FOR 5-18

NEW WING TO BE DEDICATED AT ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM JUNE 2

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TORONTO, ONTARIO — At sunset on Saturday, June 2, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) — Canada’s largest museum of natural history and world cultures — will hold the architectural opening and building dedication for the museum’s new Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. The dramatic new wing will showcase seven collection galleries on four floors, two special exhibition spaces, new retail and dining facilities, and the ROM’s new main entrance.

The facility, designed by Daniel Libeskind, is named in honor of businessperson, philanthropist and member of the ROM Board of Governors Michael Lee-Chin, whose lead donation of $30 million in April 2003 launched the museum’s “Renaissance ROM” expansion project. Following the dedication ceremony, the Lee-Chin Crystal will open to the public for the first time.

ROM Director and CEO William Thorsell says, “It is difficult to imagine a more eloquent symbol of the ROM’s growth and revitalization than Daniel Libeskind’s Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. With its dynamic form, expansive public areas and superb gallery spaces, the building is at once inspiring and practical. It will provide Toronto residents and visitors with a place for contemplation, learning and fun. The Royal Ontario Museum is deeply grateful to Michael Lee-Chin for making this superb building possible.”

From now through June 10, visitors can experience Libeskind’s architecture in its purest form, prior to installation of the seven collection galleries. On June 11, the gallery floors will temporarily close for installation, but the special exhibitions and public amenities will remain open.

Over subsequent months, the completion of each of the Michael Lee-Chinn Crystal’s seven permanent galleries — the Jim and Louise Temerty Galleries of the Age of Dinosaurs; the Ajmera Family Gallery of the Age of Mammals; the Gallery of Africa, the Americas and Asia Pacific; the Sir Christopher Ondaatje South Asian Gallery; the Gallery of the Middle East; the Patricia Harris Gallery of Textiles and Costume; and the Institute for Contemporary Culture — will be marked by a special celebration.

The Lee-Chin Crystal comprises five interlocking, self-supporting prismatic structures that interface with the historic buildings that embrace it. With hardly a right angle anywhere, its sloping walls create unique interior spaces with soaring volumes and such details as the “Spirit House,” a void at the heart of the building that is traversed by crisscrossing bridges. Slashing windows fill the rooms with natural light and create framed views of the cityscapes outside.

The ROM’s historic facades are exposed in the interior in large and small sections, while the sleek, contemporary walls form dramatic backdrops for the historic artifacts. Museum circulation is vastly improved through the inclusion of the “Stair of Wonders,” a cabinet of curiosities in itself, as well as elevators and links into ROM’s historic wings.

When complete, the 175,000-square-foot aluminum and glass covered Michael Lee-Chin Crystal will house seven permanent galleries overlooking Bloor Street West. It also contains a new main entrance and lobby, the soaring four-story interior Hyacinth Gloria Chen Crystal Court, the sizeable new ROM Museum Store, the Crystal Five Restaurant Lounge (opening late June) and Canada’s largest space for international exhibitions — Garfield Weston Exhibition Hall — among other features.

The Michael Lee-Chin Crystal is the centerpiece of the museum’s $250 million expansion and renovation project.

For information in English and French, 416-585-8000 or www.rom.on.ca.