Need a little beauty in your life? Visit a Canadian museum or art gallery. Here’s how. (via Toronto Star) “As we physically isolate at home, worrying about pretty much everything, it’s more important than ever to take a minute to seek out beauty, whether it be through a painting,...

Two art lawyers offer a primer on the legal concept and how it applies to the art business now. (Via Art Net)...

‘There is no fast track back to normal’: museums confront economic fallout of the pandemic” (via The Art Newspaper) Closed museums are losing millions in income, ushering in job cuts, appeals for emergency relief and lasting changes in strategy....

In 2018 OAAG in collaboration with RMG, Oshawa organized an international symposium to discuss the nut-bolts issues in advancing such process. The Ideas Digital Forum 2018 was a two-day symposium held in partnership with the Ontario Association of Art Galleries and The Robert McLaughlin Gallery in response to the ever-evolving...

OAAG continues to work remotely and is actively engaged with the stakeholders on behalf of its membership. To address the new realities of working remotely, we set up this new Digital platform for the COVID19 Crisis—RESPONSE OAAG. The primary thought was two-fold: one, to activate communication channels for the...

Artists, Scholars, and Museum Workers petition museums to retain staff during pandemic (via Hyperallergic) “Before a single museum worker is laid off, let every mid-six- or seven-figure museum director draw a salary of zero,” reads one petition....

German museums prepare to reopen, gradually and with precautions (via the Art Newspaper) The first museums open today in the state of Brandenburg in a gradual easing of the coronavirus lockdown; bigger museums may take longer to reopen...

Are Canada’s Municipal Art Galleries in Crisis?  Public Art Galleries have been finding it difficult to survive let alone thrive in a fragile ecosystem. Here is a take on the state of Art Galleries in 2018. The question is how does the current relief address the Pre-Covid19 crisis? ...

In continuing its advocacy efforts, OAAG has kept engaged with the offices of both the Federal Minister of Canadian Heritage and Ontario Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries. Today, the Executive Director had a teleconference meeting with Julie Dabrusin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage. ...

Museums are finding new ways to connect with art lovers online during Quarantine (via Artsy)...

Going digital not easy for cultural institutions (via Globe and Mail) “The immediate response [to the closures] is ‘You’ll create these wonderful digital experiences’. It’s a rhetorical response: Oh, you just go online…If it’s that simple, every museum and art gallery collection in the world would be online.“ –...

Update from Irene Cheung, Policy Advisor, Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage The Government of Canada is providing $500 million in 2020-21 to establish a new COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations to help address the complex financial needs of affected organizations within these...

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This morning Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the Federal Government will allocate $500 Million for Heritage Canada to support people working in the arts, culture, and sports sectors. This funding will help support struggling organizations access to financing. Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault supported the $500 million...

On behalf of the Ontario Association of Art Galleries and the Visual Arts Sector, Executive Director Zainub Verjee wrote to the Honourable Lisa MacLeod (Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries), The Honourable Rod Phillips (Minister of Finance), The Honourable Monte McNaughton (Minister of Labour, Training and Skills...

On behalf of the Ontario Association of Art Galleries and the Visual Arts Sector, Executive Director Zainub Verjee wrote to the Honourable Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries with recommendations on how the Government of Ontario can support Public Art Galleries during this critical time....

Why Museums Can’t Always Fall Back on Endowments The COVID-19 pandemic may be an opportunity to look transparently at museum endowments and their limitations, and consider the need for alternative sources of support in the months to come. “When ROM laid off full-time staff, it made news and people...

Statistics Canada is conducting a survey to measure the impact of COVID-19 on businesses in Canada. Your information may also be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes. Although voluntary, participation from the visual arts sector is essential to ensure that the impact that COVID-19 has...

Survey of US Arts Organizations Points to Devastating Losses During Pandemic Based on its findings, Americans for the Arts estimates nearly $5 billion in losses across the US’s 120,492 arts nonprofits. (via Hyperallergic)...

‘There Is No Support System’: Art Handlers, the Invisible Muscle of the Multibillion-Dollar Art Industry, Face an Uncertain Future as Work Vanishes Art handlers have been hit particularly hard by COVID-19, revealing inequities and vulnerabilities that existed long before lockdown. (via Artnet)...

Sobey Art Award Gives Longlisted Artists $25,000 Each and Cancels Single-Winner Approach for 2020 The Sobey Art Foundation and National Gallery of Canada announced that, rather than choosing a shortlist of five artists and then a single $100,000 winner, it will give $25,000 to each of the 25 artists...

The Art World Has Agonized Over Its Reliance on Airplanes. But That’s the Wrong Way to Think About Reducing Carbon Emissions There are far better ways to focus our anti-carbon efforts. (via artnet)...

OAAG Advocating for the Visual Arts Sector in COVID19 Crisis Ontario Association of Art Galleries (OAAG) is the leading voice of the Public Art Galleries in advocacy to the government and its agencies represents over 270 members belonging to the Public Art Galleries sector across 63 communities throughout the...

IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 14, 2020 The COVID-19 Crisis has severe impact on Art Service Organizations:Over 50% Art Service Organizations will struggle to survive  To assess the impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on Art Service Organizations (ASOs), a national survey across disciplines and provinces show that almost half of the...

People Need Art in Times of Crisis. That’s Why Museums Should Be Among the First Institutions to Reopen for Business—Here’s How The cultural strategy expert Andras Szanto offers a step-by-step look at how museums could help the public regain a sense of normalcy. (via artnet)...

Close to 40 per cent of Canada’s artists and artistic organizations will need more from government to survive COVID-19: survey (via Globe and Mail)...

OAAG is working from home and working for you. We continue to be a leading voice in Canada’s cultural sector and are working to ensure your voice is represented in conversations with key stakeholders and at all levels of government. Even though our ‘offices’ may look a bit different,...

One-third of French galleries could shut before end of 2020 due to coronavirus impact (via The Art Newspaper)...

Royal Ontario Museum will lay off half of its full-time staff, reducing hours (via Globe and Mail)...

Degraded and demoralised: the arts companies left behind (via Limelight) ...