I know we have a lot of artists in the volunteer program who have been creating up a storm. This is the perfect opportunity to share your work. – Holly
Portraits of Resilienceis an open call for artists of all ages to participate in an online exhibition of artworks showcasing moments of emotion and resilience in everyday life.
From left to right: Karim Machado-Aman, Remembrance (detail); Susan R. Pratten, Resilience Matters (detail); Subarna Talukder Bose, In Anticipation (detail).
As we reflect on the year that was, we’re inviting everyone – AGO staff, volunteers, visitors, members, online visitors from coast to coast – to submit artworks that depict resilience in your everyday life.
It might be a photograph, a drawing, a sculpture or a collage – it may depict a person, a pet, an experience or even something more abstract, like a mood. Either way, we want to hear from you!
What has helped you through the past 12 months?
What Are We Doing?
All around us are stories of resilience. Now is the time to reflect and share them. Portraits of Resilience invites artists of all ages and skill levels to help us picture the past and move forward together.
Let us know what resilience means to you by submitting an image of your artwork between March 15 and May 10. Submissions will be featured in an online gallery on AGO.ca. In addition, select submissions will be in a curated presentation on-site at the AGO.
Why Should You Get Involved?
It is a triumphant act to be resilient in the midst of a pandemic, social and political upheaval, and economic and financial uncertainty. The purpose of this initiative is to showcase artwork from the community, for the community, and to share how we’ve been resilient together this past year.
Your digital image submission will be presented in an online gallery on this webpage. Select submissions will be chosen for a curated exhibition on-site at the AGO.
This week’s act of anti-Asian hatred and violence in
Atlanta that led to the murder of eight people – including six women of Asian
descent – is yet another heinous example of behavior that results from an
ideology of White supremacy. Such acts of hatred bring deep, deep pain to
communities of Asian descent.
I want to be clear – anti-Asian racism will not be tolerated at the AGO. I would like to remind everyone that the AGO has a very clear policy on discrimination as a reminder that there is a process in place meant to support employees or volunteers who encounter workplace discrimination.
We know racism exists in our city and throughout
Canada. The number of anti-Asian racist attacks has spiked across the country
in the past year. With approximately 30% of Toronto’s population being of Asian
descent, Anti-Asian racism impacts a large number of our community including
many of the AGO’s staff, volunteers, visitors and neighbours in Chinatown.
We are in a moment where we need to care, support and
show up for each other. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion means
deepening our efforts of addressing all forms of racism and discrimination in
efforts towards building greater inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility
in our galleries, programming and workplace.
We will continue to focus on our core mission of art,
learning and audience to demonstrate diversity and inclusion in everything we
do. We have and will continue to feature art by artists from the Asian diaspora
to showcase their work.
I know that many of you have lived experiences of racist attitudes and behaviors. I encourage you to find the supports you may need by connecting with family, friends, and community resources. It is important that you take care of yourself.
Please feel free to contact Cian Knights, Manager of
Diversity & Inclusion at [email protected]
as we continue to move this important conversation
forward. Attached is a toolkit provided by Cian in addition to these resources
below. This topic will also be addressed in upcoming learning sessions.
Responding to Hate Toolkit – Combat anti-Asian racism, hate and discrimination by taking action (via Ryerson University – with downloadable PDF, linked here)
Toronto For All: Combatting Anti-East Asian Racism – The City of Toronto Anti-Racism Campaign, linked here
elimin8hate.org – The organization behind #Elimin8hate is a 100% volunteer-run non-profit. Support the Vancouver Asian Film Festival’s advocacy work, linked here
#FaceRace is an open challenge to all Canadians to confront racism amid the COVID-19 pandemic, linked here
(*Awards are honoured in 5 year increments – starting at 5 years: 5, 10, 15, 20 etc. An awardee with 13 years of service will fall into the 10 year category)
Congratulations (again!) to our 2020 recipients of the Ontario Volunteer Service Awards. With an in-person ceremony planned for last Spring (2019) – these awards were delayed – and finally celebrated last week with an online presentation. A little bureaucratic, and lacking the specialness we now all remiss of an in-person gathering, it will still good to see so many volunteers across Ontario acknowledged. (You can watch the online ceremony, here).
Please join us in congratulating our 2020 award recipients:
Mona Azadmanesh, Volunteer Recruiter (10 years)
Adam Bovoletis, Youth Council (5 years)
Akber Mohamed, Information Guide (20 years)
Susan Morrison, Gallery Guide (10 years)
Jane Smith, Prints & Drawings (5 years)
Carole Warnock, Information Guide (5 years)
This year, the Honours and Awards branch of the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries has embarked on a review of the program, and we look forward to seeing what a post-covid award program will look like.
Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries
I don’t know when we will re-open but in the meantime
there is still incredible content available on ago.ca
for our public to enjoy. Last week there was a wonderful talk featuring artist
Hank Willis Thomas in conversation with Sophie Hackett. Here is the link: https://ago.ca/events/art-spotlight-hank-willis-thomas.
Many of you are involved in the production of online content. Thank you for the
work you do to keep our public engaged.
Earlier this week the Ministry of Labour was onsite
for an inspection. The AGO has very good protocols and systems in place so
there were no issues. We are always glad to make sure the AGO is as safe as
possible.
I am thrilled to announce that Xiaoyu Weng has been appointed Carol and Morton Rapp Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art. She is currently The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Associate Curator at The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Xiaoyu will begin her role at the AGO this summer pending approval of authorization to work in Canada.
Xiaoyu was born and raised in Shanghai, and holds an
MA from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco and a BA from the
Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. Her curatorial practice has focused on
the impact of identity, globalization and decolonialization, as well as the
intersection of art and technology.
During her time at the Guggenheim, Xiaoyu spearheaded The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation
Chinese Art Initiative. In 2018-19, she served as the Curator of the 5th Ural
Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art held in Yekaterinburg, Russia,
transforming a former military factory and an abandoned theater into dynamic
contemporary art spaces. She also recently curated the shows Miriam Cahn and
Claudia Martínez Garay: Ten Thousand Things at Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing,
China; Neither Black / Red / Yellow Nor Woman at Times Art Center
Berlin, Germany; Soft Crash at Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
di Bergamo, Italy.
Before joining the Guggenheim, Xiaoyu was Director of
Asia Programs at the Kadist Art Foundation, San Francisco and Paris, where she
organized a number of exhibitions and programs. Currently, she is organizing
the upcoming exhibition Christian Nyampeta: Sometimes It Was Beautiful
(2021). In addition to her curatorial work, she is an active writer, editor and
educator, writing extensively on contemporary art for various
periodicals.
In her new
position at the AGO, Xiaoyu will lead the Modern and Contemporary team
in creating exceptional art experiences to welcome and grow diverse local and
global audiences and envision new ways to collaborate and grow the AGO
Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art.
Please join me in congratulating Xiaoyu on her new role as Carol and Morton Rapp Curator, Modern & Contemporary Art. We look forward to seeing her at the Gallery this summer.
Sincerely,
Julian
Julian Cox Deputy Director & Chief Curator
Volunteers – More with Xiaoyu in this artnews profile, linked here.
In a new initiative for 2021, Diabetes Canada,
in partnership with the AGO’s Community Programs, will host a unique and
first-ever art competition as a way of interacting with the broader Diabetes
community and to mark the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Insulin.
Did you know that Frederick Banting was an
artist as well as being a nobel laureate, noted as the co-discoverer of
insulin?
Did you know that we have some of his artwork in
our collection?
We hope to share this connection in an upcoming
AGO Insider story.
AGO Staff, including Melissa Smith – Assistant
Curator of Community Programs, will sit on the jury to help decide the
finalists and winners. Finalists and overall winners will be announced in
June and featured in Diabetes Canada’s social and event virtual galleries, on merchandise
and on the AGO’s website and AGO Insider.
The impact of diabetes is widespread and
complex. Art of the Matter provides the community and beyond, whether an
individual is living with diabetes, has a family member or friend living with
diabetes, is a health-care provider caring for patients, or is new to learning
about diabetes, with a wonderful opportunity to connect, support, and learn
from each other while sharing experiences through art.
The competition is open to all skill levels and
participation from across Canada, and internationally, fostering community
during a particularly difficult time.
For more information please visit: www.diabetes.ca/ArtOfTheMatter and hear from our own Melissa Smith, Assistant Curator of Community Programs talk more about this new initiative, in conversation with Laura Syren from Diabetes Canada.
Since 1912, the AGO (then the Art Museum of Toronto) has been collecting materials from living artists – soliciting biographical details through questionnaires and documents such as exhibition invitations, press clippings and CVs. Today, the Artist Files Collection in Edward P. Taylor Library & Archives includes more than 14,000 files documenting contemporary and historical artists in Canada. In recent years, the library has been expanding the collection with EMILIA-AMALIA, a feminist working group based in Toronto that employs citation, annotation and autobiography as modes of activating feminist art, writing and research practices.
“What I love about the Artist Files Collection is that it’s an open documentation project, so it creates a unique connection between the AGO and the art worlds in which we operate. At least potentially, the files are very inclusive. The problem is that unless we continue to do active work, like seeking out new galleries for their mailings or asking artists to contribute, the simple act of collecting can be passive, reflecting all kinds of systemic issues in the art world in terms of who is represented, “ says Amy Furness, Rosamond Ivey Special Archivist & Head, AGO Library & Archives.
Aiming to address systemic gaps in the archives, in 2017, the AGO began collaborating with Toronto collective EMILA-AMALIA. It was during the group’s tenure as artists in residence that members first became aware of the Artist Files Collection and sought to update the artist questionnaire in order to include questions about mentorship, motherhood, collaboration, organizing and works that were made but not (yet) shown. Since then, the group has led multiple Artist File Fairs to encourage submissions by artists with disabilities, as well as from the Black, Indigenous, People of Colour and LGBTQ+ communities.
Check out the latest Artist File Fair, held virtually on January 30, 2021, where EMILIA-AMALIA and the AGO came together once again to widen knowledge about the Artist Files Collection. The event had a turnout of more than 50 people joining in a conversation between artist Erika DeFreitas and curator Lillian O’Brien Davis about looking for traces of Black women artists in the archive. Watch, here.
Leadership Team has been involved with many board committee meetings in recent weeks. These include standing committees of the board such as Advancement, Collections and Finance, as well as curatorial working committees and the Diversity & Inclusion Working Committee, which met yesterday. The Diversity & Inclusion Working Committee recommended introductory training for all board members. The committee will be working with Letecia Rose to provide similar training for the board that all staff and volunteers have received from her.
Some
of you may have read about the Province giving significant extra support this
year to several cultural institutions, including the Royal Ontario Museum and
the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. As you know, the AGO is not a government
agency like the ROM and McMichael, so we are eligible for CEWS funding and have
received $10.6M in wage subsides as of January 31, 2021. We are pleased to
receive just over $700,000 of provincial funding for capital projects, which is
in line with our annual capital allotment.
Finally – although it appears that Toronto
will be entering the “grey zone” next week, nothing really changes for us at
the AGO. Our existing protocols will be kept in place, which means that only
core staff will be on-site. Planning will continue for the eventuality of
re-opening but we do not know when. In the meantime, I encourage everyone to
stay at home as much as possible, wash hands, wear masks and practice social
distancing. And – enjoy your weekend!
We are remembering our friend & volunteer, Dipika Goel, who passed away last week. Dipika was a beloved member of our Wednesday evening Information Guides, having originally joined us as a volunteer for our Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors exhibition. Dipika and I shared a deep love of polka dots and patterns. She had the best headscarves of every colour, and her presence and personality brought warmth to the volunteer lounge, every shift. She lit up the room.
Dipika’s fellow volunteers remember her:
Dipika was indeed very kind and loving, always trying to get us together, and so generous to share her time with us, especially when she was going through treatment – Dana
With all of you, I will miss Dipika. I remember how she was enthusiastic about setting up our Christmas table at the lounge. Dipika was so into our activities and loved having all of us together – Elizabeth
Dipika did so much to make each evening a good time and shared so much with all of us – Claire
She was such a loving person; always trying to bring us together – Judith
We have been privileged to share a short time with an incredibly bright, funny and beautiful person. Dipika always found ways to bring us together and the summer gathering at her home and meeting her incredible children is a fond memory – Denise
Condolences have been sent on behalf of all of us.
We are
excited to introduce this series of Diversity & Inclusion recordings, part
of the Gallery’s commitment to building a more diverse and inclusive staff and
volunteer community.
We hope
you’ll enjoy this line up of AGO staff and special guests, who have so
generously shared their expertise with us. Though we are all at different
points on our learning journeys, our goal is to listen, learn and reflect; to
build a more welcoming and inclusive volunteer program that represents the
diversity of the communities in which we live.
We will be sharing 4 sessions (recordings) over the coming months:
An
Introduction to Diversity & Inclusion
Anti-Racism
101 – Moving from ‘Not Racist’ to ‘Anti-Racist
Anishinaabe
Philosophy and Land
Sharing
Knowledge – A Conversation with Indigenous Art Educators
We will continue to share more topics and conversations as our
perspectives continue to broaden in 2021.
To begin, please listen to a personal message from Stephan Jost, Director and CEO, joined by Maya Kotlarenko, Volunteer President, https://youtu.be/TkGksCHQ0w0
Our first session
is outlined below:
Session #1: “Getting Started: An Introduction to Diversity & Inclusion” (1.5 hours)
This learning session features Letecia Rose, Equity Advocate and Community Engagement Specialist
Your First Session – Here’s what
to expect:
Introduction by Stephan Jost, Director & CEO
Land acknowledgment and opening by
Ryerson’s Indigenous Elder, Joanne
Dallaire
Overview of Agenda: Establishing the intention or creating a
positive space for learning and interacting with one another by Akilah Child, Co-Chair,
AGO IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity
and Accessibility) Group and Audrey Hudson, Chief, Education & Programming
Key Diversity & Inclusion
Definitions and Concepts. Consider how each of these play a role in unpacking
the existing biases we all hold by Letecia Rose, Equity Advocate and Community Engagement Specialist
You will be asked to enter your name, email and password (please copy and paste the password that has been provided, here): AGODandI#1
Verify you are not a robot
Please allow a couple of minutes for the recording to begin
NOTE: for any staff coordinators of volunteers also tuning in- please disconnect from the VPN in order to access the video
Things to Keep in Mind:
These videos are pre-recorded webinars, not live (chat/ Q&A function is not functional)
Depending on the speed of your internet, or how many volunteers are watching the recording at the same time, the video may be slow to load. Please be patient with any interrupted viewing.
Keep a list of thoughts you’d like to share in our Volunteer Connector call – (see more, below)
Related Readings:
Here’s a resource list to learn
more about the ideas and issues introduced in this recording. Feel free to read
and learn more in advance of our Volunteer Connector call:
Dr. Johnetta Cole, joined us at the Gallery for a Town Hall Meeting, May 15, 2018 addressing Diversity and the Museum “What Gets Measured, Gets Done” You can access this recording, here: (new link, updated March 1, 2021 https://artcloud.ago.ca/s/9edHRt28twQi8jM (staff coordinators, please disconnect from the VPN in order to view)
Join
our AGO Volunteers Connector Call.
This is an opportunity for you to discuss and share what you’ve learned with
other volunteers, and consider how you can better support a more diverse and
welcoming volunteer community. Our focus is to create a positive space to share
our own personal learnings, and to encourage bold and brave conversation, to
talk and grow together.
Join us:
Volunteers
Connector Call #1, “Getting Started: An Introduction to Diversity &
Inclusion”
Hosted by Holly Procktor, Melissa Smith, & Maya Kotlarenko, our Volunteer President
Wednesday March 10, 5- 6pm via Zoom
(Please note: you can’t register in advance, simply click on this link on Wednesday March 10 at 5pm to join us):
