Art Rental & Sales Move

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A MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER

What is happening?

  • Our current lease at 481 University Avenue is expiring and we have the opportunity to bring Art Rental & Sales on site and into the space where Inuit Visible Storage is currently located. 
  • The new retail space will be open to customers on July 1, 2013.  
  • The art installation that is currently located in Inuit Visible Storage will be dismantled this May; with key works from the Vault to be included in a new Inuit art installation by Gerald McMaster coming this summer.

 Why are we doing this?

  • As we continue to implement our Strategic Plan, we are constantly looking for opportunities to provide our visitors with high-quality, accessible and compelling experiences that will grow our audiences and broaden and diversify our sources of revenue.
  • This move will bring us many benefits:
    • It will increase the visibility and accessibility of our Art Rental & Sales services – allowing us the opportunity to engage with a larger audience.  Many people are not aware of our current location on University Avenue.
    • There will be a greater selection of contemporary works available from both emerging and developed Canadian artists as galleries and artists will be more willing to hang their art within the walls of the AGO.
    • Art Sales & Rental staff and volunteers will be closer to their colleagues and feel more engaged with the Gallery.
    • It will also have the benefit of increasing our net revenues, through the reduction of offsite overhead expenses.
  • The new space will be inviting and welcoming – bringing more people to the concourse level and to the WFLC, shopAGOkids and the cafe.
  • We will also be broadening our reach – we want to offer our services to all visitors, not just our members. 

 Will you be relocating Inuit Visible Storage?

  • No. We decided to try new things and take some risks when we re-opened our building in 2008. After five years, we’ve come to a deeper understanding of what has worked well and what hasn’t quite lived up to our expectations. 
  • Our Inuit Visible Storage gallery, located on the concourse level, ended up confusing our visitors instead of enlightening them.
  • Our visitors did not understand the concept as we designed it – they didn’t see the space as “open storage” meant to show them how we care and protect the artwork that isn’t on view.  To most people, it looked like a gallery that was always closed and not accessible to them.
  • We realized that this wasn’t the right way to celebrate our collection and it certainly didn’t provide the visitor experience we had hoped for.

 But what about our promise to celebrate our Inuit art collection?

  • Elizabeth Smith and her team will be making some changes that will enhance the visibility and accessibility of our collection so that more visitors can enjoy what we have to offer, including:
    • A refreshed Sarick Gallery, relocated to a more prominent location in our Canadian wing, will focus specifically on key works from our Inuit collection.  Designed by AGO’s adjunct Canadian Curator Gerald McMaster, this gallery will highlight key works from our collection, and provide our visitors with a deeper understanding of the stories that these artists wanted to share with the world.  
    • All of the sculptures in the new Sarick Gallery will come from Inuit Visible Storage, including four that are part of the gift from Sam and Esther Sarick. 
    • One of our newly hired Canadian Curator Andrew Hunter’s first assignments will be to rethink the presentation of our Canadian collection, and the plan will include strategies for integrating Inuit and First Nations art within the galleries

 What does this mean for the Thomson Ship Model Gallery?

  • The design of the new Art Rental & Sales space will be much more welcoming and inviting, drawing more visitors to the concourse level and allowing them a peek at the ship models within the Gallery.
  • New and clear signage next to the Gallery windows will help guide visitors to the entrance of the Ship Model Gallery on the first floor and let them know that the Gallery is open during our regular operating hours.
  • Helpful Art Rental & Sales staff and volunteers can explain to visitors that the Ship Model Gallery is filled with exceptional artwork and can guide them to the gallery entrance.
  • New, more visible signage by the scissor staircase will guide our visitors into the gallery space.
  • All of these changes will mean higher visibility and traffic for one of the AGO’s most unique galleries.