A Message from the Director and CEO: Exciting New Investments in Conservation

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Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that the AGO’s Conservation Centre will now be named the Michael & Sonja Koerner Centre for Conservation in honour of Michael and Sonja Koerner. The Koerners’ remarkable contribution, originally committed during Transformation AGO, brings new technology, expertise and sustainability to the AGO’s art conservation program. 

Michael and Sonja Koerners’ commitment extends to new and ongoing conservation initiatives through the Michael and Sonja Koerner Conservation Initiatives Fund. This fund supports critical projects and investments in new technology, and helps to develop the next generation of experts through fellowships and internships, including:

  • Three internships in paper, painting and object conservation funded last year;
  • The recent purchase of a computed radiography capture system – this new technology, widely used in leading conservation labs worldwide, replaces old X-radiography film processes with more sensitive and easier to use digital files;
  • A year-long fellowship in painting conservation, three summer internships, a time-based media initiative, and a workshop on the conservation of photographs on glass, all to be supported in 2018/19.

About Michael and Sonja Koerner

Michael and Sonja Koerner have a long history of leadership, generosity and commitment to the AGO, the arts and the community.

Michael has been a member of the AGO Board of Trustees since 1978, was Board President from 1982 to 1984, chaired the Transformation AGO fundraising campaign, and has chaired numerous AGO board committees. He is currently a Trustee Emeritus, a member of the Collections Committee and chair of the European Curatorial Committee. Michael holds a BSc in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he is a life trustee, and graduated from Harvard University with an MBA.

The AGO is grateful for Sonja Koerner’s exceptional contributions through her participation over many decades. She was a member of the Junior Women’s Committee (1954-1960), Women’s Committee (1960-1968), Executive Committee of the Women’s Committee (1961-1964), and a Sustaining Member of the Women’s Committee (1968-1994). In addition to her AGO roles, Sonja served as Chair of the Ontario Arts Council (1985-88) and was notably the first woman to hold that position. She is also a past Vice Chair of Sunnybrook Hospital.

The Koerners’ enduring belief in and support for the AGO is extraordinary. Some highlights of their contributions include:

  • An endowment to name the position of Director in 2005 as part of their commitment to Transformation AGO, thus naming the Michael and Sonja Koerner Director, and CEO.
  • The Michael & Sonja Koerner Gallery, located on the fifth floor of the Vivian & David Campbell Centre for Contemporary Art.
  • Significant gifts of art from such artists as Brian Jungen, Anish Kapoor and Gerhard Richter.

We are so grateful to Michael and Sonja Koerner for their wonderful support. I look forward to the exciting innovations to come in our newly named Michael & Sonja Koerner Centre for Conservation.

Sincerely,

Stephan