On the heels of the 50th Anniversary of Pink Floyd’s iconic album, The Dark Side Of The Moon, Toronto music fans and culture buffs alike will get a backstage pass to the story of Pink Floyd through an audio-visual sensorial journey unlike any other.
Since its hugely successful global debut in 2017 at London’s prestigious Victoria and Albert Museum, The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains, has captivated audiences across the world in Rome, Madrid, Dortmund, GER, Los Angeles, Montreal - and will make its Toronto premiere June 16 at the Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place, 195 Princes’ Blvd.
The 20,000 sq.ft. multi-sensory experience in Toronto will feature more than 350 artifacts and objects collected over the band’s extraordinary career, from handwritten lyrics, musical instruments, stage props, and items from the personal collections of the band members; while combining art, design, music, sound and visual technology, in an electrifying experience that delivers on every level, not only for fans of Pink Floyd, but all audiences. Tickets for the Exhibition go on sale this Friday, May 26 at 10 AM, ET at pinkfloydexhibition.com.
The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains is produced by award-winning brand S2BN Entertainment led by industry icon Michael Cohl; and by Creative Director, Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell, who worked with the band across many of their most famous album covers and works of art, in close collaboration with Nick Mason of Pink Floyd. The exhibition, a collaboration with designers Stufish, entertainment architects and the band’s longstanding stage designers, visits more than five decades of one of the most iconic groups and provides a rare glimpse into the world of Pink Floyd, their music and the impact the band had on art and culture. The Toronto presentation is hosted by the Canadian National Exhibition Association (CNEA) at Better Living Centre.
The city of Toronto and its surrounding areas have had a long-standing love affair with Pink Floyd. The legendary British rock band’s relationship with the city is filled with memorable moments, from their concert in Hamilton in 1975 to their final tour in 1994. “After a hugely successful run in Montreal this past year, it was time to bring The Pink Floyd Exhibition to Toronto to rock the summer,” said Michael Cohl, Executive Producer of the exhibition and Canadian Promoter of Pink Floyd. “It’s only fitting since Pink Floyd has such strong ties to the city, notably the sold out 1987 shows that launched the next phase of their storied career. I am thrilled to be able to present this exhibition in my hometown where we can all celebrate Pink Floyd’s legacy.”
“Pink Floyd has an enduring history in Toronto starting with their premiere concert in 1973 at Maple Leaf Gardens; and having performed at Exhibition Stadium seven times during the 80s and 90s,” said Darrell Brown, CNE CEO. “The CNE has a rich musical legacy, and we are honoured to be hosting this incredible retrospective on the grounds where many of their most memorable Toronto concerts took place. The CNEA is proud to be part of this extraordinary exhibition that brings the history and music of Pink Floyd in a new light.”
The Pink Floyd Exhibition Hours, Toronto:
Better Living Centre, Opens June 16
Tuesdays through Sundays, 12 PM - 10 PM, ET
Closed on Mondays
More About The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains:
The exhibition title is a lyric from Nobody Home, a song on “The Wall,” which reads “I've got a grand piano to prop up my mortal remains.”From their legendary albums to their ground-breaking concerts, timeless themes, cutting edge design and surreal landscapes that evolve throughout the Exhibition, this is an opportunity to dive deep into the creative force that is Pink Floyd.
Each chapter of the Pink Floyd story is represented, with objects and artifacts displayed, many unseen before the exhibition and all which have played a part in creating the sound and experience that became Pink Floyd. There are handwritten lyrics, legendary musical instruments that true fans have heard whispered about, letters, original artwork and many of the stage props from the various albums and tours from a band that made musical history. Some of these items have long been held in storage facilities, film studios and in the personal collections of band members before being ‘dusted off’ for the exhibition.
From the entry point into The Pink Floyd Exhibition the visitor is immersed in Pink Floyd’s world. They will find themselves transported to the band’s beginnings in 1967 on the underground scene and then take a chronological trip through Pink Floyd’s history, connecting with music, art and design, sound technology and live performance via landmark albums such as The Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, The Wall and The Division Bell.
These artifacts plot both Pink Floyd’s development as a spectacular live band and the broader social, cultural and political threads which ran parallel to their music. Any student of design or art will rejoice in surrounding themselves with the stories behind, and the alternative versions of some of the artwork from the ateliers of the band and their collaborators, including Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell and the late Storm Thorgerson’s studio ‘Hipgnosis’ and Stufish. Pigs fly, sheep parachute, megaphones float through the air and a brave new world of art, music and psychedelia crash onto the airwaves and stages of the world. Pink Floyd fans will see and touch the lifetime of memories that make up their sonic and visceral rock music odysseys.
Who better to lead visitors through the creative history of one of the most ground-breaking musical groups of the era than the music and the voices of past and present members of Pink Floyd, including Syd Barrett, Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason and David Gilmour, talking about their experiences and musical experimentation via an intuitive audio guide system and culminating in a re-creation of the very last performance of David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Richard Wright, and Nick Mason.
The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains is presented by Michael Cohl of S2BN Entertainment. The exhibition was originally created for London’s V&A, by Pink Floyd’s creative director Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell (of the design partnership Hipgnosis) and Paula Webb Stainton, who worked closely with the Pink Floyd members including Nick Mason (Exhibition Consultant For Pink Floyd), with additional curation provided by the V&A’s Victoria Broackes.
(Photo - Pink Floyd Music Ltd.)
