I have heard from several donors and trustees who have visited the AGO on their own, often on weekends, that their experiences were very positive. They were very complimentary about the service received from front-line staff and PSOs. This is a testament to everyone’s careful planning and ability to welcome our public even in a pandemic. Thank you to the employees who are on-site greeting and assisting visitors. You are doing an amazing job.
I’d also like to acknowledge, again, the contributions that Nan Oldroyd has made since her arrival a couple of years ago. The list is long and she made deep strides in further professionalizing our People Department. I wish her the very best in her new adventure. Nan, please visit us often at the AGO, you are always welcome.
Just before COVID-19 hit us in early March, as part of AGO Talks, we featured writer Desmond Cole as he launched his new book The Skin We’re In, which explored injustices experienced by many Black Canadians. Here is a link to the event including an audio recording. Here is a more recent article that further explores this topic. Please listen and/or read as we all continue to learn together about how to confront racist behavior in our city and Canada.
Finally – I appreciate those who are checking in on one another. Continue to be kind to one another. Consider contacting a colleague you haven’t seen in a while, just to say hi and to ask how they are doing. These gestures are deeply meaningful.
Thank you,
Stephan
· P.S. I am excited about Art Toronto! The Art Toronto Virtual Preview takes place on October 28th. Tickets are $30, which includes incredible programming. More info can be found here
It is with regret that I announce that after more than two years as Chief of People, Nan Oldroyd has let me know that she will be leaving the AGO.
The news is bittersweet, as I will miss Nan’s wise counsel around the Leadership Team table and her Human Resources expertise, but she was presented with a unique offer that will allow her more quality time with her husband David and her family and friends. I completely understand her decision to focus on her personal life.
During her time at the AGO, Nan worked closely with her team and focused them on updating services for employees and volunteers, including:
Creating new policies and programs that reflect our ever-changing reality under the pandemic, including a comprehensive orientation program focused on safety to support re-opening and flexible work and working remotely programs
Working with the IDEA group on recent D&I training and rolling out the first ever culture, diversity and inclusion survey
Shining a spotlight on the importance of mental health, by providing more information and piloting a new mental health first aid training program
Completing and gaining Board approval for the Workplace Discrimination, Harassment, Reprisal and Violence Prevention Policy
Working with the Volunteer Council to support volunteers to serve our new audiences
Nan will be able to share where she will be going shortly and will be with us until October 30. In the meantime, I would like to take some time before her departure to talk to People team members to figure out next steps. Please stay tuned for a future announcement on how we will deal with her departure.
Please join me in thanking Nan for her many contributions at the AGO and wish her well in her next adventure.
A short while ago, as you might have heard, the province announced that we are rolling back to some Stage 2 restrictions due to an increase in COVID-19 cases. What this means for the AGO is that indoor dining in the Bistro will be closed as of tomorrow for the next 28 days. This is disappointing but understandable news. I know our F&B team has worked very hard to provide a safe space for our public to enjoy. I will personally miss having the fried chicken sandwich for the next few weeks but Bistro will open again. We are working with our colleagues in F&B to assist with the temporary closure and related communications. All other aspects of our operations will continue as usual – including Bistro takeout and pick up for the sold out Thanksgiving Dinner To-Go. We remain open to the public from Thursday to Sunday. The AGO is a very safe building thanks to everyone’s care and the health protocols put in place.
This week we shared the amazing news about the AGO’s new virtual school programs. Starting October 13, the AGO invites students, in school or at home, to participate in a new series of online guided art conversations, three times daily from Monday to Friday. And the programs are being offered free of charge! These curriculum-based conversations will emphasize the role of art in promoting wellness and they will connect to contemporary themes including Art and the Senses, Art of the African Diaspora, AGO Highlights and Indigenous Art and Artists. Please help us spread the word with your friends, family and teachers/educators. More than 6,000 students are registered for week one alone! You can find more info to share here.
For this week’s Diversity & Inclusion resource I am sharing this podcast of Letecia Rose speaking with Dr. Christopher Stuart Taylor on the topic of Decoding Black. Please take a few moments to listen, here.
Again, with the number of COVID-19 spiking in our city, please continue to follow health guidelines and avoid large social gatherings. This Thanksgiving will be different for sure but we still have so much to be thankful for in Toronto and Canada. I hope you all enjoy celebrating Thanksgiving. A special thanks to those who will be working at the Gallery this weekend.
The Prints & Drawing team share their remembrances of the late Rheba Adolph, who passed away recently. Rheba was one of our longest-serving P&D volunteers, with 18 yeas of service. In 2019, the Gallery nominated Rheba for an Ontario Volunteer Service Award. We will all miss her greatly and are deeply saddened by this loss – Holly
Rheba was a true free spirit, intelligent, open to new ideas, and genuinely interested in other people. I have fond memories of her Friday morning public talks in the Study Centre. She was open to almost any topic but often chose to speak about 20thc. photographers such as Danny Lyon, George Hunter and Michael Disfarmer. She looked at art with wonder and curiosity, drawing her audience into a close examination of the object while asking “why” the artist might have done it this way and encouraging individual interpretations. We left her talks as we left any encounter with Rheba herself – feeling stimulated and uplifted. – Brenda Rix, Manager, Prints & Drawings Study Centre.
Always the adventurer and humanitarian, Rheba volunteered to help in New Orleans post hurricane Katrina. Due to her allergies she was unable to work with the crews to restore water damaged building and houses. Instead Rheba prepared and cooked countless savoury meals for the many volunteers.
Another time Rheba went to a remote jungle location to volunteer. She was billeted in a in a rundown house on her own. One night when Rheba went into the bathroom, she discovered a very large snake curled up in the bath. Undaunted Rheba quickly dispatched of the snake using an axe. – Barbara Engle, fellow volunteer.
She was such a unique individual — so bright & caring. I made sure to be at the AGO when Rheba was slated to give her talks and always looked forward to re-uniting with her. She had a strong interest in photography and gave talks on the following: Arthur Goss, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, George Hunter and Lotte Jacobi. It is because of her indirectly that I became involved at the AGO. My cousin Carol worked with her at CAMH. Rheba brought her in and Carol brought me in years later. She was truly a “Woman of Valour” – Cecile Freeman
We have lost a great mentor and friend. Rheba’s knowledge of art, culture, music and the artist behind the art, surpassed none. Her sense of innately curious nature and high intellect on what made the artist who they were and the what they were behind there art all with an effervescent quality. Not to mention admiring her caregiving skills and true connection and love with her soul mate and husband of over fifty years. On a personal level, as a dear friend I will also miss our discussions, over various foodie meals, and our trips to TIFF among others. – Barbara Glaser
My favourite P&D memories of Rheba are of sharing the night shifts with her on Wednesdays and First Thursdays. When greeting people of all ages, backgrounds, or interests, her unbridled enthusiasm and curiosity could disarm even the most hesitant visitor and spark conversations on all manner of topics. Her love and care for others was also evident on a hot Canada Day weekend in 2017. Rheba and her husband Bob made the effort to transit cross town to Gallery 1313 on the last day of my Queen’s Bush exhibit. I remember Bob’s warm appreciative smile as he sat and watched Rheba comment and inquire about every one of my images and then Rheba’s attentive loving care in return as they walked hand in hand through the courtyard to catch the streetcar for the long ride home. Any conversation I had with Rheba brought joy and it is with joy she will be remembered. – Ruth Hartman
Rheba always made any place she occupied more welcoming and full of warmth. I always hoped we would share a shift at P&D because I knew that every visitor would be hypnotized by her interest in them. She had the gift of drawing in the most reticent making their visit special. She and Bob loved music and never missed a Toronto Summer Music event. It was a place where Bob felt comfortable after his stroke. And, of course, P&D was Rheba’s “ home away from home”. Her knowledge and passion leave a huge gap. A role model! – Jane Smith
Hello all, Coursera is offering a complimentary course, via the Faculty of Native Studies, at the University of Alberta, focusing on Indigenous Canada:
Indigenous Canada is a 12-lesson Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from the Faculty of Native Studies that explores Indigenous histories and contemporary issues in Canada. From an Indigenous perspective, this course explores key issues facing Indigenous peoples today from a historical and critical perspective highlighting national and local Indigenous-settler relations. Topics for the 12 lessons include the fur trade and other exchange relationships, land claims and environmental impacts, legal systems and rights, political conflicts and alliances, Indigenous political activism, and contemporary Indigenous life, art and its expressions.
To sign up, follow the directions via Coursera, linked here.
Melissa Smith, Curator of Community Partnerships, is looking for volunteers to assist with this monthly program. Please reach out to her at [email protected] , preferably by Friday October 2 for more details – Holly
Hello Volunteers! I’m hoping that some of our 55+ Volunteers will be interested in volunteering to be part of the next instalments in our Seniors Social Program. You can see the videos we created over the summer here. Thank you, once again, to our previous stars, AGO volunteers Gavin O’Hara and Jennet Sandler!
This role includes working with Doris Purchase, an Art Educator and past Gallery Guide. She will coordinate meetings and recording a zoom video to talk about art. You will then meet again to record a zoom video of making art over a conversation. Please reach out to Melissa Smith by Friday October 2nd at [email protected], if you’re interested.
The National Docent Symposium Council (NDSC) is a North American docent/guide organization that provides continuing education and exchange of ideas for docents and guides. NDSC activities include:
Sponsoring biennial symposia for the professional development of docents and guides
Providing an up-to-date interactive website with articles of interest and shared practices for docents, guides and educators
Hosting an online forum for ongoing issues of importance for docents and museum educators
Publishing the Docent Handbook
Docents at the Indianapolis Museum of Art organized the first nationwide meeting of docents in 1981; since 1985 the symposium has been held every other year at a museum in the United States or Canada. (The Art Gallery of Ontario hosted in 2009; the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 2017.) The next symposium, originally planned for Kansas City in 2021, has been postponed until the fall of 2022. The Atlanta NDS will take place in 2024 and the Council is currently recruiting for NDS 2026.
NDSC is run by a volunteer board. In addition to its executive, the NDSC has a number of regional directors. The usual format for Canadians is two directors for Eastern Canada and two for Western Canada. Currently, Shelagh Barrington (Friday GG) is the only Director responsible for Canada. Shelagh plans to continue as a Director until the completion of the next symposium in Kansas City 2022.
Going forward, vibrant forward thinking Canadian volunteers need to take up the challenge of connecting and keeping our community current. Could you be one of them? Directors are expected to serve a 4-year term, which includes alternately attending symposia and planning meetings each year, at their own expense. (Because of COVID the Council is becoming well versed in digital connecting.) There are a number of additional ways for Directors to assist the Council; Shelagh is an editor for the web site and Facebook page, among other ways to contribute.
Why become a director? Shelagh answers: “While there is a financial and time commitment, the good news is the NDSC is a great group of educated and dedicated individuals, from all over the USA and Canada, who love what they do.”
If you would like to see what the NDS is all about, please go to the NDS web page which will also connect you to the NDS Facebook and NDS Forum pages. After you have taken a look, if you have any questions please feel free to contact Shelagh at [email protected].
This week was one of the toughest we have endured together since COVID hit. The impact of the pandemic on the AGO’s operations, unfortunately, has meant that we have had to say good-bye (for now) to some of our colleagues and friends. These are all good people who have done nothing wrong. I am truly grateful for their contributions to the AGO. This is hard, hard, hard.
Many of our behind-the-scenes staff were involved this week with the Haegue Yang, Michael Belmore and Mary Heister Reid installations. I had the pleasure of touring one of the exhibition supporters through the Haegue Yang exhibition. It was a joy for me to see her family’s excitement about the beauty of the show. The art is extraordinary and I believe our public will enjoy it very much.
To support our ongoing efforts in Diversity & Inclusion, here is this week’s reading below, do take the time to read it and continue your learning journey:
Sharing here, volunteers, an upcoming Curator’s Talk on our new feature exhibition, Haegue Yang. As the Gallery enters a new programming season, make sure to check out ago.ca for so much digital content – lots of ways to connect remotely with new works we love.
Haegue Yang, Boxing Ballet, 2013-2015. Installation view of Shooting the Elephant 象 Thinking the Elephant, Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea, 2015. Courtesy of Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul
Wednesday, October 7, 4 pm via Zoom (click on link to register)
Join Adelina Vlas, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at the AGO, for an overview of the AGO’s Fall exhibition Haegue Yang: Emergence.
A leading artist of her generation, Haegue Yang (b. 1971 Seoul) is celebrated for her prolific and diverse work that evokes historical and contemporary narratives of migration, displacement and cross-cultural translation. For over two decades, Yang has been transforming how we experience everyday domestic materials, turning items such as venetian blinds, light bulbs, drying racks, knitting yarn and bells into meticulously constructed installations and sculptures. To unleash the historical and emotional resonances of these objects, Yang activates them with sounds, light, air, scents and movement.
Prior to joining the AGO in 2014, Adelina Vlas held curatorial positions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Canada, where she concentrated on permanent collection displays and special exhibitions. She holds a Master’s Degree in curating contemporary art from the Royal College of Art, a Master’s Degree in art history from York University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Art History from McGill University. Vlas’s area of specialty is post-war contemporary art with a focus on conceptual and time-based media practices.
When I think back to when we first closed our doors in March because of the rapid, global spread of COVID-19, it feels like a lifetime ago. I thought that the 6-month AGO Plan for employees might be sufficient to get us through this period. I hoped that COVID-19 would be managed effectively around the world. Clearly, its impact, including reduced attendance at the AGO and our ability to generate revenue has had a profound effect on our business. Yesterday – much to my deep regret – we had to reduce our workforce.
Limits on the number of people who can gather in one place, physical distancing rules, a slow return to physical spaces and restrictions on travel have had – and will continue to have – a significant impact on our operations. As a result, we have made the difficult decision to terminate or layoff more than 100 employees, both management and unionized. This change is solely related to the pandemic and our challenges in generating revenue because of it. We wish to thank these colleagues for their work at the AGO, and we will support them as well as we can through this time.
Volunteers are part of our AGO family and we know you share in the sadness of this challenging time. Volunteers have been an important part of our past, and you remain vital to our future. We know your time on hiatus has been difficult. We want to reassure you that we are planning to bring volunteers back to the gallery, but it will take time. The health and safety of our staff, volunteers and visitors are our top priority so we will continue to follow public health and government directives.
We are facing a period of prolonged uncertainty. Restrictions will be in place for many months to come, until we are able to return to normal operations once a vaccine is found.
The pandemic WILL end. The AGO will thrive again in the future but these are difficult times. I truly wish it were different.
Thank you for your care and compassion during these changes with our employees.
