Join Alexa Griest, on October 24, 2017, at 3.30 and again at 4.15, for a peek inside the vaults in the Marvin Gelber Print and Drawing Study Centre and a tour of the recent installation of 1960’s rock concert posters. A look at the exhibit with Alexa will reveal not just an archive of bands, but also an art form at the intersection of important trends in politics, design, fashion and youth culture, offering insights into the ideals, concerns and beliefs of the time.

Alexa joined the AGO over a year ago, after working in many Print and Drawing departments in the United States. She earned her Ph.D. in Art History with a focus on European prints and drawings 1400-1800. Outside the gallery, when Alexa isn’t running, cooking, or travelling, her gorgeous 3 year old daughter keeps her busy. (And there’s a baby boy on the way!)

Her favourite AGO work at the moment is Victor Moscoso’s “Butterfly Lady”, which is on view in the Fodor Gallery (Gallery 140). This work, a poster advertising a rock concert from summer 1967, is part of the inaugural Look: Forward rotation in our P&D galleries.  Alexa highlights this work as “a great example of psychedelic art with hard to decipher text and a compelling and mysterious central image.”

An unexpected opportunity to present Tintoretto’s “Christ Washing the Feet of His Disciples”, in Italian, to the Italian President when he visited the AGO this summer, is Alexa’s favourite AGO moment to date, for sheer surprise value!

Don’t miss the opportunity to meet Alexa and spend time with her in the vault and on the tour. Then stay for the special presentation by Steve Driscoll in Jackman Hall at 6:30pm. to finish off our ‘All Volunteer Event’!

– Cara-Lynn Nisenbaum, P&D