Exhibitions Continue Until AGO Closes for Reinstallation
Date Posted: March, 1, 2007
Some Programming Maintained Through Closure Period
The Art Gallery of Ontario will temporarily close effective October 8 to begin reinstalling art for its mid-2008 grand re-opening of the Frank Gehry-designed expansion. Until that date, the AGO will remain open with outstanding programming including Emily Carr: New Perspectives on a Canadian Icon (opening March 3) and the summer show, to include the newly acquired Bernini sculpture Corpus, the recently repatriated Dundas Collection and works from the Victoria and Albert Museum.
In addition, throughout the closure, a number of programs and services will continue, including the Gallery School, Art Rental and Sales, an innovative web-based collections program and extensive community outreach.
“The closure is a necessary part of our reinstallation period,” says Paul Altherr, chief operating officer. “It will provide a controlled environment enabling us to reinstall the galleries and complete final finishes in the galleries previously open to the public, as well as test and monitor the new spaces for optimal light, humidity and temperature settings.”
“There will also be parts of the building still under construction where visitor traffic would impede work,” says Altherr. “During this period we will also be developing and implementing training programs for staff and volunteers and preparing for new retail and restaurant operations.”
“We will have been open and accessible to the public for more than two years of construction when we temporarily cease on-site programming on October 8,” says Matthew Teitelbaum, the Michael and Sonja Koerner director, and CEO. “We’re well into an unprecedented chapter in the 107-year history of the AGO and the staff and volunteers of the AGO are deeply gratified by the loyalty, patience, understanding and active support of our visitors during this period.”
Continuing at the AGO throughout the closure period:
The AGO’s Gallery School will offer an array of classes for adults and children at its temporary location just down the street from the AGO at 60 McCaul Street. School studio visits to the Gallery School will also continue. Other on-going activities include AGO summer and March Break camps, the AGO’s annual Canada celebration of Art in the Park and Teens Behind the Scenes youth programs.
Also throughout the closure period, the AGO’s Art Rental and Sales Gallery will continue operations at 481 University Avenue. The art rental program has been operating out of this location since February 2006, offering fine contemporary art available for rent to AGO members and for sale to everyone. The Travel AGO program will also continue, offering to the public guided visits to art museums, select private and corporate collections and artist studios.
As well, the AGO’s web site (www.ago.net) will provide virtual visitors updates on continuing programming, the progress of construction and behind-the-scenes information about the reinstallation process.
Also on the virtual front, community art projects, workshops and programming will be underway across the province throughout the closure period as part of the ArtsAccess project – an art education and community development project in partnership with the Multicultural History Society of Ontario, City of Toronto Museums, Jumblies Theatre, Regent Park Focus, Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery, Woodland Cultural Centre and Thunder Bay Art Gallery.
Some of the AGO’s permanent collection will be available on Collection X, a soon-to-be-unveiled online social space created as part of the ArtsAccess project where museums, artists and community can share artworks, and create and exchange ideas about art and life.
In addition, volunteers with the gallery’s AGO is A Go outreach team will be out in the community at festivals and club meetings talking about the transformed AGO, new acquisitions and upcoming programming.
In light of the closure period, AGO members have been offered an extension on their membership. For example, if they have five months remaining on their membership as of October 8, five months will be added at time of re-opening.
Members will continue receiving Art Matters magazine and e-news updates, and will also retain a number of member benefits including discounts at Art Rental, on education courses in the Gallery School at 60 McCaul Street, restaurant partner discounts and access to Travel AGO. In addition, throughout the closure period, the Textile Museum, located at 55 Centre Street, will offer free admission to AGO members. Special members’ days may be held at other local and regional venues. A number of other partnerships have been established with arts organizations including Soulpepper, Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the National Ballet of Canada, offering AGO members discounted tickets.
“Despite the impacts of construction, our visitors have remained true adventurers on a journey that will be as rewarding tomorrow as it may be challenging today,” says Teitelbaum. “We will continue to welcome all to the AGO right up until we suspend on-site programming as of October 8, and we will continue to stay connected to them while we reinstall more than 5,000 works in 110 galleries.
“When they return to the transformed AGO, designed by one of the leading architects of our time, they will embrace it, know they helped build it and feel that it belongs to them.”
With a permanent collection of more than 66,000 works of art, the Art Gallery of Ontario is among the most distinguished art museums in North America. In 2002, the Gallery began an extraordinary chapter in its 107-year history when it launched Transformation AGO. Multi-faceted in scope, Transformation AGO involves the unprecedented growth of the permanent collection, an innovative architectural expansion by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry, and the strengthening of the museum’s endowment resources. As the imaginative centre of the city, the transformed AGO will dramatically enrich our visitors’ experiences and provide new access to the full vibrancy of the art museum. Boldly declaring that art matters, the new AGO will re-open fully in 2008.
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The Art Gallery of Ontario is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Culture. Additional operating support is received from the Volunteers of the AGO, the City of Toronto,the Department of Canadian Heritage and The Canada Council for the Arts.