Hello Volunteers: re-sharing this note from Paola Poletto (and an additional goodbye note from outgoing GG coordinator, Melissa Smith), re: the recent restructuring of staff support for the Gallery Guide program.

Though these communications were shared weeks ago to Gallery Guides directly, we continue to hear from guides who missed the message, so I have been asked to share here, on the blog. I loved working with Melissa and I am very much looking forward to working with Paola on this transition- you are all in very good hands! – Holly)

Hello Gallery Guides, 

I am so excited to more directly connect with you! Over my 8 years at the AGO, I have often admired the engagement work you do from afar, and also up close. I feel you are truly invested in the AGO, in art and the philosophical underpinnings of what it means to engage with relevancy. This impacts audiences in the moment and over time! I think there is much to learn from your intimate connections with visitors, and more to learn and transform together as we emerge from a sector and world deeply impacted by the events of the past year. I don’t take our relationship lightly, and I have been gathering Melissa’s insights. I also want to thank her for the ceaseless passion and focused coordination during her tenure in her role with you. 

Going forward, I look forward to planning how we will return to our beloved galleries in the New Year, or when it is safe to do so. I continue to work from home. My work for the past 18 months has largely focused on the delivery of online public programs and learning opportunities for broad audiences. This has included the creation of the Learn From Home webpage and all its resources (https://ago.ca/learn/learn-and-make); a successful pivot to delivering online studio courses, workshops and tours for families, children, youth, adults and older adults with a fantastic team of artist instructors and art educators; the launch of our first ever online community gallery and call for art entitled, Portraits of Resilience (https://ago.ca/portraits-resilience) and the expansion of the AGO X RBC Emerging Artist Program (https://ago.ca/emerging-artists-program), now in its 10th year (Please join the artists online with me on October 7th when they present their new work). I have been to the gallery 3 times over the past year, as a visitor.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or updates in the meanwhile, or to just say hello and welcome me into the fold!

Paola

Paola Poletto, Director, Engagement & Learning

Hello Everyone,

Many of you might have noticed that my role changed significantly since the start of the pandemic, focusing much more on accessibility and community programming. 

This is exciting, as my work in accessibility becomes more visible at the AGO. 

You can explore some of the programming on the Access to Art website here:

The Gallery Guides will now report directly to Paola Poletto, Director of Engagement and Learning. Paola is excited to become your main contact person, working together with you, Audrey Hudson, Richard and Elizabeth Currie Chief of Education and Programming, and the People team once we can all be back in the building.

Many of you know Paola already. She and I have worked together over the past 8 years on access programs including Seniors Social, as well as the Gallery Guide Program. I will continue to report to Paola in my new role, as well. We are in great hands!

I can’t begin to thank you all for the incredible experiences we’ve shared together over the past eight years!

We started working together in September of 2013, so it seems fitting that I am saying farewell in the fall 8 years later.

There are so many great memories and accomplishments that we share and I thought I would name some of the things I’m most proud of in our work together:

• Special Projects like the Brian Jungen Multisensory Dots, Anthropocene Ipad Floating, and the Stereoscopic Viewer Engagement
• Experiencing wonderful training sessions with Stephen Andrews, the Ontario Science Centre, Edward Burtynsky, and Museum Hack
• Digitizing content information on our Learning Page and Content Emails to make it more accessible
• The introduction of the Pop Up Art Chats aka the Dot Program. In the past eight years, we managed to engage over 67,000 visitors through this program!

I feel I’ve really grown as a person and in my career, while working and learning with you all.

I will be around, so it’s not goodbye, and I look forward to seeing all the amazing work you will do in the future.

With great gratitude,

Melissa

Volunteers – thank you for your patience as we slowly got our systems back online (and caught up with orders!) after the recent cyberattack. We are so happy we are now able to process your bookings – enjoy the show!

Please remember: proof of vaccination and ID required for all visitors 12 and up to enter the Gallery. Please bring both:

• The receipt of full COVID-19 vaccination issued by the public health authority, and
• A government-issued ID that matches the proof of full vaccination documentation with your date of birth.

Starting today, volunteers are invited to book any of the following:

• 2 Special exhibition tickets for Picasso: Painting the Blue Period (There is a maximum of 2 exhibition tickets per volunteer) – one of these tickets will be for you, another for your guest. Picasso tickets include general gallery admission, which includes access to Matthew Wong, and Fragments of Epic Memory.
• Not planning to see Picasso? A friendly reminder, you can also book up to 4 General Admission tickets in one visit. One of these tickets will be for you; and 3 for your guests. 
• For either option – you do not need to provide the name or contact details of your guests. The booking will be made under your name.

For both options, please:

Call the Contact Centre on 416-979-6608 or email [email protected] and make sure to:

1. Specify if you are booking ticket(s) for Picasso (which includes General Gallery Admission), or General Admission only 
2. Please include the Date and time you would like to attend
3. Provide the name and email address for where to email the tickets. (This can be a name other than yours). The tickets will be sent out as PDFs that can be shown on a smartphone or printed in advance of your visit.

Please provide 5 business days’ notice in advance of your visit so we can email you your tickets.

Some to things keep in mind:

• You can bring your volunteer badge for discounts in shopAGO or AGO Bistro, but it is not needed for entry into the Gallery. You will not be asked to show your badge along with your ticket, and badges can’t be used to gain entry into the building. You will need to use the main entrance to visit, not Jackman Hall, which is closed. The volunteer lounge also remains closed.
• When visiting, please remain in the public areas of the Gallery. The Volunteer Lounge and other back of house areas are restricted at this time for the safety of those who are required to work on-site.
• For any Volunteers who have a membership or Annual Pass, we encourage you to continue to use your membership to book your tickets, online, in advance of visiting.
• The Contact Centre is busy! We are grateful for your assistance in booking in advance.

We are looking forward to seeing you!

Trish Popkin (she/her)

Manager, Visitor Welcome

Hello everyone,

I would like to begin my message this week by thanking those who participated on – or contributed to – the COVID 19 Task Force. I truly believe the efforts undertaken by this team saved lives. All of the health and safety protocols that have been in place since the beginning of COVID have kept each of us and members of our public safe and well. Upon last month’s provincial announcement that many capacity restrictions have been lifted, the work of the COVID 19 Task Force is complete and the team has disbanded. Continuing forward, it is every person’s responsibility to adhere to the remaining protocols such as wearing masks, distancing, and washing and sanitizing hands. Any further decisions relating to COVID protocols will be made by the Leadership Team. If you have questions, please talk to your Manager or LT member.

Last week I spent four days in Dresden, Germany, attending the annual Bizot gathering, a group of museum directors from the top 50 museums in the world. We discussed topics such as exhibitions, loans and audiences. Many museums are taking steps to engage younger and more diverse audiences and are looking towards Toronto and the AGO to understand what we are doing here. Dresden is a beautiful city that was bombed completely flat during World War II. Its rebuilding and recovery has largely been driven by the arts and culture sector. Today, central Dresden boasts more than 15 museums with astounding collections.

This week marks Treaties Recognition Week in Ontario, which aims to deepen our understanding of treaty rights and treaty relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in our province. Each of us has a responsibility to increase our knowledge of treaties. Cian Knights sent a helpful message earlier this week with several good resources, including a film. Please take some time to learn more about treaties.

Take care and happy Diwali to those who are celebrating the Festival of Lights,

Stephan

Dear Colleagues,

The first week of November marks Treaties Recognition Week in Ontario. This week aims to increase understanding of the history of treaties, and awareness about treaty rights and treaty relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in Ontario.

The Art Gallery of Ontario operates on land that is Michi Saagig Nishnawbe territory. Toronto is governed by treaty 13 between the Mississauga of the Credit and the Canadian government. It has also been occupied by other Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Wendat confederacies. Since 1701, Toronto is governed by the Dish with One Spoon treaty between the Anishinabeg, the Haudenausonee and allied nations to peaceably share and care for resources around the Great Lakes.

As treaty people living in Canada, we have an important responsibility to learn about treaties and Nations and to understand the conditions upon which we are to share resources and land with the many Nations who are the original stewards of this land for over 10,000 years.

In recognition of Treaties Recognition Week, here are some resources to support your learning:

Please take time to watch a virtual documentary viewing of Trick or Treaty by Alanis Obomsawin.

SYNOPSIS: Directed by Alanis Obomsawin, Trick of Treaty? examines the effects and legacy of Treaty No. 9 (1905), signed by the Government of Canada and Indigenous peoples in the James Bay area. The treaty had a significant impact on Indigenous peoples, who were relocated to reserves as a result, allowing the natural resources both below and above ground to become the property of the Government of Canada. Trick or Treaty? chronicles the struggles of Indigenous peoples since the inception of the Treaty process in Canada, exploring the varying opinions on the stipulations of Treaty No. 9 and discrepancies between oral and written history. The film traces the oral history of a family whose grandfather was an original signatory of Treaty No. 9; he explains the interpretation of the treaty that has been passed down through generations. Evidence is provided that Treaty No. 9 has not fulfilled the intentions that were outlined in 1905 and 1906. The film then moves on to cover recent events, where Indigenous peoples are challenging the status quo that has resulted from the Treaty process. Trick or Treaty? succinctly and powerfully portrays one community’s attempts to enforce their treaty rights and protect their lands, while also revealing the complexities of contemporary treaty agreements. 

Trick or Treaty? made history as the first film by an Indigenous filmmaker to be part of the Masters section at TIFF when it screened there in 2014. 84 minutes.

WATCH HERE: This film has been made available as an educational resource to watch on your own time, via the National Film Board of Canada:

https://www.nfb.ca/m/playlists/c8f986faee52434d8981a007e70325aa/playback/

Other Resources:

• OISE We Are All Treaty People – Learning Module
  • The Toronto Purchase Treaty No. 13 (1805)
  • OISE Lunch and Learn Dish With One Spoon Wampum with Rick Hill Sr. (Six Nations version) – Virtual lecture hosted by the Indigenous Education Network on November 19, 2020
  • Alan Ojiig Corbiere: The Underlying Importance of Wampum Belts (Anishinaabe version) – Virtual lecture hosted by Chippewas of Rama First Nation, March 2015
  • WAMPUM TALK: We Are All Treaty People – Virtual lecture hosted by National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation on September 28, 2021
  • “In Our Words” – Understanding Treaties (1 of 8 video series) – developed by the First Nations, Métis & Inuit Education Association of Ontario, September 2020
  • Treaties in Ontario Infographic
  • Ontario Government Treaties Recognition Week – Virtual Living Library events

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]

Cian B. Knights (pronouns: she/her)

Manager, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

A new installation of contemporary works explores how landscapes, from coastal shores to skyscrapers, inspire and inform various artistic visions.

A new installation of contemporary works from the AGO Collection (on Level 4, gallery 405) explores the concept of landscape by highlighting the various forms it takes in painting and sculpture. Adelina Vlas, AGO Associate Curator, Contemporary Art,  has displayed the works of artists Silke Otto-Knapp, Paterson Ewen, Luis Jacob and Shirley Wiitasalo in associative conversations with each other, juxtaposing the nuances of natural, man-made and imagined landscapes. 

Los Angeles-based painter Silke Otto-Knapp is best known for her complex, monochrome works done in grey, black and silver watercolour. Taking a non-traditional approach to the medium, she paints on canvas and linen which adds a signature flatness and luminosity to her paintings. Otto-Knapp’s multi-panel Monotones (Seascape) is part of her Monotones series, and depicts a vast, rocky shoreline on Fogo Island, Newfoundland.      

Volunteers may recall Silke Otto-Knapp’s earlier solo exhibition at the Gallery, in  2015 – Silke Otto-Knapp: Land Lies in Water.  Volunteers might also enjoy this article that explores more of the artist’s technique.

You can read more about this installation, and all of the artists assembled, in AGOinsider.

Hello Everyone,

By now, staff will have received the message from Chris Steele that the AGO experienced a cyberattack last week. Outlook is back up and running along with other core services. It will still take a little bit longer for remote access services to be fully resolved as the investigation into what caused the attack remains underway. The main point is that there was no privacy breach and no personal or financial data was impacted.

THANK YOU to the IT team for their incredible efforts during the past several days to restore services. Thank you especially to Chris Steele and Kyle Fraser for equipping our IT infrastructure in advance of the attack, which prevented a more detrimental outcome from occurring. You prepared us well to combat an incident such as this.

Also by now, you will have likely heard the news that provincial capacity restrictions have been lifted in many organizations, including the AGO, where vaccine mandates are in place. What this means for us is that we can return to 100% capacity as opposed to 50%, which has been our operating assumption since we re-opened in July. We will do this gradually and safely to make sure our staff and systems in place can accommodate the increase.

Starting this week, we will increase capacity in Picasso from 50% to 75-80%. Thank you to the Visitor Experience and Protection Services teams for pivoting this week. Again, we will make the change in Picasso slowly and carefully.

Both of our ticketed exhibitions (Picasso and Warhol) were totally sold out this weekend. The AGO is bustling with activity and this will only continue as we head into the busy holiday season. It is time for more employees to be back onsite. Again, we will do this cautiously and gradually, beginning in November.

Enjoy the week,

Stephan

Wednesday October 13 at 1pm, via ZOOM

Join us for a very special keynote address by M. NourbeSe Philip to open Black Portraiture[s]: Toronto, Absente/d Presence, a three-day conference exploring Blackness as absent/ed presence in art, art history,  performance, archives, museums, cultural production and technology. Following the keynote, M. NourbeSe Philip will be in conversation with DJ and curator Mark Campbell.

Black Portraiture[s]: Toronto, Absente/d Presencewill take place virtually in partnership with Agnes Etherington Art Centre at Queen’s University and is presented by Wedge Curatorial Projects. All are welcome, from wherever you are in the world! 

Born in Tobago, M. NourbeSe Philip is an unembedded poet, essayist, novelist, playwright and independent scholar who lives in the space-time of the City of Toronto, where she practised law for seven years before becoming a poet and writer. M. NourbeSe Philip is the 2020 recipient of the PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature. She is also the 2021 recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts’ lifetime achievement award, the Molson Prize,for her “invaluable contributions to literature”.

Mark V. Campbell is the founder of Northside Hip Hop Archive and has spent two decades embedded within the Toronto hip hop scene operating from community engaged praxis as both a DJ and Curator. His forthcoming exhibition, Still Tho: Aesthetic Survival of Hip-Hop’s Visual Art is set to launch at Âjagemô Gallery in Ottawa, January 2022. Mark is Assistant Professor of Music and Culture at the University of Toronto Scarborough.

This is a Free Event, that requires advanced registration via Zoom, linked HERE.

Hello Everyone,

This was an extraordinary week at the AGO. After years of research, conservation, scholarship, loan negotiations and meticulous planning, we opened Picasso: Painting the Blue Period. Congratulations to Kenneth Brummel, Sandra Webster-Cook and EVERYONE involved with installing, securing and promoting the exhibition. Since Wednesday, we have seen line-ups of Members waiting patiently to explore the show, and I am excited for it to be open to the public this weekend.

As a young person coming into his own, Picasso had a broad view of the world and was deeply aware of the poverty and hardship experienced by many at the beginning of the 20th century. He depicted this with compassion, including in La Soupe from our collection (picture below), which speaks to a global understanding of charity. Something we can all relate to. I am thinking of this work, in particular, as many of us celebrate Thanksgiving this long weekend. Indeed, we all have much to be thankful for.

Take care and stay safe,

Stephan

A Q&A with Dominica-born, Toronto-based artist Gomo George, whose work is currently on view in Fragments of Epic Memory.

Gomo George is a multidisciplinary artist working in painting and sculpture, whose artmaking centres African and Caribbean traditions. Since the early 1980s, he has been a strong advocate for Black artists working in Canada, curating exhibitions and founding the city’s first Black artist run gallery, ColoLux Studios. Inspired by a photograph taken by K.A. Richards in 1958, his striking watercolour Women’s Carnival Band (2002) is currently on view on Level 5 as part of Fragments of Epic Memory.  We caught up with George to hear more about his work and teaching philosophy.

AGOinsider: What do you miss most about Dominica?

George:  I miss family and childhood friends.  I miss the sea and rivers of which we have 365, enough to bathe in one every day of the year. The greenery of the island.

AGOinsider:  ColoLux Studios, the gallery you founded in 1984, was a groundbreaking achievement. Can you tell us why it was important?

George: Founding Cololux was important because I was the only one showing in the mainstream galleries.  My colleagues were not getting similar opportunities.  We needed a place where we could establish a presence visually, as well as a place to discuss our work.  A place we could share knowledge about the Canadian and diasporic art scene. It was a place to foster much needed professional development.

AGOinsider: Was there a particular artist or artwork that was profoundly influential for you when you began artmaking?

George: My childhood friend Eddy John was a friend and mentor; he was influential and he encouraged me to take my talent seriously.  Ras David from Jamaica was another early influence.  As well as all of Carnival preparation activities.

AGOinsider: Teaching art is a combination of instinct and technique. What was the best lesson you ever received? 

George: The best lesson I got was that a mistake can become the focal point or binding aspect in creating an artwork.

Fragments of Epic Memory is on now, until February 21, 2022.

Hello Everyone,

Today is the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is a chance to reflect on what has happened and is happening. 

When someone visits the AGO it is my hope that they will encounter works of art by Indigenous people. The power of these works impress me – I think of the two sculptures by the Anishinaabe artist Michael Belmore that are currently on view. One work, Édifice, is a set of stones hat has been carved to look stone that has been shaped by a glacier. It is a work of art that shows a sense of time. The work has a vein of copper that runs through the stone – most beautiful. It is a sculpture that it about many things but to me it has a sense of place. This place. Perhaps today is a day to think about our history. To think about this history not just in terms of the last year or decade but in terms of generations. Indigenous people have been here for a long, long time – there is an opportunity to listen and learn. Today is an opportunity to look for truth and to seek reconciliation.

Stephan  

• 

• 

• 

•