It’s that time of year again – the days of winter storm season, inclement and changing weather patterns are upon us.

Please take note of the Gallery’s Emergency Phone Number: 416 977 5249

This number will be updated immediately if a decision is made that affects the AGO’s hours of operations. Should there be a closure, the message will explicitly indicate that the building is closed due to weather conditions. Otherwise, the AGO will be open for business as usual. 

As always, if you feel unsafe getting to the Gallery in winter weather conditions, please stay home (and do not feel guilty about it!) As volunteers, you are valued members of our front-line team, but if you don’t feel safe underfoot, stay indoors.

Hello volunteers, sharing this update on the National Docent Symposium (Fall 2024), for AGO Gallery Guide and NDS Rep, Shelagh Barrington (please direct any further questions her way!) – cheers, Holly, volunteer resources

Are you interested in attending the National Docent Symposium but require funding to do so? The NDS Council is soliciting Education Grant applications for attendees to the Atlanta, Georgia, USA 2024 symposium, November 14-17, 2024

These grants, which cover the symposium registration fee, are in service to the NDSC’s commitment to supporting docent growth and education through communication and collaboration among U.S. and Canadian docents and guides at our biannual symposia. Your donations have helped to fund this program – thank you!

Applications are being accepted now through March 8, 2024. Grantees will be notified by April 1, prior to NDS registration this spring.

Applicants must be volunteer docents or guides attending a symposium for the first time. For information about the program, eligibility requirements, and to submit an online application, please click on the link, HERE.

Hello volunteers! Starting this week, Monday, January 8, a portion of the “Teal Seating Area” on the Concourse Level (area outside the entry to the volunteer lounge) will be closed and converted into a holding area for art crates from the KAWS: FAMILY exhibition.  

Due to upcoming construction for the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery, the Gallery needs space to keep these large crates on-site for the duration of the exhibition.  This will likely be the first of many ongoing adjustments for construction, and we will keep you updated as we go.

What seating areas can staff, volunteers and visitors use on the Concourse Level? 

Seating will still be available for staff, volunteers and visitors at: 

• The West end of the Teal Seating Area 
• The Annex (formerly the AGO cafe)
• The South Entrance 
• Volunteers: the volunteer lounge, our usual gathering space, remains open as usual! No changes.

Hello Everyone,

A short note to say best wishes to all for the new year, and to thank everyone, again, for the work we achieved together in 2023. The holiday season was very busy at the AGO – I visited three times, and the building was bursting with enthusiastic visitors. Indeed, our attendance was roughly 32% above last year’s winter holidays. 2024 is a new year with new challenges – and new opportunities.

Take care,

Stephan

Hello everyone,

We are getting close to the end of the year – and there is still one more exhibition being launched before we get there. Casa Susanna, currently being installed on the main floor, opens on December 23 and features photographs from the mid-1950s to the late 1960s created by a network of crossdressers who found refuge in the Catskills region of New York State. 250 images – the vast majority from our collection – provide insight into this period, as well as its connection to the lives of trans and crossdressing people today.

The volume of installations these past few months has been incredibly high and tremendously successful – thank you to all teams involved in creating such beautifully installed exhibits for our public. I know that thousands of people will be enjoying the AGO over the next several weeks. Bringing art and people together is what we do so well. Thank you all!

Take care and best holiday wishes to all,

Stephan

It’s true we’re almost never closed! Please find our updated December hours, below:

DECEMBER 24      10:30 AM – 4:00 PM
DECEMBER 25       CLOSED
DECEMBER 26      10:30 AM – 4:00 PM
DECEMBER 27      10:30 AM – 9:00 PM
DECEMBER 28      10:30 AM – 5:00 PM
DECEMBER 29      10:30 AM – 9:00 PM
DECEMBER 30      10:30 AM – 5:30 PM
DECEMBER 31      10:30 AM – 4:00 PM
JANUARY 1            10:30 AM – 4:00 PM

Many of our staff will be taking a holiday break – but before we’re off, we thank you all so much for a wonderful year, and a special thank you to those volunteers that are joining us through the holiday season!

Dear Volunteers, 

On behalf of Volunteer Resources and staff working with volunteers across the building, we are writing to wish you a Happy and safe holiday season! It’s because of your generous support and all the volunteer work you do, that the Gallery is thriving; whether you’re greeting visitors, sharing your knowledge of art and exhibitions, helping folks getting where they need to go, shelving books … and more! We want to acknowledge all you do and look forward to the new year with exciting initiatives, community involvement and joint connections! The very best for a healthy and happy 2024! 

Barbara Glaser, Volunteer President & Holly Procktor, Coordinator, Volunteers

Hello everyone,

We are entering the holiday season after an incredibly busy few months, and I know many of you will be spending time with family and loved ones. I hope your breaks are restful and restorative. To those who will be onsite welcoming our public during this busy period – thank you.

It has been a difficult time at the AGO and more broadly in the world, but I am sensing a lot of good will to move forward in a positive way. Please assume that folks have the best of intentions as we negotiate a complex global environment. And once again, continue to be kind.

Take care,

Stephan

In this week’s Foyer, a guide to the KAWS universe. Curious about KAWS’ figures expressive gestures (and lack of detail). Read all about it, HERE.

Across the AGO, we want spaces where everyone feels welcome – and that includes washrooms. Last fall, signage on select washrooms was changed to introduce Everyone Washrooms.  

Since then, we have learned that making washrooms that are inclusive for everyone involves more than changing the signs on the door. Establishing Everyone Washrooms involves significant renovation to change the equipment inside them.  

We heard from AGO staff and volunteers and our visitors that there is support for Everyone Washrooms, but more work needs to be done to update facilities – including removing urinals and having longer stall doors. 

At this moment, the AGO isn’t able to retrofit washrooms to meet these needs. Our goal remains that everyone who visits the AGO has a washroom option that they feel comfortable with. To achieve that, signage on two Everyone Washrooms (concourse level and Gallery 225) will be updated to gendered washroom options. What’s consistent is that everyone will have a washroom option they are comfortable with.  

Everyone Washrooms are located: 

• Concourse: next to Gallery 021 

Single Stall and Accessible Washrooms are located: 

• Concourse Level: The Annex (family washroom). Note these washrooms will close Spring 2024 as the AGO begins work for the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery expansion.  
• Level 1 (Gallery 110) 

All other washrooms are gendered. 

Q&A 

Q1. Why is the AGO changing how it labels its washrooms?  

• Across the AGO, we want to make washrooms that are inclusive for everyone. In the past year, we have learned that making washrooms that are inclusive for everyone involves more than changing the signs on the door. Establishing inclusive washrooms involves significant renovation to change the equipment inside them. While the AGO explores the cost and feasibility of removing urinals and adjusting stall doors to retrofit gendered washrooms into Everyone washrooms, most washrooms have returned to how they were purpose-built.  

Q2. Why are there still Everyone washrooms in the museum? 

• Across the AGO, we want spaces where everyone feels welcome – and that includes washrooms. 

Q3. Why isn’t there an Everyone Washroom on each floor? 

• Most of the washrooms in the AGO were built as gendered washrooms. In the past year, we have learned that making washrooms that are inclusive for everyone involves more than changing the signs on the door. Establishing inclusive washrooms involves significant renovation to change the equipment inside them. AGO is exploring the cost and feasibility of removing urinals and adjusting stall doors to retrofit gendered washrooms into Everyone Washrooms. Until we can make those changes, Everyone Washrooms are available on the Concourse level (next to Gallery 021) and single-stall washrooms are available on the Concourse Level (The Annex family washroom) and Level 1 (Gallery 110). 

Q4. When will the AGO be retrofitting the washrooms to make more Everyone Washrooms? 

• Washrooms in the soon-to-be-built Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery will be purpose-built Everyone Washrooms. Until then, the AGO is exploring the cost and feasibility of removing urinals and adjusting stall doors to retrofit gendered washrooms into Everyone washrooms. We do not have an estimated date for that work. 

Q5. Where can I find changing tables? 

• A changing table is located in every AGO washroom. 

Q6. Where can visitors feed their baby? 

• Visitors are welcome to nurse their baby in any of the Gallery’s seating areas. Walker Court on our main level and Galleria Italia on the second floor both have comfortable seats and benches. For more privacy or quiet space, there is seating along the windows overlooking the Gallery school in the Weston Family Learning Centre or in the foyer just outside the Everyone washrooms.  

Questions? 

• Reach out to Trish Popkin, Associate Director, Visitor Welcome, at [email protected]