A Season of Creativity: Fall 2025 at the Aga Khan Museum
From world-class exhibitions and dazzling light projections to flamenco music and dance performances, the Museum invites audiences to celebrate art and culture from September to December
TORONTO, Sept. 16, 2025 /CNW/ - As the cool weather approaches, the Aga Khan Museum opens its doors to a fall and winter season like no other. From an all-night festival featuring an immersive sonic installation, to breathtaking light displays that transform the Museum into a living canvas of calligraphy and storytelling, to monumental artworks that reimagine centuries-old traditions, the Museum offers fresh perspectives and unforgettable experiences. Overflowing with energy and inspiration from September through December 2025, it invites visitors to connect and reflect in a space where cultures intersect in innovative and empowering ways.
"This season, the Aga Khan Museum yet again becomes an extraordinary meeting place showcasing eye-opening creative ideas, time-honoured artistic traditions, and unexpected stories," says Dr. Ulrike Al-Khamis, Director and CEO of the Aga Khan Museum. "Our programs go beyond our galleries and Nanji Family Foundation Auditorium stage, reaching right into the Aga Khan Park outside our building. Each and every one of them allows people from all backgrounds to experience some of the fantastic ways in which creativity can foster intercultural dialogue, challenge misperceptions or stereotypes, and create moments of collective joy and reflection — reminding us all of the existential importance of human connection. From music that crosses continents to contemporary art that reimagines traditions across time, the Museum will once again demonstrate the power of art to connect us, inspire curiosity, and spark meaningful conversations."
The Museum's upcoming season offers a thoughtfully planned range of festivals, exhibitions, performances, and educational events, each highlighting distinct aspects of artistic and cultural expression.
Festivals and Celebrations
This season's festivals and celebrations highlight unexpected collaborations of sound, movement, and culture, including:
Nuit Blanche
October 4, 2025
The all-night festival of art and culture returns to the Aga Khan Museum, Aga Khan Park, and Ismaili Centre, Toronto. Highlights include Voices of the City, a vibrant program of multilingual poetry, music, and dance, and Circle of Sound, an immersive Qawwali-inspired installation combining sacred poetry and song.
Islamic Heritage Month
October 2025
Throughout October, the Museum will host performances, a film screening, and workshops. Highlights include Hindustani classical music by Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee and Arnab Chakrabarty, Songs of the Sufi, and Duende and Hâl, blending flamenco with Sufi traditions. Visitors can also participate in hands-on workshops exploring Islamic art through calligraphy, mosaic art, painting, and more.
Duende International Flamenco Festival
November 16–23, 2025
The 11th annual Duende International Flamenco Festival brings leading artists from across the world for a fresh, contemporary take on the evolving art form, while honouring its roots in flamenco's birthplace.
Light Up the Dark
December 26–28, 2025
For three nights, OCAD University students and graduates will transform the Museum's façade into a canvas for animated projections inspired by the exhibition As the Sun Appears from Beyond: Twenty Years of the Al Burda Award.
Exhibitions:
The season's exhibitions showcase artistic experimentation and reinterpretations of historical forms, from intricate craftsmanship to large-scale installations.
As the Sun Appears from Beyond: Twenty Years of the Al Burda Award
Temporary Exhibitions Gallery • On display until February 15, 2026
Celebrating Arabic calligraphy, poetry, and ornamentation, this exhibition showcases two decades of award-winning works blending tradition with innovation.
Your Way Begins on the Other Side
Museum Collections Gallery • On display until April 26, 2026
Returning for the Museum's 10th anniversary, Aisha Khalid's monumental tapestry, crafted with over one million gold-plated steel pins, draws inspiration from Persian garden design and Sufi poetry.
Kour Pour: Cosmic Diagrams
Museum Collections Gallery • On display until February 22, 2026
Mesmerizing paintings inspired by cosmological diagrams and cultural traditions reveal a shared quest to understand a vast, interconnected cosmic order.
Inner Structures – Outer Rhythms
Rasheed Dhuka and Nooruddin Khawja Family Gallery • On display until April 19, 2026
A glimpse into the dynamic graphic design scene of Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA), showcasing how innovative Arabic and Persian typography contribute to global visual culture.
Hassan Hajjaj: La Salle de Gym des Femmes Arab (The Arab Women's Gym)
Aga Khan Park • Opening September 13
A captivating outdoor exhibition featuring women participating in sports, challenging stereotypes and celebrating empowerment.
Performances and Educational Events:
Performances and talks explore the stories behind artistic forms, from contemporary design to classical and experimental music, inviting visitors to reflect on cultural and creative connections.
Verse and Voice featuring Tawhida Tanya Evanson and Yahya Hussein Abdallah - September 27
Connecting Cultures Through Typography: Inner Structures – Outer Rhythms Curator Talk - September 28
Couchiching Annual Conference: Securing Canada's Atlantic Future - September 29–30
Glenn Gould Foundation: The Promise of Music – October 6–10
Duende and Hâl featuring Constantinople and Dani de Morón - October 24
RU'YA featuring Gordon Grdina and Ghalia Benali - November 1
Labyrinth Ensemble Featuring Ross Daly and Kelly Thoma– November 8
For a full schedule of exhibitions, performances, and programs, please visit agakhanmuseum.org.
The Museum's Performing Arts programming is generously supported by the Nanji Family Foundation.
We would like to acknowledge funding support from the Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Arts Council, the Government of Ontario, and the Government of Canada.
About the Aga Khan Museum
The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Canada, has been established and developed by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), which is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). Through permanent and temporary exhibitions, educational activities and performing arts, the Museum's mission is to spark wonder, curiosity, and understanding of Muslim cultures and their connection with other cultures through the arts. Designed by architect Fumihiko Maki, the Museum shares a 6.8-hectare site with Toronto's Ismaili Centre, which was designed by architect Charles Correa. The surrounding landscaped park was designed by landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic.
SOURCE Aga Khan Museum
FOR PRESS INQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT: Garry Ho, Porter Novelli, [email protected], 212.601.8381; Kelly Frances, Marketing and Communications Director, Aga Khan Museum, [email protected], 416.858.8735
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