Art Gallery of Ontario shows off the Yayoi Kusama infinity room it's crowdfunding to buy

LET'S SURVIVE FOREVER. That's the name of the infinity mirrored room the Art Gallery of Ontario plans to purchase from world-renowned artist Yayoi Kusama with the help of an ongoing crowdfunding campaign.

More than 3,000 people have contributed to campaign to buy new installation from renowned Japanese artist

CBC News Posted: Nov 23, 2018 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: November 23, 2018

The AGO has been crowdfunding to purchase an infinity mirrored room from artist Yayoi Kusama. On Thursday, it's giving potential donors their first glimpse of the art installation, LET'S SURVIVE FOREVER, which is set to arrive in Toronto in spring 2019. (Yayoi Kusama/Maris Hutchinson, EPW Studio/AGO)

LET'S SURVIVE FOREVER.

That's the name of the infinity mirrored room the Art Gallery of Ontario plans to purchase from world-renowned artist Yayoi Kusama with the help of an ongoing crowdfunding campaign.And yes, it's always spelled in all-caps, the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO)said.

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More than 3,000 people have chipped in a contribution to permanently acquire thebrand new Kusama installation, even though they hadn't seen it until now.

The artwork itself costs $2million, with $1 million of the price tag paid for bythe Art Gallery of Ontario Foundation. With one more week to go, the month-long crowdfunding campaign to raise the remainder sits at nearly $413,000, as of midday Friday.

The AGO says it's hoping more people donate on next week's"Giving Tuesday," a day devoted to donations following "Black Friday" shopping.

Here's a look inside the room:

AGO previews new Yayoi Kusama infinity room

6 years ago

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The art gallery is crowdfunding to buy the permanent installation.

The major installation, which will be given a special place at the downtown Torontogallery, features mirrored orbs on the ground and suspended from theceiling similar to the work Narcissus Garden, which dominated a largeroom in the AGO during last year's ultra-popularKusama exhibit.

There's also a mirrored rectangular column inside the LED-lit room, which creates what's said to feel like an infinity room inside an infinity room.

The work of Yayoi Kusama, pictured here, was celebrated during a special exhibit at the AGO last year that the gallery said attracted some 169,000 people. (Mike Segar/Reuters)

Four people will be able to fit in the room, which is set to arrive in spring of 2019.

The gallery has a deal to buy the room, regardless of the outcome of the fundraising campaign, AGO communications chief Lisa Clements told the Canadian Press.

The AGO said more than 169,000 people checked out the Infinity Mirrors exhibit last year, which featured a number of rooms created by the Japanese artist along with other works of her art.

To date, just 17 museums around the world are home to one of Kusama's mirrored rooms.

With files from The Canadian Press

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