Hello Everyone,

What’s happening? 

• We are happy to announce that as of Thursday, April 27, the Espresso Bar in Galleria Italia will be move to and reopen in the Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Sculpture Atrium for all AGO visitors and staff to enjoy. 
• We are also happy to announce that we are working towards a return to food and beverage service in the Norma Ridley Members’ Lounge for our AGO Members only beginning Wednesday, May 24. Note that this date may shift should there be delays in service or supply chain issues.
• As these reopening dates quickly approach, stay tuned to learn more about what AGO visitors and staff can expect in the upcoming weeks. Read below for some key details.
• Also, the AGO Bistro is now serving dinner on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays until 8 pm. The restaurant will be open until 9 pm. 
• To celebrate these new extended Thursday night hours, AGO Members, staff and volunteers will enjoy a special 20% discount on dinner Thursdays in April at AGO Bistro.

The Espresso Bar in the Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Sculpture Atrium – Reopening Thursday, April 27

• In preparation for this reopening, the Espresso Bar will close in Galleria Italia after service hours on Sunday, April 23.
• Once reopened in the Atrium, staff can still purchase drinks and snacks from the Espresso Bar.
• Because the Espresso Bar is located in the Gallery, there will be no takeout options, meaning drinks and snacks will be served in the Atrium. Takeout options are available from AGO Bistro.
• Haegue Yang’s Woven Currents – Confluence of Parallels (2020) will remain on view. 

The Norma Ridley Members’ Lounge – Reopening Wednesday, May 24

• The Norma Ridley Members’ Lounge is a dedicated space for AGO Members to enjoy the historical setting of the Grange House on Level 1 of the Gallery.
• A new food and beverage menu will be served to AGO Members only in the Members’ Lounge at the following times, as of Wednesday, May 24: 
• Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays: 11:30 am to 4:30 pm
• Fridays: 11:30 am to 7 pm
• The Members’ Lounge will still be open to AGO Members on days when food and beverage service is not being served (during Gallery hours):
• Mondays – Closed
• Tuesdays and Thursdays: 10:30 am to 4:30 pm
• Wednesdays and Fridays: 10:30 am to 8:30 pm
• Saturday and Sundays: 10:30 am to 5 pm.

Questions? 

• Stay tuned in the upcoming weeks to learn more about what staff and our visitors can expect in the Espresso Bar and Members’ Lounge.
• If you have an urgent question or concern, please email [email protected] (not Holly Procktor or volunteer resources- this is all the information we have been given to share – thanks!)

Hello everyone,

Earlier this week, I announced that Lisa Clements is leaving the AGO after almost 14 years. I really want to emphasize Lisa’s contributions to the organization and thank her for her incredible efforts. I also want to assure everyone that we’ll have a plan in place during the transition period when Lisa steps away.

Next Tuesday, we will be increasing our Single Admission price from $25 to $30 to continue to make great art accessible to more audiences The AGO remains among the most affordable culture experiences in the GTA: admission is free for anyone under 25 years, and anyone can purchase an annual pass for $35. Admission is free every Wednesday between 6pm – 9pm, and Toronto Public Library users can sign out free visits with the Museum + Arts Pass. We also believe this change will make the $35 annual pass even more attractive to our visitors.

Take care,

Stephan 

Wednesday, April 12, 6 pm

Walker Court

Join us for a special evening to celebrate the opening of internationally-renowned artist Wolfgang Tillmans‘ retrospective To look without fear.  We stay open late to dance the night away with Nino Brown of Yes Yes Y’all and DJ Robert Alfons of Canadian electronic ensemble TR/ST. Artist in attendance.

6 pm        Free Wednesday Nights begin
7 pm        Opening remarks
7-9 pm     DJ Nino Brown
9 pm        Exhibition and Gallery Close except Walker Court
9-11 pm   DJ Robert Alfons (TR/ST)

Nino Brown is a Toronto-based DJ and co-founder of one of the city’s most popular and inclusive party series Yes Yes Y’all. Her own sounds tend toward more experimental and electronic, garnering her multiple sets on global underground platform Boiler Room and stories in The Cut, New York Magazine’s fashion section.

TR/ST is the musical project led by Canadian artist Robert Alfons. Known for a sound that converges pop, dance and goth dynamics TR/ST has toured the world since originally forming in 2010.

Hello everyone,

I am writing to share that after nearly 14 years of amazing accomplishments and collaboration, Lisa Clements, Chief, Communications & Brand, has decided to leave the AGO.  

Those of you who know Lisa well will not be surprised that this decision did not come easily, given her extraordinary commitment to the AGO and fierce work ethic. Her large portfolio has been particularly demanding over these past few years and now that she has a full team in place (finally!), Lisa has decided to take some time for herself to consider the next phase of her impressive career. Big kudos to Lisa for building a truly stellar team, all of whom serve the critical functions of telling our story and advancing our Audience and Brand strategies. People have always been at the heart of Lisa’s approach to her work, and having the best people in place for these roles is the key reason why Lisa has decided to step away and focus on life outside of the AGO.

Some of the highlights that stand out during Lisa’s tenure include:

• Maintaining excellent government relations, resulting in ongoing stable funding from the AGO’s biggest funder, the provincial government
• Working with neighbourhood leaders to help revitalize Grange Park
• Leading the crowd-funding initiative for the acquisition of Kusama’s Let’s Survive Forever
• Launching the Insider, the AGO’s weekly newsletter that reaches approximately 235,000 people (close to the circulation of The Globe & Mail newspaper)
• Launching the Annual Pass, an initiative that has helped make the AGO more accessible and shift our audience to better reflect the people who live in our city
• With Leadership Team, helping to guide the AGO through the pandemic and keep our staff and visitors safe
• Re-building our business efforts post-COVID
• Announcing the exciting news of the Dani Reiss Modern & Contemporary Gallery

On a personal note, I have benefited immensely from Lisa’s advice since arriving at the AGO 7 years ago. Lisa is truly a person of integrity, and I have deep respect for her honesty and directness. She leads with her own personal values and high expectations for herself – a very high bar, indeed. I’m enormously grateful for everything that Lisa has contributed to the AGO and wish her well in every respect.

Lisa will be here for the next 3 weeks on a full-time basis and then on a consulting bases for a couple of months to help out during this transition period. You will hear more from me soon about interim leadership in Lisa’s absence so stay tuned.

Thank you, Lisa!

Stephan

Hello everyone,

A very big THANK YOU to all of you for contributing to a successful March Break last week – especially Education & Programming, Visitor Experience and Facility Services. Overall attendance was quite positive – close to 27,500 visitors in total, averaging 3,053 per day. This was considerably higher than last year and I am grateful for everyone’s efforts to make it a wonderful experience for our public, especially children and families.

Thank you also to those involved with installing the upcoming Wolfgang Tillmans show, To look without fear, a major retrospective organized by MoMA. It performed extraordinarily well at MoMA and I expect it to give us a lift here, too. Sophie Hackett is the AGO curator. Tillmans is a global art star, recognized broadly and also particularly within the queer community. We are having a very big public opening on Friday, April 12 and you are all invited. Here are the details:

https://ago.ca/events/wolfgang-tillmans-look-without-fear

Spread the word!

Take care,

Stephan

A quick note to remind volunteers we are in the final weeks of Leonard Cohen: Everybody Knows. This exhibition closes April 10. We have a lot of Cohen notebooks left! So if you’re a gallery guide out on the floor, please feel free to share these widely, and a note to all volunteers: feel free to take some home for family and friends. They’re lovely little keepsakes.

And while you’re roaming the Galleries, make sure to see: Modern and Contemporary Prints from the Collection of Grant L. Reuber – on until April 2 in the first floor gallery, #140 (to help orient you – this is outside of Prints and Drawings). This is my favourite show at the moment – a colourful, impactful little gem!

Hello everyone,

March Break is ready to kick into gear this weekend at the AGO. The focus will be on artmaking and family friendly activities, with our Art Carts out in full force. For more information, check out https://ago.ca/events/march-break.

I hope that those who are taking vacation days over the next couple of weeks have a great break. March to me is that “in between” season – when the snow starts to recede (eventually!) and we have more hours of daylight, signaling the arrival of spring later this month.

I will be off for two weeks with my family visiting Hawaii, where we used to live. See you all soon!

Mahalo (which means “thank you” in Hawaiian),

Stephan

A painting by Anna Boberg, one of Sweden’s most famous artists and polar explorers, is on view now

Born into a wealthy and creative family in Stockholm in 1864, Boberg was largely self-taught. A contemporary of abstract painter Hilma af Klint (1862–1944), Boberg’s career was defined by her paintings of the arctic landscapes of the Lofoten Islands, an archipelago off the northern coast of Norway, 150 kilometres above the Arctic Circle.  She and her husband first visited the region in 1901. Enamoured by the landscape, she remained there to paint even after her husband returned home and would return numerous times over the next 30 years, summer and winter, to paint in different light conditions. “Translating the rich sensorial experience of the Arctic sea,” describes Caroline Shields, AGO Associate Curator and Head of European Art, “became Boberg’s enduring passion for the final three decades of her life.” 

Sunlight and Showers (1901-12) stands apart in Boberg’s oeuvre and dates to her earliest years in Lofoten. While much of her later work focuses on fishing vessels and human activity, Sunlight and Showers is, according to Shields, “an expressionist tour-de-force that captures the atmospheric effects of an Arctic snow shower.” 

Not just a painter, Boberg’s artistic practice included textile design, ceramics and glass as well as writing − she wrote the libretto for an opera, an autobiography and various travelogues. 

Our own Dr. Caroline Shields examines the painting, and shares more about Boberg’s oeuvre and legacy, in this week’s AGOinsider collection spotlight (read, here).

2021 Sobey Art Award-winner Laakkuluk speaks about her exhibition on view at the AGO, Naak silavit qeqqa?

On July 16, 2022, acclaimed Kalaaleq (Greenlandic Inuk) artist – and winner of the 2021 Sobey Award – ᓛᒃᑯᓗᒃ Laakkuluk unveiled her brand new multimedia installation, Naak silavit qeqqa?, which incorporates video, soundscape and sculpture. The installation seeks to describe sila, the all-powerful Inuktitut word that captures the universe, the environment and the intellect. At the heart of the installation is Silaup Putunga (2018) – a large-scale double-sided video, created by Laakkuluk and her long-time collaborator Jamie Griffiths. Additionally, the installation includes a selection of Inuit soapstone sculptures from the AGO’s Williamson Collection, donated by Laakkuluk’s parents – Dr. Robert G. Williamson, O.C. and his wife, Dr. Karla Jessen Williamson.

We recently connected with Laakkuluk to learn more about the concept of sila, the Williamson Collection, and her collaborative work with Griffiths. 

AGOinsider: Could you share with us what the concept of sila means, and how it directly relates to the installation?

Laakkuluk: The name of the exhibition is Naak silavit qeqqa? It’s a riddle that children are asked. My mom was always very enthralled by that. She’s passed it down the generations. It asks, ‘Where’s the middle of your sila’? And sila has this multifaceted meaning. It means your intellect, it means the environment, it means the universe, it means outside. As a child when we’re asked where’s the middle of your sila is, it’s very confusing. And of course, there’s no right answer – but you have to think about it like, ‘Where do I point’? My reaction as a kid was to point between my eyes. But when we asked my kids – when they were little – they’d either do the same thing, or they point out the window.

AGOinsider: And does the installation seek to answer that question? (Where is the middle of your sila?)

Laakkuluk: No, it seeks to ask you as a visitor. There’s the piece in the middle, the film installation is Silaup Putunga, the hole in Sila. It’s an exploration of the layers of reality that you touch upon – or that I touch upon – as a uaajeerneq performer or a mask dancer. All the layers of mask to get to my face, and what’s on my face, and also what it means to be expressing my identity as a human being on the land. And just being able to pierce through realities like that.

Read the full article, in this week’s AGOinsider.

Hello everyone
This has been an exciting week with yesterday’s announcement of the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery. The word is out and response has been overwhelmingly positive. We’ll post a collection of media clippings next week.

We have exceptional exhibitions to look forward to opening in April and May including Wolfgang Tillmans (April 7), Cassatt – McNicoll (May 31) and Arnold Newman (also May 31). Our Fall exhibitions of KAWS and Keith Haring are already generating excitement as well. I truly believe our exhibition lineup is very strong.
A week like this reminds me that we are at our best when we work together. I am grateful for all of your hard work.
Take care,Stephan

P.S. There are so many people to thank, but I want to extend special thanks to Laura Quinn, Andrea-Jo Wilson and Wendy So for their excellent work at generating tremendous media coverage for the project.