Saying Goodbye to Basquiat

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We knew this would be an extraordinary show for both the AGO and the people of Toronto. In addition to strong press coverage and lots of buzz around the show, the numbers are in and I’m very proud to share that we drew more than 155,000 visitors – making it the thirteenth highest-attended exhibition in the AGO’s history. Our home-grown exhibition is also having an impact beyond Toronto – it will reach an international audience this summer at the Guggenheim Bilbao.

Here are a few statistics that highlight how well we did here in Toronto, and how well we connected with our communities:

  • A record turnout to the opening Basquiat First Thursday with 1455 special exhibition tickets sold – a jump from an average of 500 special exhibition tickets at other First Thursdays.533 Teachers attended the Basquiat Teacher’s Event – the highest ever at the AGO.
  • After making tickets available to 125 community organizations serving youth, we hosted 3352 visitors at our free opening party.
  • 1,465 visits to Basquiat through the AGO Community membership program. This represents about 55% of our usual yearly attendance.
  • Because of their interest in Basquiat, 10 organizations serving marginalized youth joined the AGO community membership program between January and March.
  • Our marketing campaign included some innovative aspects that allowed people both in and out of the Gallery to interact with Basquiat:
    Digital Art Cards – Reached a minimum of 1.2-million Facebook users and 310,000 Twitter followers
  • Digital Kiosks – 1,600 Basquiat-inspired images created and shared
  • “Crowning Heroes” Instagram campaign – 440 Instagram posts of Basquiat/crown inspired images and stories
  • 74,286 Basquiat merchandise items sold coming to a total of $888,522 in sales. This is our second highest total exhibition sales number ever after Picasso.

Thank you for your commitment to the Gallery, our visitors and your colleagues. We showed the world that “now’s the time” for Basquiat and I look forward to seeing what we can do next with Turner.

Stephanie Smith

Chief Curator