Hello Everyone,

Yesterday the provincial budget was announced and it included some very good news for the AGO. We received a $35 million grant to support construction costs of the Dani Reiss Modern & Contemporary Gallery.  So what does it mean for us? It means we have the construction costs covered and that we can spend the next 18 months raising money to endow the operations of the building. We want to make sure that once we open the expansion we can pay for the operations – mainly the utility costs and the salaries of the facility and protection services teams.

Many people were involved in advocating for this grant including several trustees and our lead donor, Dani Reiss. I’d also like to acknowledge the staff team of Jay Xie and Erin Prendergast who have been heavily focused on this effort for many months. The Province of Ontario is our most significant funder and partner and we are grateful for their support. We also received confirmation that our base annual funding is secure going forward – we are awaiting more details on the amount.

Last week’s March Break was tremendously successful and I’d like to reiterate my thanks to the E&P team for providing a great program as well as to the security and visitor services staff for helping to offer a safe and welcoming  experience for the public. I’d also like to complement our facilities team for their hard work in keeping the building clean and extra sparkly. With so many kids and families visiting the AGO it’s important to maintain all elements of the building and facilities did a wonderful job. It’s International Cleaning Week – I’m very proud to celebrate our team at the AGO and to recognize the essential work that they do, every day. Thank you, Facility Services!

Thank you all,

Stephan