Bright Signs: Staff and Volunteer Preview – Tuesday July 2, from 3 – 5pm

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On Tuesday, July 2 from 3 pm to 5 pm, staff and volunteers are invited to preview Bright Signs: Spotlight on Video Art located on the 5th Floor.

Theaster Gates. Baby Neon, 2016

Curated by Debbie Johnsen, Manager, Modern and Contemporary Collections, get a chance to experience works by artists Kahlil Joseph, Theaster Gates, and many more before Bright Signs opens to the public, the following day.

To access the staff and volunteer preview:

  • Please bring your volunteer badge  
  • No outside guests please; this is a special opportunity for staff and volunteers

Exhibition Overview 

Reverberating with sound and light, Bright Signs: Spotlight on Video Art brings together works by 17 leading contemporary artists. Spanning three decades, this exhibition includes cinematic video installations, neon sculptures, paintings and photographs, many of which have yet to be seen at the AGO. 

Drawn from the AGO’s collection of contemporary art, the artworks on view address critical social issues, including perceptions of history, visibility and power. At the centre of the exhibition is Kahlil Joseph’s cinematic three-channel video installation Wild Cat (Aunt Janet) from 2016, an homage to the founder of an African American rodeo that takes place every summer in Grayson (formerly Wildcat), Oklahoma and Theaster Gates’ Progress Palace (2017), an immersive installation that pays tribute to the Godfather of House Music, Frankie Knuckles. Additional highlights include artist Sarah Sze’s sculpture Disappearing Act(2020) and Lisa Reihana’s ever popular installation In Pursuit of Venus [infected](2020). 

Curated by Debbie Johnsen, AGO, Manager, Modern and Contemporary Collections, this exhibition features artworks that will form the cornerstone for the expansion of the new Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery, starting construction in 2024.