Thank you to everyone who cast their vote to support a project through the Volunteer Endowment Trust. The results are in! 85 votes were cast, and we’re thrilled to share that AGO volunteers chose to fund ongoing research and exhibition support for The Montgomery Collection of Caribbean Photographs

The Montgomery Collection is an incredible project, led and curated by the AGO’s Julie Crooks, Associate Curator, Photography.

In 2019, the AGO acquired one of the world’s most significant collections of its kind, The Montgomery Collection — 3,500 photographs from the Circum-Caribbean, dating from 1840 and 1940. This collection brings to life the changing economies, environments and communities that emerged following the abolishment of slavery. It also highlights the work of many regional and international photographers and studios who documented the lands, people, and cultures.

Noteworthy is that this acquisition was made possible with the support of individuals from Toronto’s Black and Caribbean communities. The AGO takes great pride in acquiring a collection of such magnitude and is committed to undertaking rigorous scholarly research of this rich material.

The Gallery has hired a researcher, Camila Collins Araiza, to work with our curatorial team with a goal of presenting an inaugural exhibition of the Montgomery Collection in 2021. AGO volunteers’ support, in both the research phase and exhibition will enable the AGO to celebrate this important collection, tell new stories, and engage the large Caribbean community in Toronto, and indeed in Canada and beyond. Note: While this exhibition does not take place until the 2021/22 fiscal year, a significant portion of the project is pre-exhibition research, which also requires significant financial support and these funders will be recognized at the exhibition as well.

Learn more about the Montgomery Collection:

Art in the Spotlight featuring artist and Toronto Photo Laureate Michèle Pearson Clarke, in conversation with AGO Associate Curator of Photography Julie Crooks

Julie Crooks is Associate Curator, Photography at the AGO where she has curated the exhibitions Mickalene Thomas: Femmes Noires (2018), Free. Black. North (2017) and Women in Focus Collection Rotations (2017-ongoing). Prior to joining the AGO in 2017, Julie Crooks curated exhibitions for many organizations including BAND (Black Artists Networks in Dialogue) and the Royal Ontario Museum’s Of Africa project. She holds a PhD from the Department of History of Art and Archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, U.K. Crooks’s area of specialty is Art of Africa and the Diaspora.

Next up: Volunteers can look forward to an exclusive Curator’s Talk with Julie Crooks, hosted on Zoom, later this Fall – we’ll keep you posted!