Hello Everyone,

In the single month of January, virtual school programs essentially filled Scotiabank Arena nearly 7 times – meaning we shared our collection with the equivalent of 7 Toronto Raptors games! To date we have hosted approximately 318,717 learners. Boom! Thank you for joining us with your children and continuing to spread the word. 

This past Monday, the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, held a session with Black leaders in the museum sector discussing their experiences and visioning in new ways for museums to be inclusive and address institutional barriers. You can view the session here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGUMQMZysxY.

Some staff had the opportunity to spend a bit of time with Rhoda Roberts yesterday afternoon, asking questions about her experience at the Sydney Opera House. She has been very generous to the AGO. Here are details about the Reconciliation documents that Rhoda helped write: https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/general/corporate-information/reconciliation-action-plan.html.

I encourage everyone to take the time to review these resources. Our learning continues.

Next week, the AGO Board of Trustees has a retreat to discuss our two-year plan (we will emerge from COVID from a position of strength); a look back at the last five years including collection growth; and a high level conversation about upcoming opportunities. We have an outstanding board and our trustees always have a lot to contribute. I will report back.

Take care,

Stephan