The Pink Floyd Exhibition Is Coming to Toronto this Summer

May 22, 2023

Toronto, ON (May 23, 2023) – 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 16th 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 at www.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.

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 of 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 of 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 crashes 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.

About S2BN Entertainment

Led by industry legend Michael Cohl, S2BN Entertainment is a full-service live entertainment producer and promoter. They deliver the highest-quality live experiences to fans worldwide. Their work ranges from concerts and theater to family entertainment and museum-quality exhibitions. S2BN Entertainment is an industry leader known for delivering spectacular live events. Their past and current projects have won Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, a Peabody Award, a Billboard Creative Content Award, and an NAACP Image Award. Recent projects include Barbra Streisand’s global touring, Phil Collins’ North American tour, the North American tour of Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, Bat Out of Hell: The Musical, Rock of Ages: The Musical, An Evening with Oprah, and more. For more information, visit www.s2bn.com.

About Hipgnosis

In 1967 Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell and Storm Thorgerson were approached by their friends in Pink Floyd to design the cover for the group’s album, A Saucerful of Secrets. This led to commissions for album covers from some of the greatest and most influential groups in music. The name Hipgnosis was born out of a chance encounter with a door frame. Powell and Thorgerson had been looking for a name for their fledgling studio. At the time they shared a flat with Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett and by chance, Syd had scrawled in ballpoint pen the word HIPGNOSIS on the door. Over the next fifteen years, Hipgnosis gained international prominence.

Their famed 1973 cover design for Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon paved the way for other major rock bands to set foot in the surreal photo-design world of Storm and Po, resulting in many artworks for Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, Black Sabbath and more.

About Paula Webb Stainton

Paula Webb Stainton is a professional organizer of high-profile international Events and Exhibitions. Clients of her company, Roebuck Webb Ltd, include McLaren Formula One, Ralph Lauren, and of course, Pink Floyd. Dublin-born, Paula’s 30-plus year career began as a client manager and producer in advertising agencies in Ireland, London and New York, before she began managing Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason’s action vehicle props company Ten Tenths, as well as organizing tour events for Pink Floyd in the mid-1980s. The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains which Paula is co-curating with Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell, is Paula’s second exhibition for the band. Together with Storm Thorgerson, Paula co-curated the Pink Floyd ‘Interstellar’ Exhibition at the Citie de La Musique, Paris in 2003, which became the institution’s most successful exhibition of all time.

About Stufish

Stufish, founded by the late and legendary Mark Fisher, has an international award-winning portfolio including theatrical and musical productions, touring shows, concerts, as well as permanent/temporary entertainment architecture. Some examples of Stufish’s high-profile tours include Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, the Rolling Stones’ No Filter tour, Beyoncé and Jay Z’s, On The Run II tour, and U2 Experience + Innocence 2018, as well as tours for Madonna, Lady Gaga, Robbie Williams and more.  Exhibition design includes Pink Floyd: Their Mortal Remains, the highly acclaimed and largest-selling music exhibition of all time at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. Award-winning examples of their bespoke permanent building designs are the Han Show Theatre and Dai Show Theatre in China. UAE projects include the FIFA World Cup Opening & Closing Ceremony Abu Dhabi 2009, UAE 4th Anniversary Show Abu Dhabi 2012, Qasr al Hosn-Story of a Fort Abu Dhabi 2013, and Qasr al Hosn master planning competition 2015. Stufish also designed the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics 2008, the Asian Games 2010, and the 5th AIMAG Opening Ceremony in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 2017, as well as many sets for TV shows of which the MTV Video Music Awards (2017) and the National Television Awards (2018) in the UK are recent examples.

About Perryscope Productions

Norman Perry is the longtime exclusive merchandising representative for Pink Floyd amongst many other well-known artists.

About the Canadian National Exhibition Association (CNEA)

The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) is governed by the Canadian National Exhibition Association (CNEA), comprised of a volunteer Board of Directors. The CNEA is responsible for the planning and presentation of the annual Canadian National Exhibition at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1879, the CNE generates an economic impact of approximately $112 million for the Greater Toronto Area and $142 million for the province of Ontario each year (when in operation). In 2022, the CNE attracted 1.5 million visitors over its 18-day fair.