A place for AGO volunteers to share, learn, and connect
Hello Volunteers,
Please save-the-date for the next installment of the AGO Volunteer Artists Collective. This month, we’ll be joined by AGO Gallery Guide and Artist Alieh Akbarzadeh:
More details to come!
Hello everyone,
A big thanks to all staff and volunteers who were here over the holiday period to welcome our public. Our attendance numbers were strong, and our strategy of focusing on Members and Annual Passholders for early viewing of The Culture helped drive sales. The galleries were buzzing with activity. We ended the year on a high note, and started off 2025 in terrific fashion. I hope many of you were able to take a well-deserved break. Personally, I went back to Honolulu (where we moved from almost 9 years ago!) to enjoy the place and to visit close friends. We’ve been through a lot together at the AGO, and the AGO remains an incredibly resilient museum.
Next week we will see an important milestone for the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery project as steelwork begins. As the steel goes up, we will start to see the building take shape. A reminder that the area around the entrance to the site on McCaul St. is quite busy, so please take care when walking in that area.
Take Care,
Stephan
Wishing you all a Happy Holiday season, a peaceful time with family and friends, dear loved ones. With thanks for all you do, the gallery and visitors are so fortunate to have you fellow volunteers on the front line as Information Guides, Gallery Guides, Prints and Drawing volunteers. You are the backbone, first encounter with the visitor, that is so integral to the gallery space and the visitor experience and interaction.
All Volunteers are intellectual, know so much about the works, collection and the artists. The visitors come away with a rich experience as a result of the exchange between Information, Gallery Guides and Prints and Drawing volunteers.
End of year summary and thanks acknowledgements,
It’s hard to believe it’s been a year taking on the role of Volunteer President and getting to know many of you over the year, has been one of the highlights. All Information and Gallery Guides with fellow Prints and Drawings volunteers on planned excursions. Over the year, we’ve attended four excursions I’ve created and organized, with attendance as fellow volunteers interacted with close to 120 volunteers from all placements. Met with curators, artists, the incredible Charles Pachter, David Liss (Koffler Gallery) and fellow guides and docents with rich discussions who imparted our shared knowledge and passions over art, thanks to all the volunteers for coming together and the strength in community.
The connections with our cultural partners and there staff for planning these excursions together with myself from the Koffler Gallery, Gardiner Museum, MCU The Image Centre, fellow gallery docent Aisling Joe for her impactful tour of the Queens Park Collection where she also has a professional role and additionally hosted us with a wine and cheese! Showing us the vast collection and ties with Queens park collection and library has with the AGO, was also a rich memory.
Look forward to future excursion events and meeting more artists, plans which are underway to come in the new year and also tying in with our AGO anniversary. Importantly speaking on the horizon, looking forward to hearing your thoughts, ideas, as a team on the 80th year of AGO Volunteer anniversary, coming to fruition this summer with further details to come.
As Volunteer President, one of the mandates established is being present, listening and a bridge with staff as a team, I have set “making every moment count” for the volunteers and building connecting memories across all placements at the core is essential. Building a strengthened community, creating new ideas and platforms for the volunteers be recognized, have an opportunity to build on that community and connect support with all volunteers, including hands on artistic opportunities. Connecting with staff and curators on enrichment opportunities as we’ve had recently on the tours and talks.
Volunteer Artists Collective
Number of Volunteers have expressed interest in participating in the Volunteer Artist Collective, which I’ve recently established to highlight the skills, creativity and talents of fellow volunteers while also another layer of building on our volunteer community an opportunity for volunteers to get to know your cohorts on another level. This initiative will be rapidly expanding in the new year. Holly and I can’t wait to see it grow, for you all to showcase your talents, your works with fellow volunteers and building the collective together. Volunteer artworks will be displayed in the volunteer lounge adding another layer in addition to your presentation. The collective is open to all levels of artists, be that amateur or professionals, any medium, all are warmly welcome and continuous encouragement! Just simply fill out the form and will be in touch. https://forms.gle/hyYg9cNufBbBo9aH7
Recognition events
Just this month we have had three recognition events, surrounded by the holidays planned by Holly and myself. I’m grateful to Holly for being a staff partner, as a Volunteer and President. Thank you Holly for all you do for us volunteers, behind the scenes, your dedication, effervescent energy, your smile and enthusiasm your wisdom. We are all lucky to have you by our side and ensuring volunteers are together and recognized as we share the mandate of the volunteer community.
Our first holiday recognition event this past November was the outing to the Lee Miller exhibition at the MCU Image Centre where we had the opportunity to interact with fellow volunteers and view the exhibition with Susan, a wonderful, well versed docent on a guided tour who imparted Lee Miller’s life through such a vast lens that we had a broad understanding and stroke of the artist and her back story-life. While taking in the works, the exhibition was beautifully curated by Dr. Gaëlle Morel, giving subtext and division on the history of Lee Miller’s works and the breadth of her life and career.
The Volunteer Endowment Trust stewardship meeting planned with Holly and our Development Team colleague Erin Thandani (Associate Director, Philanthropy and Planned Giving-Development). This was organized in recognition and with thanks to all the volunteers on the Volunteer Endowment Trust an important role volunteers play in this entire VET process. The winning vote this year and Volunteer Endowment Trust funds were distributed to the Joyce Weiland: Heart on Exhibition, coming to the gallery in June 2025 curated by Georgiana Uhlyarik, (Fredrik S. Eaton Curator, Canadian Art-Curatorial Affairs).
Many thanks for the generous time and presentations for the volunteers by Stephan Jost, (Michael and Sonja Koerner Director, and CEO), Georgina Uhlyarik on their enriching presentations to volunteers at the VET Stewardship Meeting. Stephan relayed to us all a wonderful presentation on the plans and new build on The Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Tower. Georgina gave us a sneak peek into the Joyce Weiland exhibition and further expanding into research and insights on the artist’s work and what we can expect in the upcoming exhibition.
To cap off our final event for the year, with a festive get together in the volunteer lounge with Holly’s decadent treats she made for us and we all gathered in good cheer and conversation. Holly had also coordinated and planned with curator Renée van der Avoird (Associate Curator, Canadian Art–Curatorial Affairs), a very special tour just for the volunteers of the exquisite Pacita Abad exhibition, Renée equally brought the artist and life to the works. With thanks to Renée and all the curators for what you do and for recognition of the volunteers in these talks and tour.
In closing, there will be a great deal of excitement as we approach the AGO 120th anniversary, and of the 80th year of the Volunteer program, to celebrate and look forward to in the new year. Stay tuned! As always, I have an open door policy, feel free to reach out. With many thanks and appreciation to all the Volunteers and who have connected, and built rapor with.
Have a Happy New Year!
Warmly with greetings,
Barbara Glaser
AGO Volunteer President
Hello Everyone,
As you know, at the end of each week I send out a message to all staff. Doing this allows me to take a moment and reflect and communicate with everyone. Sometimes my message contains major news – sometimes it contains something more personal – but I do try to keep it real and sincere.
Reflecting on the past year, there were many real highs amidst some choppy moments. Here are some of my CURRENT highlights (in random order and certainly NOT an exhaustive list):
All these exhibitions and offerings create a beautiful tapestry for our visitors to enjoy. Everyone plays a role in making sure that the AGO is an extraordinary museum for the public. We all have different roles, staff and volunteer, but we all contribute to fulfilling the AGO’s mission of serving our public.
As the year ends, I just want to say thank you.
Stephan
P.S. I encourage you to think about your personal highlights of the year!
Hello Everyone,
Last week was a banner week with opening events for The Culture on Wednesday and Friday evenings. The exhibition looks great and was beautifully launched. It gives me optimism for the holiday season – typically the busiest period of the year. Make sure you zip up to the 5th Floor and see the show.
As you may know, the Joint Working Committee (JWC) is a group of staff and trustees who have spent the past year or so creating a process to identify a new set of values for the AGO. Earlier this week, the JWC met for the final time to discuss these values, which have been informed by staff and volunteer input in last summer’s focus groups. Currently, Leadership Team is developing a roll-out plan to unfold in the first few months of 2025. I want to thank everyone on the JWC, and those of you who participated in focus groups. I am very pleased with how the process has gone.
Take Care,
Stephan
In 1958, music photographer Art Kane brought together 57 prominent jazz musicians on the stoop of a Harlem brownstone to create one of the most important photographs in jazz history. That year, A Great Day in Harlem was published in Esquire magazine, earning Kane numerous accolades for his work. It was so influential that in 1998, XXL magazine commissioned a 40th-anniversary recreation of the seminal group portrait— this time focusing on hip hop. Shot by legendary African American photographer Gordon Parks, A Great Day in Hip Hop (1998) featured over 200 of the genre’s biggest names, from Rakim to E-40, and was published as the centrefold of XXL’s December 1998 issue.
In conjunction with the Toronto edition of the landmark exhibition The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century, the AGO commissioned Canadian hip hop photographer Patrick Nichols to be the next torchbearer of the Great Day tradition. On August 14, 2024, Nichols gathered 103 key figures from three decades of Toronto hip hop for a massive group portrait on the steps of the Toronto heritage building, The Liberty Grand.
Described by Nichols as “a way to give back,” A Great Day in Toronto Hip Hop features a diverse group of MCs, DJs, break dancers, graffiti writers, promoters, designers and media personalities— most of whom he considers personal friends. Among them are the founder of Canada’s first-ever hip hop radio show, Ron Nelson; gold record-selling artists Choclair and Saukretes; and owner of the iconic vinyl shop, Play De Record, Eugene Tam. This monumental portrait is the AGO exhibition’s grand finale, prompting visitors to witness and acknowledge the forebears of the Toronto hip hop community before they exit.
Exploring the many ways that the French artist James Tissot represented modern women and envisioned their relationship to time during the last decades of the nineteenth century, this exhibition presents two of the AGO’s most beloved Tissot paintings alongside a selection of more than 40 works on paper donated by Allan and Sondra Gotlieb. The contradiction of the period come alive in these works, as the quickness of modernity, exemplified by the newfound speed of travel, fashion and commodity culture, is juxtaposed against the constrained pace of women’s everyday lives, characterized by the wait to find a husband, caregiving, tending to customers or recovering from illness.
Curated by Mary Hunter, Associate Professor, McGill University and by Alexa Greist, AGO Curator and R. Fraser Elliott Chair, Prints & Drawings, and Caroline Shields, AGO Curator of European Art, this exhibition illustrates the many ways that time, and a gendered understanding of it, shaped women’s identities.
Hello Volunteers,
On November 20th we launched the Volunteer Artist Collective, which was most exciting! Our first featured artist was Janne Reuss, engaging on Zoom with a group of volunteers on her exquisite work, her back story, personal anecdotes, and creative process. Janne has been a Gallery Guide at the AGO for ten years and has also been a gallery guide in Germany. Her work is focused on photography through a contemporary lens, although she paints as well. Personally, I love the juxtaposition of the images as a collage, mixed together with her back story incorporating nature and flow. A constant theme in Janne’s work is her interest in human nature and how memories and experiences are imprinted deep inside of us. If you missed the presentation it was recorded.
Janne’s website: http://www.artjanne.com.
This purpose of the AGO Volunteer Artist Collective is to engage fellow volunteers who are artists in a collective, giving them the opportunity to present their work to fellow volunteers, and even display their work, which we all can enjoy and interact with, in the Volunteer Lounge.
Our next artist to be featured will be the talented Aliye Akbarzade, who equally articulates her life experiences and personal story creatively with focus into her paintings. (Look for a date in February, soon to be shared).
We have a few volunteers who have informally expressed interest in participating to Holly and myself, and we are strongly encouraging all volunteer artists to participate. All levels of art are welcome – you do not need to be a professional artist to participate! – whether you are new, emerging, established, amateur, or professional – we would love to feature you in the AGO Volunteer Artist Collective!
The process is expressing your interest, (via the form below) which will prompt a conversation with the Volunteer President initially, then the presentation which can be organized either online via Zoom, or in person.
Please fill out this expression of interest /submission form and we will be in touch: https://forms.gle/hyYg9cNufBbBo9aH7
Thanks to all for your interest and participation!
Best,
Barbara Glaser
Volunteer President
Opening this week, The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century, with access as follows:
Immersing viewers in the world of hip-hop through contemporary art and fashion, The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century brings together contemporary artists, musicians, designers and stylists to tell the story of the art form and its global impact on visual culture.
Organized on the occasion of Hip Hop’s fiftieth anniversary and featuring contemporary art by some of today’s most important and celebrated artists, including Derrick Adams, John Edmonds, Deana Lawson and Hank Willis Thomas, this dynamic and wide-ranging exhibition highlights the art form’s ongoing conceptual and material innovation. Placing fashion, consumer marketing, music, videos and objects in dialogue with paintings, sculpture, poetry, photography and multi-media installations, the exhibition considers activism and racial identity, notions of bling and swagger, as well as gender, sexuality and feminism.
The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century is co-organized by the Baltimore Museum of Art and Saint Louis Art Museum. The Toronto presentation is organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario. The AGO presentation will be organized by Julie Crooks, Curator, Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora, AGO.
To Learn More About the Show, Watch the Exhibition Launch video, shared below. Please note, you will be asked for a password to view, please enter this password (exactly as typed, here): AGO+Cultur3
https://artcloud.ago.ca/index.php/s/Qd3myR8W6oMwbPG
ORDER OF SPEAKERS:
This presentation has been organized as a recognition event for all volunteers, to come together and enjoy a favourite show, before the holidays. Learn more about these vibrant works, and the life of this daring and charismatic Artist who travelled the world! An expressive painter and master of the narrative quilt, Abad was also fiercely political, creating work that referenced multiculturalism and immigration.
This is an in-gallery, Curator’s Tour, organized exclusively for all AGO volunteers. We will have the galleries mic’d – so you can enjoy a walk and talk with Renee throughout the galleries and looking at the works in more detail (and you will be able to hear it all!) No need to register for this one, just drop-in. We look forward to seeing you there!
*Please note: Because this is an in-gallery tour – by volunteer request – we regret we cannot record this event. Please make plans to join us if you can. Wednesday evening volunteers – please come and enjoy as part of your shift!