closed doors, making our museum work more transparent and inviting you to collaborate.

The project features four sections that illustrate our interpretive approaches, alongside a series of self-guided activities. Throughout, we encourage you to observe closely, make, discuss, and offer feedback while exploring the nature of museum work.

Both Test Kitchen and the transformation of the Gardiner’s ground floor are guided by principles of connectivity, Indigeneity, and access. These principles shape how we work together, ask questions of artworks, and build relationships. With Test Kitchen, we embrace our transformation as a unique opportunity to learn from you, our audience.