Friday, Sept 6, 2019

Hello Everyone,

• Hello September! The next few months are among the busiest time of year for all of us. There is a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks as we install Early Rubens – including the return of one of the AGO’s best known works, The Massacre of the Innocents – and Hito Steyerl: This is the future.

• Last week, I mentioned our value of “lead with contemporary relevance.” This week, I am focusing on “be adaptable and flexible.” We are living this value in a very big way right now as we learn how to respond to 70,000 people who have signed up for the annual pass in the last four months. A good example is how Advancement and front-of-house staff are being nimble and responsive to selling the new pass, dealing with long line-ups, and providing a warm welcome to those who are new to the AGO.

• Yesterday, the European Curatorial Committee met. There was positive conversation amongst the group about how this collection area will become even more relevant to our growing and changing audiences. The committee also visited the Reuben Wells Leonard Rotunda to view the Rebecca Belmore and Bernini works.

Enjoy the weekend,

Stephan

PS.      I have been thinking about last fall’s Anthropocene exhibit and how it portrayed the human impact on the natural world. The natural world also has an impact on humanity and we are seeing a brutal example of this in Hurricane Dorian and the devastating impact it has had on the Bahamas. Many people in our community have ties to the Bahamas and are feeling this impact closely.