Hello everybody!

As you now know, the Gallery is currently closed as part of the 28 day lockdown for Toronto and surrounding areas. This means that Christine, Trish and myself (Nicole) are back to working from home, as we prepare for the gallery’s re-opening with Studio 54: Night Magic. While the Gallery is closed, we will continue to share updates as they come in. Many of you may have registered for the upcoming Artist’s talk with Haegue Yang which has been postponed. In the meantime, I have re-shared the Curator’s Talk with Adelina Vlas on Haegue Yang (here) as a primer for this exhibition.

Finally, since the holidays are approaching and we are all being reminded to shop at small businesses, I wanted to highlight that shopAGO is currently open for online orders starting December 1st (watch your inbox for a volunteer invite to the members’ sale, December 7 -13). The AGO Bistro is also open for takeaway and curated at home dinner options (click here to learn more). Read on!

Stress Relief through Art!

With the continued stresses of the lockdown, working from home and the upcoming holidays, we will continue to share some stress relieving content from our expanding collection of online talks. This week we return back to with another Mental Health Moments as part of a very important regime of self care. This talk (linked here) led by Adult Education Officer, Lauren Spring, explores two artworks including Rembrandt van Rijn, Portrait of a Seated Woman with a Handkerchief and Agustus Edwin John, The Marchesa Casati. Slow down and delve deeper into these very popular paintings through a frame of mental health. I hope you will find these informative and calming!

How are you taking the time to de-stress right now? Have you started a new practice that helps you de-stress that you would like to share? We would love to hear about it!

Ragnar Kjartansson: Death is Elsewhere

Since opening at the beginning of November, Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson: Death is Elsewhere has been a a buzz with visitors! This video installation filmed in 360 degrees featuring two couples of twins as they sing a song about beauty and loss. Filmed in the midnight sun in lush greenery with the shadow of Laki volcano in south Iceland  in the distance, where there was a fissure that caused massive destruction back in 1783. This piece was acquired long before Covid-19 was in existence, but the sentiment is not lost on the visitors who engage with the 77 minute long video installation. It is beautiful, somber and poignant. This video installation is now a part of our permanent collection and you can read more about it in this article in Forbes Magazine when it opened last year at The Met.

Be well and stay healthy

Christine, Trish and Nicole

“In Your Face” was a People’s Portrait Project (2006), an exhibition of portraits collected from the general public to celebrate the individuality and diversity of Canada.

As a volunteer, Shelagh Barrington remembers spending hours working with staff and other volunteers gluing these incredibly varied 4×6 inch portraits onto 4×8 foot panels in preparation for mounting on the walls all around the AGO.

Artists from three Toronto art-based community organizations contributed 400 portraits to the Art Gallery of Ontario’s In Your Face exhibition. This collaboration allows inner-city youth and adults living in poverty to connect with the Gallery and have their art displayed in the AGO.

“Our goal is to bring these artists into the Gallery, to see their own contributions on display and feel a connection to this place. By providing these art-based organizations with AGO memberships, we hope the artists will return again and again to explore other parts of the Gallery,” says Bev Carret, the AGO’s manager of government and  community relations, who also conceived the partnership. 

The three community organizations – Adelaide Women’s Art Studio, Art Heart and Sketch –provided studio space, workshops and a safe environment to those interested in making art. They made it possible for various groups, such as women who have experienced homelessness, street kids and the Regent Park community, to participate in creating the portraits on display.

A very popular installation, In Your Face is a collection of personal portraits created by the public on 4×6 inch cards and mailed into the Gallery for exhibition. Nearly 20,000 submissions have been received since the exhibit opened in August 2006. Over 4,000 portraits remained on display, featuring such unusual items as tinfoil, human hair, modelling clay, fabric, wood, papier mâché, rug-hooking, crayon, magic marker, photography and collage.

In Your Face Aug 2006 to October 2007.

If you’d like to contribute a memory of exhibitions past, send along your submission (with pictures, if possible) to Anne Fleming, Volunteer Communications at [email protected]

Hello Volunteers,

For those of you that missed this past week’s exclusive volunteer talk with Dr. Julie Crooks, you can watch at your leisure, by clicking on this link:

https://klick.zoom.us/rec/share/VVeblVX56-uouho6_boYFCA5Gu9uthYO2I-oB0QZsHA_rGmlwpq3sxzRso5mJODN.lDPwMk0WFeirH_LN

When prompted for a passcode, please enter: 9@^9Hd$t

To read a great article with Julie about the Gallery’s new Department of Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora, click here.

Dear Everyone,

Due to a rising number of COVID-19 infections, this afternoon Premier Ford announced that the City of Toronto and the region of Peel will face further restrictions as of 12:01 a.m. Monday, November 23.  This means that the AGO will be open this weekend and close to the public as of Monday, November 23.

I know that this is not the news we wanted to hear. We have been living with the virus now for 8 months, and the uncertainty has taken a toll. Everyone has worked very hard to ensure that our visitors have had a safe and enjoyable experience while at the museum.  All of us have done an excellent job and we have delivered. However, the health, safety and well-being of our visitors, employees, volunteers and our extended AGO community is always our top priority. We must follow the directive of our public health professionals and the government.

At this time, we anticipate remaining closed through Sunday, December 20. The Province did not provide a firm end date but suggested that they will assess the new measures over the next four weeks. We will continue to monitor the situation, and we look forward to welcoming visitors to the AGO again. Any visitor who had booked a time ticket to visit over the next four weeks will be contacted and offered a refund.

Although the AGO is closed, we will still be serving our public in the following ways:

• Our virtual schools program will continue providing parents and schoolchildren with art classes every weekday
• Our online courses and talks will continue as planned
• shopAGO’s online shop will continue to take and fulfil orders

Leadership Team has determined the list of employees who are critical to sustaining the AGO’s operation and need to be onsite while we are closed. Critical staff were identified in March.

Since March, the majority of our colleagues have been working from home, following work plans that have been approved by their manager.  We will be reviewing the onsite work that will need to continue while we are closed and will communicate this with you as soon as possible. I know that this creates more uncertainty and it’s my commitment to you that we will resolve this quickly.

We are committed to following the advice of health and government officials and we will communicate with you regularly during the closure.

Sincerely,

Stephan

Hello Everyone,

IMPORTANT: Later this afternoon, the Premier will be making an announcement regarding COVID-19. We don’t have any advance notice about what this might mean for us but it’s possible there will be increased restrictions or a shut-down. Please stay tuned – I will be sending another message out by day’s end. It will likely take a couple of days for further clarity and to sort out next steps.

I want to acknowledge the exhaustion that everyone is feeling. We’re at a point where every day seems exhausting. You have all been doing amazing work. In spite of the difficulties of the past several months, we have accomplished incredible things together. Take a moment to think about that – we have extraordinary art on view, a safe, welcoming building, and engaging online content – we have shown adaptability and resilience. Hold tight.

The AGO Board of Trustees met on Wednesday and I was pleased to share highlights of what we’ve accomplished – everything from the AGO Plan (shared AGO staff salary reductions), the special offer for frontline workers, acquiring new works, and pivoting to virtual programs for schools. I was very proud to tell our trustees about what we’ve done together. Leadership Team is working on a solid plan for the next two years that includes strategies on how to get us through the COVID period and beyond.

I’ll be in touch again later on today,

Stephan

Dear Volunteers,

Please join us for this exclusive talk – organized especially for AGO volunteers – with thanks and in recognition of this year’s Volunteer Endowment Trust donation to support the ongoing research and support of The Montgomery Collection of Caribbean Photographs.

Dr. Julie Crooks will share all the work she has done this far with this unique collection, including some behind-the-scenes stories of its path to the AGO (Q&A to follow):

• Wednesday November 18
• 5:30 – 6:30pm
• via Zoom

Join Zoom Meeting
https://klick.zoom.us/j/93592324262?pwd=aGYwR3JBRWRmc25VK1QwZmtDd1I5QT09

Meeting ID: 935 9232 4262
Passcode: 382466
*Please note: this is a one-time link. You cannot preregister for this talk – simply click on the above link at 5:30pm on Wednesday November 18 to join. We’ll see you there!

Hello everybody!

Those were a glorious string of November days that we experienced last week – I hope you were able to get outside and enjoy them! Perhaps they were a gift to help us store some warmth and sun for the winter days ahead! I made the most of it by sitting on a bed of golden leaves while reading in the park – I have  included a picture of my expedition below.

Last weekend we experienced an uptick in visitor excitement with the closing of Diane Arbus: 1956-1971, Photographs and Illusions: The Art of Magic! Now our exhibitions team is working diligently at closing the space in preparation for our next special exhibition, Studio 54: Night Magic. We  have many smaller exhibitions that have recently opened throughout the gallery to keep it interesting for our visitors!

Read on!

Stress Relief Through Art!

With the number of Covid-19 cases continuing to rise, there is a palpable sense of stress in the world. The gallery currently remains open, but the bustle has slowed down which may also coincide with the closing of our special exhibitions. Yesterday, after recognizing my heightened level of stress, I decided to stroll through the European Collection in hopes that this would soothe my nerves. Rather than my usual rushed steps to get to destination or to complete a task, I consciously chose to slow down and focus my attention on the work in front of me. My stress levels noticeably lowered – another reminder of the incredible healing effects of art! While visiting the gallery may not be an option for some of you, I’m going to share videos from our collection that will hopefully transport you into a more relaxed state!

First up: enjoy an interesting talk facilitated by AGO Art Educator Lauren Spring (video linked here) who explores Agnes Martin’s The Rose, from a mental health awareness perspective.

Join our Art Educators and engage with artworks from Agnes Martin, Emily Carr and Alex Colville center around close observation and open-ended questions. You can join our next Mental Health Moments talk on Friday, November 20th at 11am by clicking here.

Studio 54: Night Magic (opening December 19, 2020 – April 5 2021)

How does a nightclub, open for less than three years, become the global epicentre of music, fashion and design? Studio 54: Night Magic transports visitors back to 1977 when revolutionary creativity, expressive freedom and sexual liberation transformed a New York City nightclub into a phenomenon. Here are some notes on the exhibition:

• Curated and designed by The Brooklyn Museum
• This is the first time in AGO history that we are hosting an exhibit that we haven’t had an opportunity to see in person!
• This will take up the entire Zacks Pavillion and will be compromised of 12 “rooms”
• This immersive exhibit featuring hundreds of objects, including photographs, films, sketches and designer fashions, the exhibition traces the nightclub’s trailblazing aesthetics while situating it within the broader social and historical context of the period
• The club was a place of celebrity and self-constructed celebrity
• There will be lighting effects throughout the exhibit which will be designed by our Logistics team member, Paul Mathesion, (who himself used to work at Studio 54!)
• Check out this New York times article on the exhibit here and our recent AGO Insider article here.

Michael Belmore

Anishinaabe artist Michael Belmore returns to the AGO with two new works in his self-titled exhibition which is on until March 21, 2021!  He employs a variety of materials including wood, stone, and metals and draws inspiration from his surroundings, exploring the dramatic effects of human activity on the landscape.

The two works on display in gallery 238, exemplify the key themes in Belmore’s practice: Anishinaabe identity, and impact of North American settlers on the earth and its non-human inhabitants. You can find out more about both pieces directly from the artist by watching the short videos linked here and here.

Be well and stay healthy,

Christine, Trish and Nicole

Hello Everyone,

I am very confident in the safety of our building and the protocols in place to keep our employees and public healthy. Key to our success so far is compliance with measures such as social distancing, hand washing and wearing masks. Please WEAR YOUR MASKS. It’s critical always – and especially now as case numbers continue to rise.

Like many of you, I have been thinking about the loss of Adam Lawrence. I understand that he loved illustrated books and every so often attended events in the Library. A few staff have suggested that the AGO acquire an illustrated book in his memory and are making donations to our Library & Archives. If you are interested in contributing, please visit www.ago.ca/donate and select the ‘in memory’ option, or call Valerie Morelli at 416 979 6660 x 6816. A letter will be sent to Adam’s mother, Marcie Lawrence, advising of her of these tribute gifts and the plans for this special acquisition in memory. I will definitely be contributing.

Our virtual school program continues to exceed expectations. So far, 65,000+ students have participated. We have never seen this type of engagement for school programs. A big thank you to the Art Educators who have been delivering sessions three times a day for the past four weeks: Carol Matson, Louise Spiritcougar Lefebvre,  Lauren Spring, Laboni Islam, Quentin VerCetty, Rebecca Baird, Mahlikah Awe:ri, Joey Suriano, Amanda Rataj and Maureen Da Silva.

For our Indigenous learnings this week, please see Michael Belmore’s YouTube video on the work Edifice – he is Anishinaabe and the work is on currently view. Michael speaks of connections to land.

Thank you,

Stephan

The AGO’s new Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora Department launches with a bold acquisition.

The global footprint of Africa is vast. Through centuries of migration, people of African descent have populated every inch of the globe, building a wealth of diverse cultures. This mosaic is made up of distinct regional identities that coalesce, illustrating a collective narrative—the brilliance of which can be uniquely expressed through its art. 

Recently the AGO announced the establishment of a brand new department—named Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora. Led by Dr. Julie Crooks, formerly the AGO Associate Curator, Photography, the department will focus on acquiring, exhibiting and building programming around art from Africa and the African diaspora. Encompassing historic, modern and contemporary work, this collection will expand the AGO’s scope of art representing Black Atlantic histories while adding further complexity and context to the AGO Collection as a whole. 

Under her new title, Curator, Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora, Crooks has hit the ground running, recently acquiring the department’s first work. Moridja Kitenge Banza’s Christ Pantocrator No 13 (2020) is a stunning painting that showcases an aesthetic hybrid of classical African art and Christian iconography. “Moridja’s work is fitting as the department’s first acquisition in the ways in which it exemplifies the complexities of contemporary African art practices in the diaspora,” says Crooks, who jumped at the opportunity to acquire the piece at this year’s Art Toronto.     

Christ Pantocator No 13 depicts Jesus, in the style of European religious portraiture, donning a traditional mask from the Dan people of Liberia—a juxtaposition that complicates both our ideas of sacredness and our understanding of the relationship between African artifacts and museums. It is part of a series of works from the artist exploring this discourse. 

The artist, Moridja Kitenge Banza said, “In most African societies, the mask is made for use in sacred rites or ceremonies celebrating birth, death, or harvest. Moving them into a museum context as a fixed element in a display case, they find themselves cut off from their original context … Thus each of these paintings evolves towards a very current discourse on the relevance of museum collections, the status of the cultural and religious objects that are found there and the way each one of us looks at these different cultures to which the museum gives us access.”  

We will continue to update you as about acquisitions and programming as the Department of Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora continues to expand. 

The First World War was the first global conflict documented by both professional and amateur photographers in real time. With the invention of the first compact camera in 1912, almost anyone could take a picture anywhere, in any conditions, including the trenches. Between 1914 and 1918, over 90,000 British volunteers supported the war effort at home and abroad, and many, despite British Army orders, brought their cameras along – including Emily Maxwell-Stuart, a Red Cross Nurse. 

In 2005, the AGO received an anonymous gift of some 500 photo albums, all from the period of the First World War (1914–18). Each precious and unique, they provide an incredible record of that time as seen through the lens of one person or family. The AGO displayed hundreds of these works back in November 2018, with a two-part exhibition entitled First World War, 1914–1918 (I) and (II). 

At 61 pages, the Maxwell-Stuart album is a scrapbook, photo album and family Bible all in one. It variously features her own work as part of St. Millicent’s Ambulance crew in Northern France, as well as family occasions (her sister’s wedding announcement from the London Times, her brothers’ obituaries) and candid portraits of her colleagues – those who tended to the wounded and administered medical care in the dark. Maxwell-Stuart’s eye for detail is considerable and often witty. Her portrait of the King and Queen, as they visit a field hospital, is notable for the evident discomfort of its subjects. 

One of eleven children, her father was the youngest son of a Scottish Laird. She was 28 years old when she enlisted in May 1917. According to her overseas record, she served in France, attached to the No. 9 Red Cross Hospital, variously located in Calais – Saint-Omer, Hazelbrouck and then Roubaix. Her character was listed as “satisfactory” and under honours received, she was said to have been “mentioned in dispatches”. 

Click here to explore the pages within this album