The Volunteer Endowment Trust (VET) was established in 2001 with a Letter of Agreement between the AGO, The AGO Foundation and the Volunteers of the AGO. The original capital that created the fund continues to remain invested and, each year, an annual distribution of 4% of the fund (approx. $50,000) is made available in order to fund a project.

Each year, the AGO Development team identifies 3 projects for consideration that reflect the gallery’s strategic priorities: (1) Art, (2) Access, (3) Learning.

As part of the Volunteer Council’s (VC) ongoing mission to demonstrate transparency in our decision making, we are creating a voting process for the volunteer community to help us choose the project we care about most.

The 3 options are listed below in greater detail and you can only choose one project to support with your vote. To ensure only one vote per volunteer, we are asking you to include your name, email and placement type at the end of the survey. This will also help us to identify trends in volunteer priorities!

Voting is open to volunteers from March 5 to March 26 (3 weeks)

#1: AGO Exhibition: “I am here: home movies and everyday masterpieces” (Nov 7, 2020 – Jan 31, 2021)

Our compulsion to record our daily lives is ubiquitous, universal, and seemingly eternal. In our current age, this habit borders on the fanatical. By intermingling home movies, diaries, letters, lists, photo albums, snapshots, social media and celebrated works of art, “I Am Here” explores this documentary drive across media, cultures, space, and time – illuminating our collective verve to seize and share moments of personal history. Organized thematically, the exhibition takes its cue from recurring everyday subjects such as Our House, Food Glorious Food, Almost Famous and Dance to the Music. Interactive components will encourage audience participation and a creative exhibition publication will be produced. Curated by the AGO’s Alexa Greist, Associate Curator and R. Fraser Elliott Chair of Prints & Drawings; and Jim Shedden, Manager, Publishing.

Donor Recognition and Stewardship:

• Recognition would appear on the exhibition title wall, banners and select advertisements and acknowledgement would take place at exhibition-related events such as press previews
• Recognition on AGO website
• Recognition in related print materials (such as the catalogue)
• Listing on the Annual Donor wall and the on-line Year in Review for the 2020-2021 fiscal year
• Exclusive tour for volunteers with Curators

#2: Access Initiative

In May 2019, the AGO launched the game-changing Access initiative to remove financial barriers and open our doors wide to the public. This new model offers free admission to those 25 and under; and a $35 Annual Pass that makes visiting the Gallery throughout the year affordable. The AGO believes in making art accessible and increasing the diversity of our visitors by age, geographic, ethno-cultural and socio-economic background, engaging with audiences that are more reflective of the people of our city. To sustain this great initiative, the AGO is seeking philanthropic support to ensure that affordable access to the gallery remains available for years to come.

Donor Recognition and Stewardship:

• Recognition on AGO website
• Recognition on onsite signage in coat check area
• Listing on the Annual Donor wall and the on-line Year in Review for the 2020-2021 fiscal year

#3: Public Programs and Learning

As the AGO community grows, we reflect the diversity of our audiences and develop programs that spark curiosity and wonder in visitors of all ages, backgrounds and cultures. The AGO is seeking philanthropic support for the following programs:

Talks, Films and Performances: Films often complement current exhibitions and a dynamic lecture series features today’s leading artists and thinkers like Salman Rushdie, Zadie Smith and Naomi Klein to name just a few. In addition, performances are experimental and flexible in format, featuring local and international artists’ creative journeys in music, dance and visual art. Recent examples include the commission and performance of Baroque-inspired choral works by leading Canadian musician Owen Pallett. Equally compelling was a night of dance performances in Walker Court to celebrate the 100th birthday of ground-breaking American choreographer Merce Cunningham.

Family Programs: The AGO is committed to developing programs that are engaging for children and families. Research is revealing what we all already know: art and artmaking is vital to children’s development. It develops creativity, teaches children to think openly and promotes self-esteem. Family Sundays, the Mindful Maker space, mobile Art Carts that pop up throughout the Gallery, and the Dr. Mariano Elia Hands-On Centre feature a range of artmaking activities for young visitors and their caregivers.

Donor Recognition and Stewardship:

• Recognition on AGO website
• Recognition at the introduction of Talks and Performances
• Recognition in related print materials, including pull-up banners
• Listing on the Annual Donor wall, and the on-line Year in Review for the 2020-2021 fiscal year

TO CAST YOUR VOTE: please do so by clicking on this link

Don’t have an email account? Paper ballots can be submitted via the comment box, located between the computer terminals in the volunteer lounge. This option is provided for our small number of volunteers who do not have email addresses. Online voting is preferred.

Please cast your vote by Thursday March 26.

Thank you volunteers! We look forward to seeing what you choose!

The second Friday of every month, one of P&D’s knowledgeable volunteers will give a talk that explores an area of the AGO’s P&D Collection.

Talk by: Corrinne Chong, Marvin Gelber Fellow in Prints and Drawings
Date: Friday, March 13
Time: 11 am (arrive at 10:30 to view works on display!)

Expansive in scope and evocative in style, Eugène Delacroix’s series of lithographs inspired by Goethe’s Faust is considered a landmark in the history of French printmaking. Through his masterful exploitation of lithography’s full range of expressive and narrative possibilities, the Romantic icon inspired the next generation of artists to explore this relatively new graphic medium. However, at the time of its publication in 1828, the illustrated book proved to be a complete commercial failure, in large part due to the artist’s Romantic aesthetic. This talk will illuminate aspects of Delacroix’s Faust lithographs that proved to be too daring or as he put it himself, too “ugly” in the eyes of his contemporaries.

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Art historian, Dr. Corrinne Chong, is currently the Marvin Gelber Fellow in Prints and Drawings at the Art Gallery of Ontario. She was part of the curatorial team for Early Rubens and a contributor to the exhibition catalogue. Outside of her work at the AGO, her interdisciplinary research focuses on the intersections between music, opera scenography, and painting in the long nineteenth-century. To stay young at heart, Corrinne has been a teacher with the Peel District School Board since 2004.

Hello Everyone,

• Larry Pfaff, recently retired Head, Reader Services, enjoyed a long career at the AGO and transformed the library’s rare book collection while also providing research support for hundreds of AGO exhibitions and acquisitions. I am pleased to share that earlier this week the People Committee (a standing committee of the Board of Trustees) approved management’s recommendation to award the honorary title of “Librarian, Emeritus” to Larry in recognition of his contributions. Congratulations, Larry!

• With the latest exhibits now on view – Diane Arbus and Illusions – as well as our new acquisition Portrait of a Lady Holding an Orange Blossom, Mid-1700s and public talks and programs, there is lots for our visitors to enjoy. The Lady generated quite a bit of media interest especially from the CBC – see clips https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-2-as-it-happens/clip/15762402-the-jury-has-spoken; https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/the-ago-just-bought-a-painting-of-a-mystery-woman-that-challenges-what-we-know-about-european-art-1.5475436;  https://www.cbc.ca/news/thenational/the-ago-is-trying-to-solve-an-art-mystery-1.5477818

• We continue to monitor the advice and instructions from health officials regarding the coronavirus. The risk for contracting the virus remains low. The best protective measure is to regularly wash your hands.
• Should the situation deteriorate, we will be following the advice of public health officials.

Enjoy the weekend,

Stephan

The Volunteer Council is busily planning this year’s Volunteer Annual Party:

• Monday April 20
• 6:00pm – 8:00pm
• in Galleria Italia

Our fete falls right at the beginning of National Volunteer Week (April 19 -25) and we are looking forward to the celebration. More details, soon.

Hello Everyone

• Two wonderful exhibitions opened this week – Illusions: The Art of Magic and Diane Arbus: Photographs, 1956-1971. It is part of your job to see these shows so please make a point to view them. They couldn’t be more different from one another but I’m sure they’ll be engaging to our audiences. Thank you to everyone involved in every aspect including figuring out how to make a woman hover in mid-air!

• The Arbus exhibition is a culmination of a multi-year project that was started by Matthew Teitelbaum (former Director & CEO) and Maia Sutnik (Photography Curator, Emeritus) – all the works are part of our holdings and we should be incredibly proud to be stewards of one of the most important collections in the world.

• 12,000 people visited during Family Day weekend. By all accounts, the program was well planned and well executed – an overall great job that was spot on mission.

• On Monday, we will announce the recent acquisition and installation of an extraordinary painting from around 1750 (see pic) – we don’t know the subject or artist but please visit the work in the Frank P. Wood Gallery and think about what you make of it.

Enjoy the weekend,

Stephan

Margaret Machell worked with the AGO Volunteer Executive (formerly the Women’s Committee) for over 25 years. She was appointed custodian of the Grange House Museum and became a gallery archivist.

She was loved and respected by both volunteers and staff, so it was with great pleasure that the Volunteer Executive established the Margaret Machell Study Grant in her honour in 1999. At her request, these funds were designated as a study grant.

Presented annually, the Margaret Machell Study Grant ($500) gives AGO volunteers an opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge in areas relating to the Gallery’s mission, vision and values.

Previous recipients have applied the grant towards coursework, attendance at conferences and symposiums, workshops, textbook purchases and more. (You can read about previous Margaret Machell Study Grant recipients on the blog: 

• here,
• here  
• here

Grant

1. The annual grant allocation is $500, though the grant may be awarded to more than one recipient (e.g. $250 each for two grant recipients).

2. Recipients must provide eligible receipts for approval and reimbursement.

Eligibility

1. Volunteers with a minimum of 1 year’s service.

2. Previous recipients are ineligible for future Margaret Machell grants. (If you have applied previously and have not been successful, please feel free to apply again!)

3. Courses, activities or expenses must fall within the calendar year (ending December 31, 2020).

How to Apply

Please submit a brief letter that includes:

• • A description of the course, activity or expense you wish to pursue.
• • How it relates to the activities or objectives of the AGO. 
• What you hope to achieve.
• • An outline of the costs to be reimbursed.

Address your application to the Volunteer Council, c/o Holly Procktor, Coordinator, Volunteers ([email protected])

Subject: Margaret Machell Study Grant

Application Deadline: March 15, 2020

Recipients will be announced during National Volunteer Week (April 19 – 25, 2020)

Grant recipient(s) are encouraged to share a written report about the course or activity undertaken. This report will be published in the Volunteer Blog for all volunteers to enjoy!

Volunteer Joy Bullen, in partnership with Holy Blossom Temple invites fellow AGO volunteers to attend a free concert:

• Thursday, February 27, 7:00PM to 8:30PM

• 1950 Bathurst Street, in the second floor performance space (the Mishkan)

Tickets are free, but event registration is required through Event Brite. Please click here to reserve your ticket.

About this Event:

Presenting two young Canadian classical artists at the beginning of their careers. Rashaan Rori Allwood, composer, organist and pianist, and soprano vocalist Nadine Anyan will perform little-known works of Black classical composers from the 18th to the 21st century. The program will spotlight the works of Black classical composers who made significant contributions to their genre but are unrecognized or under-valued today. It will also introduce original compositions by Allwood.

Today we celebrate our LOVE for you, our amazing volunteers! Thank you for sharing your love of art with us.

Hello Everyone,

• Did you know…. data gleaned from the numbers of Annual Pass holders show that we have increased the diversity of our audience by 10% in just eight months – helping us get closer to our 10-year vision statement – “to reflect the people who live here”.
• This week I have been in New York talking to journalists and media outlets focusing on raising the profile of the AGO. The Annual Pass, our upcoming exhibitions, our recent acquisitions and the quiet but steady focus on acquiring works by women and Indigenous artists were discussed.
• It’s the Family Day weekend! PP&L staff have planned some great programming including large interactive moments of play in Walker Court. Thank you to all staff and volunteers who will be here all weekend and especially on Monday helping make Family Day amazing for our visitors.

Enjoy the long weekend,

Stephan

AGO Family Day Festivities: Friday Feb. 14 – Monday Feb. 17, 10:30am – 4:00pm each day

It’s all about celebrating families through the theme of Togetherness. We have lots planned gallery-wide! Toronto-based Ness Lee, a recent AGO Artist in Residence, takes over Walker Court for large interactive moments of play as part of our four-day Family Day weekend program. Also, enjoy a family-friendly tour with spoken word artists; plant a seed; build Inventions of Goodness; visit Hito Steyerl: This is the future, see other amazing art in the galleries; or take a much-needed break in our quiet space with soft toys and soothing music.

Read everything that’s in store, here.