TORONTO — Former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur and Paul McCartney are each set to showcase a piece of rock music history at the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Organizers say both musicians will bring exhibits of their personal photographs to the gallery next year, offering a unique window into their worlds at the peak of fame.
“Melissa Auf der Maur: My ’90s Photographs” opens in June 2026 and will present “an intimate portrait of the last analogue decade” through the lens of the Montreal alt-rock musician.
Auf der Maur used her camera to document the action of life backstage, onstage and in the crowd, as she played in Hole and the Smashing Pumpkins. The exhibit runs until spring 2027.
“Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm” opens in February with video clips, archival materials and more than 250 photographs taken during the early months of Beatlemania.
The AGO says the exhibit, which was announced earlier this year, offers “more intimate views” of bandmates John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr amid the intensity of the Beatles’ touring schedule.
The exhibition runs through June 7, 2026 and was organized by London’s National Portrait Gallery, in collaboration with McCartney.
Other events lined up for the AGO next year include “Sunday Best,” which details the evolution of Black style and self-fashioning, and “The Impressionist Revolution: Monet to Matisse from the Dallas Museum of Art.”
