Mark your calendars! The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art invites docents from across the US and Canada to Kansas City, September 16-19, 2022, to connect with other docents, guides, and museum educators and to be inspired by best practices and new learning.

Rescheduled from 2021, the symposium will feature visits to other institutions, a welcome dinner at the beautiful Nelson-Atkins museum, breakout sessions with the most relevant topics, and noteworthy speakers. Evenings will include dinners at different locations throughout the city. Leave with new friends, fresh ideas, and renewed enthusiasm for everything you do for your museum! More info here nationaldocents.org/

Call for Breakout Sessions

Breakout sessions are an essential and inspiring part of the symposium. Well-designed breakout sessions connect participants through modelling, involving, and generating enthusiasm. They inspire us to build programs that tell all our stories, speak to social justice, address inclusion, and open our minds to new innovations. 

Bringing audiences to the museum virtually has become very important in the past year. Share your successes and new ideas! And as our museums prepare to resume onsite programming, breakout sessions showing creative ways to return to in-person touring through reviewing, practicing, and updating our skills are also welcome. 

Guidelines and applications for submission of proposals for breakout sessions are listed under Breakout Session Application on the NDS website. 

Hello Everyone,

While we are hearing of increasing vaccinations in Canada – which is wonderful – I am also mindful that many countries are in real crisis including India, Brazil, Colombia, St. Vincent and others. Such situations impact many of you who have relatives, friends or loved ones residing abroad. Worrying about their health and safety is stressful, I am sure.

There is a lot to cope with right now. I am including a list of resources below for support. I encourage everyone to take some time for personal wellness. I will be spending as much time outdoors as possible this weekend. For those who enjoy walking, check out Jane’s Walk Festival.

Take care and stay safe,

Stephan

Resources:

Tip Sheet: “What Language Do I Use?”: Holding Inclusive Mental Health Conversations

Healthy Nutrition: including tips for grocery shopping and food safety & storage at home. 

Physical Activity: including tips on how to get more active for each age group. 

Resources for Families: including practical tips on how to help children deal with stress. 

Well Being Collective @ Hart House a collaborative wellness initiative to support community wellbeing Podcasts and Move and Meditate With Us

Quick tips to support yourself during the COVID-19 pandemic

Free Smart Phone Apps

Insight Timer – for sleep, anxiety and stress.

Mind Shift – provides anxiety relief using strategies based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

Happify – provides exercises, daily articles and fun games.

Calm – for sleep, anxiety and stress.

Shine – an inclusive self-care app for a daily mental health check-in.

Mental Health Supports for Adults

Warm Line is a confidential and anonymous service for adults (18+) who are feeling lonely, isolated, anxious, depressed or in need of a friendly ear. This is not a crisis service. Call: 416-323-3721 (noon to 8 pm) or 416-960-9276 (8 pm to midnight) or Text: 647-557-5882

Toronto Seniors Helpline is a single point of access for seniors and caregivers to receive information, supportive phone counseling, crisis assessment and system navigation by registered professionals. Call: 416-217-2077 (language interpretation available), long distance: 1-877-621-2077. Monday to Friday: 9 am to 8 pm Saturday, Sunday and holidays: 9 am to 6 pm.

Talk4Healing (24/7) is a culturally grounded, fully confidential helpline for Indigenous women available in 14 languages all across Ontario. Call 1-855-554-HEAL

Hong Fook is a culturally competent team in Ontario serving Asian community members who are 16 years and older. Services include case management, psychotherapy, psychiatry, peer support, virtual group activities and virtual mental health workshops. Call: 416-493-4242 (ext 0), Monday to Friday: 9 am to 5 pm

Caribbean African Canadian Social Services is a culturally safe mental health services for Black children, youth, adults and families. Call: 416-740-1056, Monday to Friday: 9 am to 4:30 pm.

The Assaulted Women’s Helpline is a 24-hour telephone crisis line to all woman who have experienced abuse. They provide counselling, emotional support, information and referrals.

Take a trip to Reykjavikík, Iceland to learn about more about Ragnar Kjartansson as he is in conversation with Curator Adelina Vlas. Explore his work Death is Elsewhere, which is a recent acquisition to the gallery and was installed in the Signy Eaton on the second floor a few weeks before the gallery closed. There is a lot to learn about the artist and his other works (including his time as an Icelandic Pop musician in the band Trabant – which I have linked to a super fun music video). Here are a few interesting insights into the creation of Death is Elsewhere including: 

• It’s a kinetic musical sculpture – circular video presentation with 2 identical couples walking in a circle singing about love and death
• Shot during the midnight sun in Iceland on a lava field
• Lava field is the result of an eruption back in 1783 that totally changed the world! It is the world’s largest lava field since humans have existed
• The volcanic eruption that formed this lava field caused the death of 1/3rd of Icelanders and millions deaths around the world which resulted from the atmospheric changes and caused famine
• The  film was incredibly technical to make but looks very simple
• They started filming when birds fell asleep and ended when the birds started to awake again

Learn more about this work and his artistic process by clicking on the linked video – Artist Ragnar Kjartansson in discussion with Curator Adelina Vlas, here.

Hello Everyone,

It excites me to hear that more and more of you are getting vaccinated. I am getting my COVID-19 vaccination this afternoon! I am astounded and grateful for the speed at which science has enabled these vaccines. With the rollout, we are getting closer to putting COVID behind us.

Things are looking much brighter but we all need to continue to be vigilant. Since the beginning of the pandemic, my main priority has been the health of safety of all of you and our public. Thanks to the efforts of many, the AGO is a very safe environment. Again, this is in large part due to vigilant, regular cleaning and I’m deeply grateful to Facilities staff who have maintained a rigorous schedule over the past year.

We’ll have to live with COVID for a little bit longer and I want us all to come out of this healthy. So far, we are doing very well.

Take care, and stay safe,

Stephan

As AGO volunteers, you make a meaningful impact at the museum. I am so grateful to you for dedicating your time and talent to our community.

In celebration of your contributions, I am pleased to invite you to a special presentation about the AGO’s Collection Strategy on May 5 at 5:30 p.m. for you and your fellow volunteers.

I hope you’ll join us as we gather our amazing volunteer community together to learn more about the future of the AGO Collection.

TO JOIN:  

( A reminder – you cannot register for this talk in advance. Please DO NOT JOIN more than 5 minutes prior to the start of the meeting):  

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/95058954991?pwd=bHVxQTczUlNXMVVDMlQ3c1U1cS9MZz09

Meeting ID: 950 5895 4991

Passcode: 897895

Thank you,

Stephan

Wednesday April 28, 6 pm (Register, HERE)

Pop-Up Studio offers an inspiring weekly look at an artwork from the AGO Collection, before leaping into a 30-minute drawing exercise inspired by the techniques found in the work.

Each week focuses on a new work and technique or style, from collage to watercolour, to drawing, with a thematic focus on a diverse array of portraits inspired by the AGO’s Portraits of Resilience project. Pop-in online after your Wednesday workday for this free session, bring along your favourite drink, pencils and paper, and connect with others for a relaxing session. This is a free experience, but it requires you to register for each new session week by week. 

Our group of Pop-Up spring sessions features pastel drawing exercises inspired by the artwork of Richard Diebenkorn.  

Materials list: Pastels, chalk or oil, as well as a heavy, toothed drawing paper (bumpy to the touch). 

Thursday, May 6 | 10 am–3 pm CDT (Central Daylight Time) Register, HERE.

Thank you to volunteer Shelagh Barrington, also a representative for the National Docent Symposium, for sharing this link to a Virtual Summit on Diversity, out of the United States (free to register, via Zoom):

Virtual Summit on Diversity

Join arts professionals from around the United States to explore best practices for nurturing diverse talent within museums and cultural institutions. Advancing Change: The Future of Museum Leadership is a free virtual summit that presents information and lessons learned over 30 years of offering the Romare Bearden Graduate Museum Fellowship at the Saint Louis Art Museum.

This summit will provide resources for museums seeking to create fellowship programs that cultivate future leaders from diverse backgrounds in curatorial practice, education and interpretation, audience development, and other museum professions. It will also provide an opportunity for young professionals seeking museum careers to hear from former Bearden Fellows about their experience developing careers in the field.

Registration for this event is free but required.

A full agenda and speakers are linked, here.

Tuesday April 27, at 4pm via ZOOM (register here)

Join artist Dana Slijboom (read more here) for a conversation about her work and creative process with the AGO’s Renée van der Avoird. Slijboom’s paintings are characterized by a distinctive visual language incorporating archetypal imagery and bold graphics.

Dana Slijboom is a Canadian-Dutch painter living and working in Toronto. She holds a BFA from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam NL (2009). She has exhibited both in Canada and internationally, including solo exhibitions at Towards Gallery, Ranch Dressing (2018), and  Erin Stump Projects, Romance (2019).

Renée van der Avoird is Assistant Curator of Canadian Art at the AGO. Selected AGO exhibitions include The Open Door: Mary Hiester Reid and Helen McNicoll (2020), Margaret Priest: The Construction Series and Other Concrete Matters (2019), Karl Beveridge & Carole Condé: Early Work (2019), and Betty Goodwin: Moving Towards Fire (2019).

Hello Everyone,

This week was National Volunteer Week. The AGO has hundreds of volunteers who help fulfill our mission, and I am extraordinarily grateful for the many ways that they contribute to Gallery life. They include Volunteers of the AGO, – our program volunteers – who for decades have provided tours and served our public in various other ways; Trustees who sit on the AGO Board, The AGO Foundation Board and American Friends of the AGO; AGO Curators’ Circle committee members; AGO Next committee members and other Development volunteers who assist with fundraising; curatorial committee members; and many others. Volunteers will continue to play a meaningful part in the Gallery’s future, and I very much look forward to their ongoing involvement and contributions.

Last week was April Break and the AGO offered some really wonderful programming for kids and families. Thank you to the Education & Public Programs team for your careful planning and adjustment from the traditional March Break; and also to the Marketing & Communications folks for getting the word out. The AGO’s pivot to online programming throughout the pandemic has been remarkable.

I marked a personal milestone recently – my 5^th year anniversary at the AGO. I am very proud to be a part of the team at the AGO. We have accomplished a lot together in recent years. I couldn’t be prouder of how we have responded to COVID-19. We will get through this, and there is much to look forward to.

Take care,

Stephan  

Exciting news! The AGO is launching a paid mentorship program enabling three emerging artists to pursue research, over a six-week period, into museum practices, audience engagement, or the AGO Collection. With the support of mentors from across the gallery, each selected artist will further their work with the aim of presenting their findings to the various teams at the AGO. This call is open to emerging artists working in any media.

This open call welcomes research proposals that explore our audiences, challenge the museum field, or engage with the content and programming of the AGO. Experimentation is encouraged and these proposals could examine any area at the Gallery, including but not limited to: Conservation, Collections, Curatorial, Education & Programming, Library & Archives, Food & Beverage, and Visitor Experience. 

The AGO X RBC Emerging Artists Exchange encourages submissions from populations who have not been equitably represented in museums, including Black, Indigenous, artists of colour, LGBTQ2+, women and persons with disabilities.

Deadline for submissions: May 10, 2021 at 5 pm EST
Each selected artist will complete a six-week research mentorship between June and September 2021.

READ all about it (eligibility, how to apply, FAQs, etc.) HERE