Hello Everyone,

Earlier this week I was in Bentonville, Arkansas at the invitation of Art Bridges, a foundation that supports making art museums more accessible. Art Bridges was founded by Alice Walton (part owner of Walmart), who also founded an extraordinary museum in Arkansas called Chrystal Bridges. I spoke at a gathering of museum leaders who were brought together to talk about how to make museums more environmentally friendly. I was very proud to share the great work you have all done to make our existing building more environmentally efficient, and that the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery will have a net zero carbon impact. Indeed, the project was awarded a certificate from the Canada Green Building Council – yesterday – acknowledging the achievement of Zero Carbon Building Design. Congratulations, everyone – this is a really big deal! When it is done, the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery will be among the most energy efficient art museums in the world.

Today is the last day at the AGO for someone who has worked here for 42 years. That person is Fraser Lawson, who is a longstanding Protection Service Officer. He has seen and been a part of many changes at the museum over decades of service. Please join me and thanking Fraser for his incredible contributions to the AGO! Thank you, Fraser.

Take care,

Stephan