Hello everyone,

This week, we re-opened to the public and will be free all weekend. It is clear our audiences are happy to be back. It was a huge effort to get things ready by Tuesday and I want to thank all of you for helping make this happen.

I am especially thrilled that we can now welcome visitors to Making Her Mark. A special thanks to those who finalized the installation in time for Tuesday’s opening. Congratulations to curator Alexa Griest and others for bringing the exhibition thesis to life – there are many, many incredible objects and art works in the show. A big congratulations to Alexa and the publishing team on the beautiful publication, which won a Canadian Museum Association Award of Outstanding Achievement for excellence in research.

While it is exciting to have people back in the building, I do acknowledge, again, that the last several weeks were very difficult for everyone, especially OPSEU members. The strike was hard. It will take time to feel like everything is back to normal.

This weekend, we are free. A big thanks to those staff and volunteers who will be on-site greeting and welcoming people back to the AGO. Having our public back is one big step towards normalcy and re-engaging with our mission. Word of mouth through our visitors is the best way to get more visitors. This weekend will jump start the buzz.

Take care,

Stephan