Saturday February 25, 11am – 4pm in the (WFLC) Weston Family Learning Centre
To close out Black History Month, the AGO has partnered with Black Owned Toronto to host a marketplace. The market will feature 25 Black owned local businesses, with a range of products including candles, hair care, children’s books, scents and more. In this exciting partnership, Kerin John, founder and CEO of Black Owned Toronto says she aims to create “a bright, punchy gathering spot for Black entrepreneurs”. This unique marketplace at the AGO will do just that and is open to all.
Special thanks to our Black Employee Resource Group for bringing this event to the AGO!
Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody is making its only Canadian stop at the AGO in November 2023! Find out more on our website and stay tuned for more details. Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody is organized by @TheBroad.
Before travelling here, The Broad will present the first-ever museum exhibition in Los Angeles of Keith Haring’s expansive body of work and will feature over 120 artworks and archival materials. Known for his use of vibrant color, energetic linework and iconic characters like the barking dog and the radiant baby, Haring’s work continues to dissolve barriers between art and life and spread joy, all while being rooted in the creative spirit and mission of his subway drawings and renowned public murals: art is for everybody. Curated by Broad Curator and exhibition manager Sarah Loyer, the exhibition will explore both Haring’s artistic practice and life, with much of the source material for the exhibition coming from his personal journals.
By the 1950s African studio photographers had begun experimenting with lighting and composition techniques, resulting in flattering portraits of their subjects. These images carried an air of optimism during the post-independence era in West and Central Africa.
Tracing the development of African studio photography from the 1860s to the mid-1980s, this exhibition features images by Cameroonian photographer Michel Kameni, Malian photographers Malick Sidibé and Seydou Keïta and Ivorian photographer Paul Kodjo, among others.
The exhibition title, You Look Beautiful Like That, is a translation of the Malian phrase “i kany¨ tan”—popularized by Bamako-born photographer Seydou Keïta—and captures the close collaboration between photographers and African clients in the creation of their likenesses.
Good afternoon, everyone. As many of you may have read in the Globe & Mail today, we have sad news to share. Gallery Guide Mary Rochon has passed away.
One of my very favourite photos: Mary (on the left) with Rochelle (on the right) – a friendship for the ages!
Mary volunteered as a Gallery Guide with us for 25 years. When I think of Mary, I think of a grand dame and consummate host. She put so much attention and scholarship into her tours and enjoyed nothing more than a good chat in the galleries. She absolutely loved being a guide and spending time socializing with volunteer friends & colleagues around the table in the volunteer lounge. During the pandemic, Mary connected us with one of her daughters, Lisa Rochon, an author who who joined us on one of our early Zoom calls to chat about her book, Tuscan Daughter. Previous to that, Mary started a small book club to help fellow guides through grief, when she lost her own beloved husband Joel after 62 years of marriage. Mary was all about family, and connection.
As many of you know, Mary was also an artist and I have attached one of her most recent works here, shared with me by her family, Mary loved to travel and paint en plein air.
One of Mary’s latest works “Wolf Lake”
Family would welcome fellow volunteers to the funeral mass, to be held at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Toronto on Saturday February 25 at 11am, with a reception at Newman Centre to follow.
Condolences will be shared on behalf of us all in the AGO volunteer community.
2023 got off to a busy start for the AGO. It’s a good time for families and friends to re-charge and re-connect as we head towards the tail-end of the winter season. The sun is on the horizon… pretty soon it will be spring and we’ll have a new line-up of exhibitions and programs, including Wolfgang Tillmans and a wonderful Cassatt-McNicoll Impressionist show.
Thank you to those who are working hard on submitting budgets for 2023-24, those who will be onsite this weekend providingFamily Day Weekend programs, and those who are working on upcoming activities. Please take a moment over the next few days to reflect on what we’ve done so far this year and what we can all look forward to, together.
As we head toward the end of this fiscal year, we are on track to end up pretty much where we projected. This took effort from everyone – such effort must continue as we plan for the 2023-24 budget and continue to re-build our operations. My main message is this: we need to focus on managing expenses and broadly appealing programming to increase revenue. Basically it’s a full court press on increasing revenue, especially from increased attendance and audience engagement. We have made changes to our exhibition schedule, adding in KAWS and a Keith Haring retrospective (this is CONFIDENTIAL), which will be incredible draws, in addition to this spring’s Tillmans show and this summer’s Impressionist exhibition featuring works by Canadian artist Helen McNicoll.
We remain in an environment where there are factors beyond our control – inflation, cost of operations, etc. – which means we will need to be very disciplined about the work that is within our control. I have much confidence in managers and teams to think creatively and strategically to help guide the AGO through another challenging year. I am optimistic and know we can do it together.
After 16 months at the AGO, Xiaoyu Weng has resigned from her role as the Carol & Morton Rapp Curator, Modern & Contemporary Art. As many of you know, Xiaoyu came to Toronto from New York, a city in which she has both professional and personal ties, and will be returning to spend more time there.
I would like to thank Xiaoyu for her contributions to the AGO, including the acquisition of important works of art, and stewardship of our Modern & Contemporary Committee and Contemporary Circle donors, among other accomplishments. As everyone knows, there is a great deal of activity happening at the AGO as we continue to re-build and fulfill our mission for our public.
I acknowledge that with Xiaoyu’s departure, there is a gap in staffing in the Modern & Contemporary area, something which Stephan and I are focused on. More news will be shared on that front in due course.
Last night we celebrated the 5th anniversary of the AGO’s Women’s Art Initiative (WAI) (linked HERE). This is a group of 58 women who support major exhibitions by women artists developed by our curators. They have raised over $1M in five years and it is impressive to look back at the exhibitions they have supported — Rita Letendre: Fire & Light, Rebecca Belmore: Facing the Monumental, Hito Steyerl: This is the future, Haegue Yang: Emergence, Fragments of Epic Memory, and currently, Denyse Thomasos: just beyond. Next year the group will be supporting an exhibition by Sarindar Dhaliwal. The Women’s Art Initiative is a good example of people in our community working together to support the AGO’s commitment to women artists. They are a passionate group and hope to continue to expand their support in the next while.
Over the last five years we have been actively aligning our vision for a diverse and inclusive exhibition program with very generous philanthropic support. When we all work together, great things really do happen. Again, I want to urge everyone to go to the 5th floor to see the Denyse Thomasos exhibition. In the Carol & Morton Rapp Gallery there is a major work entitled Arc which was purchased for the AGO with funds provided by the WAI. It is an extraordinary investment in great art that AGO audiences will enjoy for generations to come.
Today is Rocco’s last day at the museum after years of extraordinary contributions and service. What I have learned about Rocco is that everything he does is motivated by his desire to see the AGO thrive and reach its potential. His thoughtful and steady approach has helped the AGO remain financially viable during unsteady times, and not just COVID. Over the lifespan of an organization there are incredible moments of success but there are always challenges that pop up along the way. Rocco has his eye on the future, not just the present, and his planning for a rainy day has helped guide the AGO’s success in overcoming challenges. Most significant is that Rocco is a good person, he has a good heart. He truly cares. Thank you Rocco, for your care and your heart.
In addition to Refat Jiwani, our capable interim CFO who joins us on Monday, I have great confidence in Rocco’s team and thank them for stepping up during this period of transition: Kristine Medeiros, Cindy O, Chris Steele and Carlos Mera.
We are so sad to share news that longtime AGO volunteer Harriet Ades, with 20+ years of service, passed away on Friday January 20. It is hard to imagine her gone.
Always beautifully accessorized and with a knowing look that could light up a room, our beloved Harriet
A former teacher of Visual Arts and English at the senior secondary school level, Harriet became a volunteer in retirement. As a teacher, she was recognized for being so well prepared, organized and tremendously resourceful and she brought these gifts to us. She was a warm and inviting guide, who so enjoyed the stalwart company of her Tuesday AM crew; many of whom shared these wonderful memories:
I feel immeasurably sad as she was a partner in the artistic discussion at the AGO for so many years! She was a feisty lady who was always ready to take part in a joke and the first to come to someone’s aide. Of course, we always took pleasure in seeing the jewelry she chose to wear
I really did enjoy her company. I’m sure she’s chatting about art right now and probably leading a discussion about it, just in a better place.
I really loved starting the week with the Tuesday Crew and always managed to stroll in with Harriet or see her on the way out. All your love of art and care for each other and the gallery was/is wonderful. Harriet would let me know about her day, artistic anecdotes, when she thought something wasn’t a good idea, and when she was ready for a cocktail. I loved her great hugs, which when offered made me feel I could keep going for the rest of the day.
I have a special place in my heart for Harriet. We had so many warm conversations and hugs over the years. I will miss her tremendously. Even though she hadn’t been active in the program for some time, she has always been close to my heart – I can picture her in the volunteer lounge now, and in fact she crossed my mind last week. I see her dressed to the nines and so completely, perfectly accessorized. She always had a kind word to say and looked on the bright side of life – I found her a real joy to be around.
