Dear Colleagues

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.

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Feminist collective EMILIA-AMALIA dives into the archives to activate and broaden the AGO’s Artist Files Collection.

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.

Hello Everyone,

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!

Stephan

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.

Hello Volunteers,

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)

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
• Questions & Answers (pre-recorded)
• Wrap- Up by Akilah Child and Audrey Hudson

How to Access this Recording:

• Click on this link: https://zoom.us/rec/share/zlmx0DW4-BnuNuYomc6c_ND9j-ufHz2ik5cLZjkc84jqREmlzTnMGI3PQE-DkO5L.tWLwpndYhmi3r65g

• 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)

“What Does It Mean to Decolonize a Museum?” via MuseumNext

“White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” (via the National Seed Project)

https://guidetoallyship.com

Want to Talk More?

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): 

UPDATED ZOOM LINK: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87385002021?pwd=d0FIU0JqSk1nVnUvdGhrT3h6WkVZQT09

You should be able to join directly, but if prompted, please enter:

Meeting ID: 873 8500 2021
Passcode: 949564

We’re looking forward to seeing you!

Tuesday, March 2, 4 pm via Zoom (register here)

Join artist Hank Willis Thomas for a conversation with the AGO’s Sophie Hackett about his work, the documentary photography of Ernest Cole and the role of historical images in contemporary life.

Hank Willis Thomas (b. 1976, Plainfield, NJ; lives and works in Brooklyn, NY) is a conceptual artist working primarily with themes related to perspective, identity, commodity, media, and popular culture. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States and abroad including the International Center of Photography, New York; Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain; Musée du quai Branly, Paris; Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong, and the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Netherlands.

Is that a seed catalogue on your coffee table? In these anxious times, country life has never looked so good and this week we’ve got some of the quirkiest, most interesting arts and culture news to prove it.

Plant yourself down, and check out what our team at the AGO is digging into this week:

An exhibition 15 acres in the making? At the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, Florida, art is in full bloom.  A “horticultural evocation” of Monet’s beloved Giverny gardens as seen through the eyes of artist Roy Lichtenstein, the current exhibition promises a surprising tour into the intersection of Impressionism and Pop art.

Lichen, not Lichtenstein, is the inspiration for an exhibition by artists Tracey Bryant and Rhonda Harder on now in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Although not actually a plant, lichen loves northern climates, almost as much as Nathan Myhrvold, inventor of the snowflake camera. He believes his new invention, which has a minimum shutter speed of 500 microseconds (1,200 times faster than a normal camera), has the world’s highest resolution.  

Elsewhere, those mysterious monoliths continue to roam the earth. With over 200 sightings reported since last November, in locations as far flung as Antarctica and a South African grocery store, they remain a mystery. Who is the artist behind them? How many are copycats? What exactly was the Turkish space agency doing with theirs? Fortunately for those of us who wish to keep our landscape biolithic, there’s a tracker for them now.

Speaking of field guides, the new online exhibition Birds of the Northeast: Gulls to Great Auks elegantly breeds photographs, paintings and sculpture with natural history specimens. The work of one museum director and two biologists, it will leave you crying fowl over dwindling biodiversity.

There’s a new blue in town. It’s called YInMn and it’s the first new shade of blue in over 200 years to become commercially available. Nothing natural about it sadly – blue is a colour that rarely appears in nature. It was discovered accidentally in a lab in 2009 and just recently added to the Forbes Pigment Collection at the Harvard Art Museum.  

Finally, a parting note: Scientists in France recently determined that a conch shell, thought to be more than 18,000 years old, is actually a Paleolithic musical instrument! Listen here.

In another co-vid pivot, the Gallery is offering three paid digital artist residencies, available in 2021

This year, we celebrate 10 years of the AGO’s Artist-in-residence program! This year, the AGO X RBC Artist-in-Residence program invites artists to submit proposals for a digital project or experience to be created over a two-month residency, responding to the theme of “Together, Apart”. The residency provides resources, learning opportunities, platforms and mentorship for emerging artists working in any field, to realize a digital project. At the end of the two-month residency, each Artist in Residence will be invited to show their work publicly.

More about the program, linked here.

Celebrated African-American artist Willie Cole’s expressive works make their way into the AGO Collection.

Describing himself as both an “archeological ethnographic Dadaist” and a “perceptional engineer”, African-American contemporary artist Willie Cole has been transforming everyday objects into art throughout his nearly 30-year career. He has exhibited his work extensively since the 1980s, gaining widespread recognition. His work can be found in both private and public collections, including at the AGO where three of his works were acquired in 2008.

Often repurposing discarded materials that evoke human presence and intimacy—such as the implied connotations of a household iron and its practical uses—Cole’s work teeters between playfulness and reverence towards African iconography and the history of the African Diaspora. He often refers to his practice as “making things look African out of American-made objects”, implying a deliberate re-coding of mass-produced goods to highlight the ancestral lineage within African-American identity. He takes on the role of an archeologist, discovering “ancient relics”, and then formulates the meaning and historical context behind them. Cole has referred to the spirituality behind his approach, as he draws out the “life force” within each of the objects he finds. 

In February 2021, Cole’s relationship with the AGO extended into the Virtual School Programs. Mother and Child (2008) was featured as part of AGO Schools: Celebrating Black Creatives programming with spoken word artist and musician I.M.F and Rafiki. Elementary students were prompted to consider how objects can be redefined and take on new meaning. Mother and Child (2008) mimics the appearance of traditional African sculptures with a seated mother figure and a child on her back.