Appreciating art will be easier and cheaper this summer, even while museums in Toronto still wait on the green light to open their doors.

The Gardiner Museum has announced a few different things in the works for museum-goers including pop-up window exhibitions and public outdoor art projects to run free all summer long.

"With the reopening of indoor attractions still weeks away, we want to offer our neighbours a safe outdoor space to gather responsibly and enjoy some of the things we've all been missing this past year," Kelvin Browne, Executive Director and CEO says in a recent press release.

"We believe that art, in particular, can offer some much-needed joy after a long and difficult winter."

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Anyone interested can head to the Gardiner to check out a series of small exhibitions that will be viewable from the Museum's windows of both the Linda Frum and Howard Sokolowski Plaza and the Laura Dinner and Richard Rooney Community Clay Studio. 

The artwork showcased will rotate three times through the summer, so no matter when you happen to pass by there'll be fresh art to check out.

Works from the Gardiner's European Porcelain and Modern and Contemporary collections, including new acquisitions by Montreal-based Indigenous artist Nadia Myre and Bangkok-born Canadian artist Linda Sormin, are scheduled to kick things off.

An audio tour can also be accessed from your phone if you're interested in learning more about the specific pieces. This tour includes mentions of the garden and public sculptures out front.

The Museum's street-level lightbox signs will even be animated with art focusing primarily on the work of emerging BIPOC and 2SLGBTQ+ identifying artists.

If you're feeling peckish after perusing, you'll be able to grab lunch at Clay which's set to open on June 24. Found on the third floor of the Museum, the outdoor terraces come with views of the nearby Queen's Park. 

As restrictions continue to lift in the second and third stages of the reopening plan, the Gardiner has plans to host free outdoor clay activities and workshops, talks from artists, and performances on its plaza. 

If we reach Step 3 this summer and the doors to the Museum officially get to open, expect admission to be free of charge right up until Labour Day.