EXCLUSIVE: Dundee to play a starring role in a new exhibition in Toronto

Some of the content that will feature in the exhibition includes old maps and drawings of Dundee. (Picture: Mackenzie House)

Dundee will play a starring role in a new exhibition in Toronto following the continued collaboration between Dundee Culture and Mackenzie House.

“HOME” is opening at Mackenzie House, the former Toronto home of William Lyon Mackenzie – Dundee-born journalist, reformer and Toronto’s first mayor - with a new Dundee-focused section now being installed in the gallery.

The HOME exhibition explores Mackenzie’s life through themes of domestic space, print culture and neighbourhood.

Mackenzie House was the final home of Mackenzie and is now a museum. Dundee Culture has collaborated with Mackenzie House since 2024 to bring more Dundee-related content to the museum.

As part of this, the Dundee section highlights his early years, featuring historic Dundee images, archive material and Mackenzie’s own words from 19th-century newspapers.

Mackenzie, who was born in Dundee, emigrated to Canada, where he became a leading reformer and went on to serve as Toronto’s first mayor in 1834. His story is closely tied to both cities, linking Dundee’s history with the foundations of modern Toronto.

Dundee Culture has been working in collaboration with Mackenzie House since 2024 to help reconnect Dundee and Toronto through Mackenzie’s story.

Dundee Libraries and DC Thomson have helped support the exhibition through the provision of historic material and information now being featured in the gallery.

The exhibition also reflects a wider effort to strengthen cultural ties between Dundee and Toronto, using shared history as a bridge between the two cities and their communities.

Further details on the exhibition, including opening dates and public access, are expected to be announced in due course.