The AGO Library & Archives will undergo annual collections maintenance from Monday, August 21, to Friday, September 1. The Library & Archives will be closed to the public during this time, re-opening on Wednesday, September 6, at 1 pm.
What does this mean for AGO staff and volunteers?
Staff and volunteers can still use the Library & Archives during the closure, but Library staff will not be available for assistance or retrieval of materials.
Staff who are pre-authorized to sign out and borrow books may continue to do so. Please contact Debi Mills at [email protected] (ext 6390)
The Library & Archives will resume regular service on Wednesday, September 6.
Questions?
Reach out to Donald Rance, Reference Librarian, Electronic Resources, at [email protected] (ext 6353)
As we head into the final weeks of August, many of you are preparing for upcoming fall exhibitions. Our Marketing team and Designers are working on shows featuring art by KAWS, Keith Haring, Arnold Newman, and others. I expect that the period of September through to the end of the year will be extremely busy, as it always is, and I am excited about our potential to engage audiences. We have a very solid and strong line-up.
So far this fiscal year, we are tracking well against our attendance and revenue projections. Keep it up!
We want to take this opportunity to thank and acknowledge the contributions of our outgoing Volunteer President, Maya Kotlarenko.
Illustration of Maya Kotlarenko by Arzu Haider @pakgaystani.
Maya began volunteering at the AGO in 2008, as part of Transformation AGO. She’s been a Gallery Guide – sharing her passion, growing expertise and a true love of art – ever since. In 2019, she answered the call for Volunteer President, bringing big strengths to light: a knack for working with people, and an interest in helping all volunteers feel valued and appreciated, whether they’d been with the Gallery for three weeks, or thirty years. This would be a driving force of her Presidency, hallmarked by a new Volunteer Council brought together by interest as well as experience; Random Coffee – casual coffee break meet-ups, connecting volunteers across placements and programs; and, most significantly, through a new, democratic, volunteer-vote selection process that gave all volunteers the opportunity to choose an annual gallery project, funded by the Volunteer Endowment Trust.
During the Gallery’s extended covid-19 closure, and one-year into her leadership role, Maya pivoted with the pandemic, helming a Presidency off-site, and a program suspended. She helped us facilitate new diversity and inclusion training for volunteers, and lead successive discussion groups for volunteers and staff – all online.
The Gallery’s physical closure was a difficult time for volunteers, and we grew to know we could count on Maya’s unwavering support and partnership in the leadership of the volunteers and the program, in the face of provincial mandates that governed our staff and volunteer operations during those challenging years.
Post-pandemic, Maya graciously agreed to stay on as President, extending her term, as we carefully came back on-site. That stability allowed us to focus on coordinating a massive staff and volunteer return, retraining, and orientation; a big task in a still unsettled time.
Most recently, Maya’s enjoyed a refocus on her weekend Gallery Guide shift, reconnecting with visitors, and using art as a conduit for conversations. She joined in helping us recognize volunteer contributions at our annual party, an event that brought the community together again after so much time apart, and seems a most fitting way to cap off her Presidency (in celebration!)
On behalf of all of us, Maya, thank you for everything. We’ll see you in the galleries!
– Holly Procktor, Coordinator, Volunteers & Alain Graham, Chief, People
In these summer months of tourist season, Foyer suggests some sightseeing, past and present
Image courtesy of ERA Architects and Spacing Magazine.
Like any city, the look and feel of Toronto’s urban landscape has changed drastically over the years. In the haste of rapid development, important opportunities to document the cultural history of a city are often missed. Recently, ERA Architects in partnership with Spacing magazine seized such an opportunity via a deep dive into the history of Toronto signs – in the form of a brand-new book.
ERA partner Philip Evans and architect Kurt Kraler have teamed up with Spacing’sMatthew Blackett and 20 other contributors to publish and produce The Signs That Define Toronto. Adorned with striking vintage photography, the book explores the rich and diverse history of Toronto signage, using it as a lens to better understand the city’s ever-evolving identity.
AGO’s Foyer writers spoke to Blackett and Kraler to learn more about the inspiration behind the book and asked for their insights about the present and future of Toronto signage. Read the full article, HERE.
Want to subscribe to Foyer, for art stories inside (and outside) the AGO. Sign up, HERE.
AGO employees and volunteers are invited to take advantage of discounted rates on the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) this summer from August 18 to September 4.
Admission Pass: includes grounds admission, and access to all shows and exhibits. All ages.
Corporate Price until Aug 17 online: $20.34
Corporate Price from Aug 18 to September 4 online: $22.60
Ride All Day Pass: includes grounds admission and access to all shows and exhibits, and unlimited midway rides. All ages.
Corporate Price until Aug 17 online: $44 per person
Corporate Price from Aug 18 to September 4 online: $49 per person
Online buyers receive EXpress Entry at the CNE gate (vehicle gates excluded).
Savings based on General Admission. Regular prices: General Admission (14 to 64 yrs.) = $28.25; Children (5 to 13 years.) and Seniors (65 yrs. plus) = $22.60; Family Pass (2 adults and 2 children OR 1 adult and 3 children) = $84.75. Children 4 yrs. & under = Free; On-site R.A.D. Pass = $50 plus admission. Please note that Corporate Rates are not available at the gate. Prices include 13% HST (HST# 85076 5413 RT0001). Valid at midway rides only. A $2.99 processing fee applies to each ticket for all online transactions. All programs subject to change. Rain or shine.
A first-person perspective submitted by Shelagh Barrington, Gallery Guide and National Docent Symposium (NDS) Director for Canada
Recent GG training, with Charlotte Big Canoe (Indigenous & Canadian), and Caroline Shields (Cassatt-McNicoll)
A July 19, 2023 meeting with Gallery Guides was arranged by Natalie Lam and Paola Poletto, who introduced new staff support Danah Abusido, Curatorial Associate, Artist in Residence program. Danah’s duties have expanded to include assisting with the GG program. Also introduced and linked by zoom was Audrey Hudson Chief, Education and Programming.
Audrey gave us an update on what Education and Programming has to offer. It was a good overview of the changes and accomplishments that this department has worked through during and following the pandemic. The AGO Education and Programming department is doing an amazing job of offering the AGO collection to schools and communities who are not otherwise able to access our collections in person, including remote communities in the north. The program is scheduled to expand both across the country and further afield. We now have an AGO production studio on-site. As guides we should be familiar with the programs the AGO now offers.
During the Q&A part of the presentation Audrey and Paola answered questions and provided relevant information.
Can staff take on volunteer jobs? No, staff can’t do volunteer jobs and volunteers can’t do staff jobs.
Clarification re: new GG training and ongoing training
A small group of new GGs recently joined the AGO, and welcomed with an in-person orientation and training, and additional online resources. Paola Poletto let us know that in-person training resumes this Fall for new GGs. During the summer, new GGs will continue to shadow experienced GGs and learn about the collection through research. Experienced GGs are invited to provide feedback to Natalie about what might assist the new recruits. Experienced GGs, please make new GGs welcome, and begin establishing those personal connections!
Continued in-person training for all GGs will happen as new exhibitions open, and these sessions will continue to be recorded for those unable to attend.
Terminology is tricky and can mean something different to different audiences. But it is also flexible and can be changed. Communications is key.
Expansion of GG duties:
Hourly walking chats resume this Fall with flexibility to guide availability and interest (if GGs are in the building, they will happen, if not, they won’t). Newly designed bright pink Let’s Chat mats (on order) and new signage, designed and displayed in Walker Court, will signal when the hourly walking chats will happen. Paola clarified that the AGO design team designs and implements signage as part of broader branding responsibility.
Responding to our concerns:
Paola and Natalie have been responsive to Gallery Guide asks. We asked to give new visitors more of our time and they did. First the walking chat and now that is evolving into the hourly walking chats.
The Volunteer Blog: Holly said volunteers can submit stories for the Volunteer Blog. So, if volunteers want to see more about what volunteers are doing, please write a story and provide a jpeg picture.
Audrey Hudson stated she and her staff are interested in knowing more about what GGs do and is open to arranging for staff do a walking chat. So, GGs lets be on our game to show them our best. And that goes for other volunteers around the AGO. You are welcome any time to join a dot chat or a walking chat; just give us a heads up that you are joining the group.
We have lost some of our GGs over this time of transition, and some found it difficult to adapt to interactive talks. But GGs still with the program are ready and looking forward to our newly expanding role.
So, Yes! The Gallery Guide community will continue with a newly reworked approach of assisting visitors that is ever-evolving and we appreciate all that the AGO has to offer.
Thank you to Holly for arranging a wonderful welcome back volunteer party/ recognition event earlier this Spring, and to Paloma and Natalie for arranging continued GG training.
Please note: If you’re a volunteer who wants to submit a first-person perspective to the volunteer blog, we welcome your submission! Please get in touch with [email protected]
One thing I love about Toronto is the abundance of culture and creativity – whether one experiences it here at the museum or at art-making studios, at the theatre, through film, at literary festivals or at street festivals. Culture is really what makes Toronto great. Yes, Toronto is a finance, tech and sports hub, but it is also a hub for creativity. The AGO contributes to this in a big way. I am super proud of the work we all do for our city.
We are at the height of summer and there are lots of opportunities to enjoy a concert, a dance performance, a gallery show or a cultural festival outside of the AGO. Foyer often shares stories about what’s happening at other cultural organizations. I hope you all have a chance to experience something wonderfully creative during these next couple of months of warmth and sunshine.
Tomorrow (Saturday) we are opening an exhibition by Sarindar Dhaliwal entitled When I grow up I want to be a namer of paint colours. It is on the first floor in the Lind Gallery. It is a bold and beautiful exhibition and when you go to see it you will be impressed by both the art and the installation. Renée van der Avoird did a great job on the curation and the installation team really made it beautiful. The skills needed to install hundreds of ceramic letters is impressive. Our team really can do almost anything!
One of the aspects I love about the AGO is that we all have different skills. Some of us have the skills to welcome and engage hundreds of guests a day, some of us are excellent editors, some of us are pros in the kitchen, some of us have the ability to quietly watch over art to ensure it is safe. Take a moment and think about your own abilities. Take a moment and see your colleagues’ amazing skills – the staff and volunteers of the AGO are an impressive group!
“I wanted the sense of the rhythm of sweeping, not the figure, to become strong enough that the audience would feel it,” said artist Suzy Lake on her work Rhythm of a True Space #2 (2008-2009). An 11-panel archival pigment print that features Lake gently sweeping rubble on the ground, the work seemingly follows the viewer’s steps as you walk alongside it. For this month’s RBC Art Pick, Foyer dives into the past of the work. It is currently on view at the AGO as part of the exhibition Her Space, which features works representing the interior lives of women – at rest, at work, at play or in a dream state.
Using photographs taken more than 15 years ago, Rhythm of a True Space #2 belonged to an image-based series Lake began to work with in 1994 titled Re-Reading Recovery (1996). The archival photos showed her sweeping the rubble at the site of a home renovation. Dressed in a thin cotton slip, Lake appears resolute but vulnerable and barefoot. During that time, Lake was particularly interested in exploring the concepts of beauty and the aging body. Lake has said, “Experience is positive; maturity is positive; but our culture doesn’t celebrate these attributes when associated with aging.” Read more in this week’s Foyer, linked HERE.
Hey All, in a meeting this week a question came up about volunteer content on the blog. This post is a short reminder that there are lots of ways to share information in the volunteer community:
The AGO Volunteers Facebook Group – type “AGO Volunteers” in your Facebook search bar (you need to be member of Facebook to join). Once you have asked to join a moderator (me) will add you to the group. We (volunteer resources) occasionally use this site to quickly message volunteers – but the intention of the group page is for volunteers to be able to share information (art links, etc), unmoderated, with each other.
The Volunteer Lounge Bulletin Board – a physical posting board located just inside the doors of the volunteer lounge. Feel free to post your notices and shared news, here.
The Volunteer Blog – have a story you want to submit? We are always open to volunteer voices! – email [email protected], who will happily post for you.
