AGO volunteers were out in force at ART Toronto art fair at the end of October, wearing many hats. First off, the opening night acted as a gala fundraiser for the AGO. A special volunteer committee organized the food and entertainment and sold the tickets. Last year the committee started to offer mini tours to patron ticket purchasers. Jean Crawford, (Evening Weekend GG) sat on the committee and was responsible for recruiting the volunteers and organizing the tours; this year 10 gallery guides responded to the call to lead the tours.
“We already know our GG’s are bright people but getting ready for the tours is challenging as we have very little time to see the art work and develop the actual tour,” she explained. They divided the convention floor into sections and each guide contacted the exhibiting galleries in their section to become familiar with the offerings. “From the feedback it appears that the patrons enjoyed the inside views on the art and the gallery owners loved that potential purchasers are brought directly to see their paintings. All these individual contributions made the opening night gala a successful fundraiser for the AGO.”
In addition, Art Rental & Sales had a booth featuring pieces from different galleries. The theme was “Curators’ Picks”, where Andrew Hunet, Greg Humeniuk (both Canadian Art) and Sasha Suda (European) selected Canadian artists they’re excited about and artworks on their personal wish lists. Featured artists included Georgia Dickie, Adam Markovic, Maryl McMaster, William Eaking, Jeannie Thib and Nick Ostroff. Situated at the top of the entry escalator it got quite a bit of traffic. Carolyn McCready (AR&S), along with others, answered many questions about the art, and even got a few nibbles of interest. They also enjoyed the chance to walk around and admire the rest of the show. In all 36 volunteers from several departments were involved.
Here is a link that features a slide show of the fair, including the AGO booth and some of the works featured. One favourite, says Carolyn, was “Birdcage” by Georgia Dickie, with many visitors wondering about its construction.
http://www.ago.net/art-toronto-2013
Also part of the ART Toronto, Patrons Circle members (and some lucky volunteers) were treated to an exclusive tour of a private collection at the home of Murray and Mary Sinclair. Members were whisked by bus to a location kept secret until the last moment, where they enjoyed a reception and a presentation by Ed Phillips (Evening Weekend GG). Volunteers, including Katherine Cossidente and Karen Pai Jackson (Evening Weekend GGs), were on hand to ensure safe arrival and smooth running In turn they got to see a Canadian collection that included Group of Seven and more contemporary pieces. The most remarkable one, says Katherine, was a Lawren Harris abstract in bright yellow, quite a change from the cool blues in the Thomson collection. She appreciated the opportunity to see it in the context of a home, while the collectors were happy for a chance to share their art.