AGO to let high school students in free after school

(CBC) - The Art Gallery of Ontario plans to let secondary students in free after school when it reopens in the fall.

The Toronto gallery, currently closed for a major revamp designed by architect Frank Gehry, says it wants to make the gallery more accessible and welcoming.

Ontario high school students will be able to visit for free from 3.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m., Tuesday through Friday.

The program is part of an overall push to encourage gallery visits among those who might not otherwise enter the AGO.

Among the other programs to bring in visitors:

- Free general admission on Wednesdays evenings.

- An arts pass program offered through the Toronto Public Library.

- A program to offer one-year passes to new citizens.

- Tours for elementary school and community groups.

General admission will remain at $18 for adults. Admission for students aged six to 18 will be $10 outside of after-school hours.

"Even as we step onto the world stage as a cultural destination, we want to make the AGO accessible and welcoming to the people of Toronto and Ontario," Matthew Teitelbaum, director and chief executive of the AGO, said in a press release.

"We want them to feel this is their art museum, a place where they will connect with art and want to return time and again."

A reopening date has not yet been set for the renovated AGO.