After almost 13 years at the AGO, Shiralee Hudson Hill has left her position as Lead Interpretive Planner. Her last day at the Gallery was Tuesday, October 2.
Shiralee has worked on countless AGO projects during her time here, bringing her expertise to many high profile projects and exhibitions ranging from General Idea to Anthropocene, Alex Colville to Patti Smith, and Basquiat to Outsiders. She has also represented the AGO frequently at conferences and as a lecturer at OCADU.
In the mid-2000s when the Collection was being reinstalled after Transformation AGO, Shiralee played a significant role in developing the interpretive plan for the contemporary galleries. She continued this engagement with the collection as part of Look:Forward.
While next steps are determined, Nadia Abraham and Gillian McIntyre will both report to Heidi Reitmaier.
For any other questions or concerns, please contact Heidi Reitmaier, ext. 404.
Employees, volunteers and interns are invited to take advantage of an exclusive offer for discounts on Nike products at the Nike Employee Store.
For access to the Nike Employee Store, visit the People Department to pick up your paper invitation. You will need the paper invitation and your ID badge to enter the store.
The Nike Employee Store is not open to the public and carries a full line of Nike Canada’s latest products. Discounts range from 30% to 50% off the regular retail price.
October 16 – October 20, 2019 260 Brimley Road, Scarborough
Each employee/volunteer/intern will be allowed a one-time visit, and the ability to bring one guest and any immediate children under the age of 16. Non-employees/volunteers must be accompanied by an employee/volunteer that has a proper ID for access. Invitation quantities are limited; only one copy per person, please.
You can pick up a pass in the People Department; see Kathleen Ginson for details.
Take Our Kids to Work Day returns on Wednesday, November 6! This annual nation-wide program supports career development by offering students an opportunity to explore career options by connecting them directly to the world of work.
If you would like to bring a Grade 9 student to work with you on November 6, please register with the People Department by Friday, October 18. (Volunteers, if you would like to bring a grade 9 student , please feel free to sign up!)
Have an idea for an activity? Share what areas of the Gallery, speakers or experiences you think students might be interested in.
For questions, to register, or to share ideas, contact Vanessa Bano in the People Department, at 416 979 6660 ext. 509.
It looks like people are still receiving strange emails from
someone claiming to be me. If the message or address seems suspicious, don’t
respond. Forward the message directly to I.T. Support. Chris Steele in IT
is working on blocking the source. I almost always communicate in person.
Following the Board of Trustees meeting last week, we hosted a
reception for AGO trustees and AGO Foundation trustees on Wednesday evening to
celebrate the beginning of the new board year. It featured a viewing of works
from the Montgomery Collection. Also on Wednesday evening, the front of house
team tested a new line-up system where guests now receive a (free) ticket to
enter the museum. This allows us the opportunity to invite visitors to consider
signing up for an Annual Pass. For the first time, we are gathering information
on the visitors who are coming in so we can communicate with them. The evening went
smoothly and I appreciate everyone’s efforts.
I visited the installation of Rubens a couple of times this week.
The scale is truly impressive. The works are extraordinary. Hito Steyerl is
also being installed and looks fantastic too.
As fall is here, we will enjoy visitors from school groups. School
kids are among our most important audience as often the initial visit with
fellow students is the start of a lifetime of engagement with art and learning.
We have had an opportunity to further focus the work of Public Programming & Learning on our organizational goals of art, audiences and learning. The AGO’s ambitious 10-year vision is to lead global conversations from Toronto through extraordinary collections, exhibitions, and programs, and by reflecting the people who live here. This vision requires everyone across the museum to play a role.
PP&L holds three main areas of activity: Learning, Interpretation and Programs. In the list below you’ll notice that the titles of many roles have changed within the division to better reflect the work of the team as content specialists. Using the title “curator” is in keeping with practices across the museum sector internationally, and it underlines the importance of aligning PP&L offerings with the AGO’s curatorial work and exhibition programs.
Firstly, Paola Poletto has been promoted to Director, Engagement & Learning. Many congratulations to Paola.
The following colleagues have also been promoted, effective October 1:
Madelyne Beckles, Curatorial Assistant, Youth
Audrey Hudson, Associate Curator, Early Childhood & School Programs (returning from parental leave soon)
Johnson Ngo, Curatorial Associate, Live Projects and Partnerships
Zavette Quadros-Evangelista, Curatorial Associate, Learning & School Programs
Tiana Roebuck, Associate Curator, Learning & Studio Programs
Melissa Smith, Assistant Curator, Public Programming & Learning, Community Programs
Bojana Stancic, Assistant Curator, Public Programming & Learning, Live Projects & Performance
Please continue to reach out to the people in PP&L you usually work with, and they will let you know if any of their responsibilities have shifted to someone else in the Division.
Congratulations to the entire PP&L team and thank you for your continued support.
For questions, please contact Heidi Reitmaier, Deputy Director & Richard and Elizabeth Currie Chief of Education and Programming, 416 979 6660 ext. 404.
Peter Paul Rubens, Daniel in the Lions’ Den, c. 1614 – 1616. Oil on canvas, Overall: 224.2 x 330.5 cm. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1965.13.1. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
All employees and volunteers are invited to a preview of the Early
Rubens exhibition before it opens to members and the public.
When: Tuesday, October 8, 12:00pm – 3:00 pm
How:
The exhibition will be open between 12:00pm – 3:00pm.
No need to register, just drop-in
This preview takes place while the Gallery is open to the public, so please be sure to bring your staff or volunteer badge to present at the entrance
We’re introducing some changes to Free Wednesday Nights. As always, admission to the AGO Collection is free on Wednesdays from 6 to 9 pm but beginning Sept. 25, visitors on Wednesday evenings will require a free ticket to enter.
When being issued a free ticket, visitors will be asked for their name and email address. Connecting with our visitors will help us know them better and communicate with them about things that might interest them.
More info about this change:
Free tickets are available on site at the AGO Welcome Desk every Wednesday beginning at 6 pm.
Each visitor can claim up to 4 free tickets.
A new ticket will be required for each visit on a free Wednesday night.
AGO Annual Pass holders and AGO Members and can skip the ticket line by scanning their card or pass at the entrance.
Visitors who are not yet Members or Annual Pass holders can become a Member or an Annual Pass holder on site, by visiting ago.ca, or by speaking with an AGO representative.
Congratulations to the AGO Design Team who have been recognized by the Registered Graphic Designers of Canada with an In-House Design award for their recent exhibition work. The RGD’s In-House Design Awards Program recognizes graphics designers and creative teams within Canadian corporations, organizations and government. This year, recognition was awarded to:
Impressionism in the Age of Industry: Monet, Pissarro and more (curated by Caroline Shields, Associate Curator & Head of European Art)
2D design by Marilyn Bouma, Graphic Designer
3D design by Katy Chey, Exhibition Designer
Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters (curated by Jim Sheddon, Manager, Publishing)
2D design by Aleksandra Gzywaczewska, Graphic Designer
3D design by Katy Chey, Exhibition Designer
A special awards evening will be featured at the DesignThinkers Conference.
Alicia
Vandermeer spoke at the Managers and Board of Trustees meetings this week about
key learnings to date from the implementation of our new Annual Pass. Here are
3 “take-aways” from Alicia’s presentation that you should feel free to share
publicly: on average, 680 people
are signing up for the Annual Pass every day; by the end of this fiscal
year, we will have an AGO community of 300,000 Members
and Annual Pass Holders; this is higher than the membership of The Met
and MoMA.
If
you haven’t already seen it, be sure to check out this fun video that features feedback received
from the “Twitterverse” about the AGO’s Annual Pass.
Also
this week, we announced our upcoming Picasso
exhibition. Picasso: Painting the Blue Period runs next summer from June
27 to Sept. 20th. Very exciting news!
The
Public Programming & Learning team has commissioned Songs of Heaven,
three choral works inspired by Early Rubens, to be performed in Walker Court on Oct. 12 and 13.
It’s garnered some early attention in the press – see this article in NOW
magazine.
