"Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable." George Bernard Shaw

What constitutes art is quite subjective. Not everyone likes to spend time at a museum or an art gallery. However, if you enjoy visual arts, namely paintings, I think a great idea for a first date in Toronto is to spend some time at the Art Gallery of Ontario followed by lunch at the AGO Bistro, designed by Frank Gehry. Before you go though, you obviously need your date. And said date must also be interested in art. Now, in today’s hyper-connected world (some would say this hyper connection is creating disconnections, and in many ways, I agree), you’d think it’d be easy to find a date just using an app. But that depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re a very busy woman or man, whose career absorbs your time like a black hole, and your days of going to bars willy nilly to meet people are behind you, not to mention that, at this stage in your life, you are more comfortable in your own skin and know what you want, then perhaps approaching “It’s Just Lunch” matchmaking services is right for you. Their matchmakers are experienced and provide a personalized service based on your life goals and the type of relationship you’re looking for. For busy professionals, it’s a service that makes sense and can be very rewarding.

But back to the AGO

Let’s assume you hired “It’s Just Lunch” and our Toronto matchmakers found the right person for your first date. In keeping with the theme of this post, your date is interested in and enjoys art very much. So you make reservations at the AGO Bistro and you meet at the gallery. If this is a week day and you both can only take a couple of hours, I suggest you visit the Canadian collection. The AGO has some of the best Canadian paintings ever. Every Canadian should see Tom Thomson’s The West Wind, for example.

You can spend half an hour to an hour admiring the Canadian Collection and getting to know each other and then proceed to the Bistro for a casual lunch. Also, if you have time to plan ahead, check the AGO’s website for special exhibitions. For some exhibits you need to get timed tickets in advance. In the past, special events like the Van Gogh, the Chihully or Kusama exhibits were in very high demand. If your date is on a weekend, then you can spend as much time as it feels right at the gallery. For a weekend lunch date, I would recommend the McMichael Collection out in Kleinburg, Ontario, an amazing collection of Group of Seven work in a beautiful setting. But that’s material for another blog post.

Art Gallery of Ontario

317 Dundas Street West, Toronto

Enjoy you date and good luck.