Hello everyone,

I have not sent a message for the past couple of weeks as I have been travelling and meeting with members of the Bizot Group, which represents the directors of the top 40 or so global museums. The conference took place in three locations: Jakarta, Singapore and Sydney. Jakarta in particular is fascinating – it’s the largest city in Southeast Asia and the second largest urban area in the world. In Sydney, the Gallery of New South Wales just opened a spectacular new museum building for contemporary art. I was particularly interested in seeing how they installed the new spaces. The central new commission is by Lisa Rejana – the AGO co-purchased a major work by her a couple of years ago with the Israel Museum.

The focus of this year’s trip was “Sustainability Reimagined – How can museums combine their responsibility to the Past and to the Future?” We have been discussing a range of topics such as climate change and the new Bizot Green Protocols as well as global perspectives on decolonization. I co-led – with the directors of the National Gallery in Washington, the Tate and M+ in Hong Kong – the expansion of the Bizot Green Protocols, which aims to reduce the use of carbon to operate our buildings while creating a safe environment for the preservation of works of art. It was a very technical 6-month process and the AGO conservators and registrars were key in leading the development of what will become the new global standard this fall when it is adopted and implemented. Jessica Bright and Maria Sullivan were a big part of this. It is an example how the AGO team is helping lead and shape the museum field.

And now I am off again for two more weeks, taking a vacation with my family to the Shetland Islands. I think it will be more low key than Jakarta! It’s really important that everyone take vacations, not only mentally and physically but also restoratively. I look forward to seeing everyone in a couple of weeks, feeling much more refreshed and focused! (Yes, the jet lag has been bad this week…)

Take care,

Stephan