After 20 plus years of helping clients find the right works for their homes or offices, the volunteer program of AGO Art Rental & Sales ended this spring. This change comes amidst a larger reorganization of Art Rental, as well as an overall shift away from personal contact towards online shopping and digital files.
For many years Art Rental and Sales operated as a one-to-one consultation process, typically involving an initial visit to the AR&S desk followed by a client tour at the gallery, and then subsequent gallery visits and follow-up meetings in person. There were many opportunities for volunteers to help in this process. Today, the majority of the AR & S customers told the Gallery they want to view work and proposals digitally, through a single point of contact. Selection of artwork happens online, through a click of a button. Put simply, the operating model changed, and after much consideration, a difficult decision was made to end the volunteer placement.
On April 26, during National Volunteer Week, the AGO Retail department hosted a thank-you lunch for the dedicated Art Rental volunteers. Mike Mahoney (Executive Director of Corporate Services and Operations), Kirsten Mearns (General Manager Merchandise Retailing), and Caterina Sharifi (Manager Retail Operations) hosted the event in the Grange Member’s Lounge, presenting each of the volunteers with their AGO recognition certificates and years of service pins. A combination of the most recently active members took part (about 10 in total), including Betty Meyers ( 38 years of service!) and Moyra Haney, Volunteer Chair.
Art Rental had been one of the longest-standing volunteer placements at the Gallery, with the team averaging about 15 volunteers. Over the years ARSG volunteers have been responsible for visiting local galleries to source contemporary Canadian art, providing expert advice to individual and corporate clients, curating exhibitions of Art Rental works in the Members’ Lounge in the Grange and elsewhere in the gallery, and even giving art collecting seminars at various events. Many of the volunteers have chosen to join the AGO Alumni group to continue their connection with fellow volunteers and staff.
Many thanks to the dedicated volunteers of Art Rental and Sales and to Retail for the gesture of appreciation.