As restrictions are being lifted, we are here to help you navigate this challenging process. We are compiling resources, tools, and perspectives on how you and your institution can begin to strategize about reopening. OAAG is currently working on a Reopening Framework and Procotols Guide that will be available...

We held our second Member Monday Meet-Up on May 25, 2020! Our second meeting discussed how a “Digital Engagement Strategy and Fund’ could help institutions during and post-COVID crisis. Members echoed that the sudden shift to digital has been a learing curve, but has opened up a space for...

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From capped visitor numbers to surgical gloves and temperature checks, here’s how cultural institutions are getting ready to leave lockdown (via The Art Newspaper)...

It’s good news for some of the cultural sector in the province, but visitors won’t recognize the new experience. (via Timeout)...

All the guidelines about how to reopen are overwhelming. András Szántó and Adrian Ellis have compiled the current wisdom in one place. (Art Net)...

Future visitors to the Magazzino Italian Art Foundation in Hudson Valley will be expected to do more than frequent hand sanitizer stations. (via Hyperallergic)...

All the major fairs have converted to online expos and dozens more ventures have launched. Has the digital content onslaught peaked? (Via Art Net)...

Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism, and Culture Industries Tele-Townhall Meeting May 20, 2020 MAY 20, 2020 – Minister of Heritage The Ontario Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, Lisa MacLeod, hosted a Tele-Townhall Meeting to more than 800 callers updating the Province’s response to COVID-19 and how...

“BRUSSELS (AP) — Museums are starting to reopen in some countries as governments ease coronavirus restrictions, but experts warn one in eight worldwide could face permanent closure due to the pandemic.” (via cbs12.com)...

Canadian galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAMs) form an integral part of the fabric of our nation, enriching the lives of millions of visitors of all ages, backgrounds and regions every year. Collectively known as the GLAM sector, ours is an industry that regularly punches above its weight. Non-profit...

Zainub Verjee, Executive Director of OAAG, speaks about the political economy of arts in a  feature interview where she shares her thoughts Art and COVID Crisis in the global context. The interview is published in Hardnews Foreign Policy, a digital-first news portal and South Asian partner of Le Monde diplomatique, Paris,...

“In times of uncertainty and fear during the pandemic lockdown, enjoying works of art—an online painting or performance or reading—has become a routine. Yet in a cruel irony, the COVID-19 crisis has exposed our hypocrisy about the artists and their labour. It reflects how the deeper questions on labour of artists,...

As statewide cultural grants are rescinded, Mayor Jim Kenny introduces a 2021 budget proposal that totally eliminates the city’s $4.4 million allowances for the arts. (via Hyperallergic)...

Last week, the Winnipeg Art Gallery reopened to the public, along with Quebec City’s Galerie3—but the blockbuster exhibition may never return, says one expert (via Canadian Art)...

“Officials from the city’s biggest galleries and museums say they have not set a firm date on when activities might resume at their facilities and had no plans to reopen as part of Thursday’s first stage of its economic relaunch” (via Calgary Herald)...

While museums across the country have chosen to lay off or furlough educators, at the Asian Art Museum the education department is busily at work. (via Hyperallergic)...

The Canada Council of the Arts has found itself, like so many of its clients across the country, navigating uncharted waters over the past few weeks. (Via Straight.com)...

“Our lives have changed in so many ways during the extraordinary times of the COVID-19 pandemic. We all applaud the bravery and dedication of essential workers in our health system, food chain, deliveries, safety, and more. Meanwhile, we have stayed at home and not seen extended family members and...

MAY 13, 2020 – The final results of the national survey detailing the impacts to the arts sector of the COVID-19 pandemic, conducted the week of APril 6 by Forum Research Inc. on behalf of the Canada Council for the Arts, are now available. A comprehensive final report with...

Earlier today, OAAG presented this webinar in collaboration with the Ontario Museum Association with speakers from the Aga Khan Museum, the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, and the South Grey Museum. With an emphasis on pivoting, collaboration, and experimentation, speakers emphasized that now is the time for institutions to experiment...

Today, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Steven Guilbeault released mroe details about the $500 Million allocated to Canadian Heritage to address COVID-19’s Impact on the Cultural Sector. The Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations is an additional temporary relief measure created to...

We went to one of the first German museums to reopen after the lockdown—here’s what it was like. Poles and ribbons are used at the Brandenburg State Museum for Modern Art in Cottbus to practice social distancing (via The Art Newspaper) During our First OAAG Member Monday Virtual-Meet Up,...

We held our first Member Monday Virtual Meet-Up on May 4th, 2020! The first meeting discussed how a ‘Public Art Gallery Relief Fund”  could help institutions during the COVID-19 crisis.  The discussion focused on funding needed for survival, adaptation, and the digital. Funding needs to focus on Survival and...

The effort has its critics—but many observers view it as a model response. (Via Art News)...

7 Practical Tips for Engaging Art Lovers Through Social Media That We Learned From an Internet Cowboy and the Meme King of London The experts weigh in on how to build a quality museum presence online. (Via Art Net)...

Museums and art galleries are among the locations allowed to open up when Manitoba begins loosening restrictions on non-essential businesses on May 4. (via CTV News) OAAG will be looking at how the Winnipeg Art Gallery reopens closely including their protocols and procedures for ensuring public safety. We will...

For a few days in March 2020, the world focused its attention on virtual museum tours (via MuseumHack)...

Spreadsheet Highlights Major Income Disparities at Cultural Institutions (via Hyperallergic) According to a document by the group Indebted Cultural Workers, MoMA Director Glenn Lowry takes home about 48 times the salary of an education assistant and the museum....

Ontario Association of Art Galleries (OAAG) in partnership with the Ontario Museum Association (OMA) joined hands to put together a webinar for the collective membership to help understand and respond to the nut-bolt issues and challenges in understanding the Federal support programs. The state of the world has changed...