North America's first museum dedicated to Islamic art, built on a former broadcasting site
The Aga Khan Museum
Opened in 2014 on the site of a former CBC property in North York, the Aga Khan Museum became North America's first museum dedicated exclusively to Islamic art and culture.
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The Aga Khan Museum opened in 2014 in North York, built on land that had previously housed a CBC property, funded and developed by the Aga Khan Development Network under the direction of Aga Khan IV, the spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslim community. Designed by Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki, the museum was purpose-built to hold a collection of Islamic art spanning more than a thousand years and a wide geographic range, from Spain to China.
A first for North America
On opening, it became the first museum in North America dedicated exclusively to Islamic art, part of a larger complex that also includes the Ismaili Centre and extensive formal gardens. Toronto's selection as the site reflected the city's large and long-established Ismaili Muslim community, and the museum has since become both a cultural institution serving that community specifically and a broader public destination for Islamic art and history, hosting rotating exhibitions, concerts and educational programming.
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