Art Gallery of Ontario Review

UPDATE:

We attended “The Culture Public Opening” at the AGO on Friday, December 6, 2024, with high hopes to witness a performance by Canadian hip-hop legend Michie Mee. For context, Michie is not just a trailblazer—she was the first Canadian hip-hop artist to sign a major American record deal. Her accolades include the 2012 DJ Stylus Hall of Fame Award and the 2013 CUMC Lifetime Achievement Award. Sharing the stage (well, the vibe) was Toronto DJ Junia-T, though you’d never know it from the lack of any signage or fanfare.

Simultaneously, the art exhibit “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century” was open for exploration. It runs until April 6, 2024, but getting to it required navigating a convoluted route to elevators that seemed more like an endurance test than an invitation. We passed on the exhibit entirely because the elevator line was absurdly long—AGO, why do you insist on cramming visitors into elevators to access marquee exhibits? It’s a recurring issue and utterly baffling given the institution’s reputation.

As for the main-floor “party,” it leaned heavily into a minimalist “basement party” aesthetic, with all the cheer and decoration of a underwhelming high school dance. There was no countdown, no hype, and no clear indication when Michie would perform. After drinking watered down “complimentary” vodka, we scoured the AGO website for clues, and learned she was scheduled for 8:00 PM. True to Canadian-Jamaican form, she took the stage fashionably late at 8:25 PM.

When she finally appeared, it was clear the years had been tough. Her performance oscillated between nostalgia for longtime fans and geriatric movements for newcomers. There’s something to be said about authenticity, but it wouldn’t hurt for our veteran artists to embrace stage presence with a touch more fitness and finesse. “Keeping it real” doesn’t have to mean disregarding how you present yourself to the audience.

This is the second time I’ve attended a hip-hop-focused evening at the AGO, and it left me wondering if all their events are this uninspired. A lack of ambiance, weak logistics, and barely-there efforts to elevate the experience left me questioning why I even bothered leaving home on a chilly December night.

Final verdict? This event felt like a disservice to the art, the culture, and the audience. Here’s hoping that if we return for the exhibit, the AGO will have done more justice to the rich legacy of hip-hop and the vibrant art it inspires.