Provincial Update: Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020, NEW RULES FOR AREAS IN STAGE 3
A new requirement for all businesses in Ontario to screen employees for COVID-19 before entering the workplace is now in effect. An amendment was made to Ontario Regulation 364/20 “Rules for Areas in Stage 3” under the Reopening Ontario Act, which requires all places of business to comply with the advice, recommendations...
Provincial Update: Ontario Launches Recovery Program for Northern Businesses Impacted by COVID-19
Ontario Launches Recovery Program for Northern Businesses Impacted by COVID-19...
IN THE NEWS: Operators of Quebec arts and culture centres argue double standard about COVID-19 lockdown
As Montreal moves into the red zone, the final level of Quebec’s regional COVID-19 alert system, new restrictions and a partial lockdown are being put in place. (via Global News)...
IN THE NEWS: ‘Start all over again:’ Museums, galleries struggling six months into pandemic
“Instead of getting our normal 20 to 25,000 people coming through our doors in July and August, we were drastically reduced there.” (via the Leaderpost)...
OAAG/AOGA Member Monday: September 28th, 2020
Join us next Monday, September 28th for our OAAG/AOGA Member Monday Meet-up! Our Member Monday Meet-ups are an opportunity for OAAG/AOGA members to check-in with one another and discuss the challenges they are currently facing during the COVID-19 crisis. These meetings will not only offer peer-discussed solutions, but will...
IN THE NEWS: During Lockdown, the Queens Museum Became a Food Pantry. Now, It’s Reopening – and Keeping the Kitchen Intact
The pantry was organized in June in response to overwhelming need in the community. (via artnet news)...
IN THE NEWS: Does Culture Matter? New Research offers Lockdown Lessons for Museums and Cultural Attractions (UK)
Research conducted during and in the aftermath of national lockdown has produced a mix of highly predictable and quite surprising insights into how the British public’s expectations of museums and cultural attractions have changed. (via Museums + Heritage Advisor)...
Speech from the Throne: Governor General Julie Payette
On September 22, 2020, Governor General Julie Payette delivered the Speech from the Throne, “this is not the time for austerity … Canadians should not have to choose between health and their job, just like Canadians should not have to take on debt that their government can better shoulder”....
IN THE NEWS: The New Innovators: Cuseum Founder Brendan Ciecko on How Museums Can Up Their Digital Game Without Paying an Arm and a Leg
Ciecko explains how his startup helped museums embrace modern technology, and what opportunities lie ahead. (via artnet news)...
IN THE NEWS: As the world contends with Covid, World Monuments Fund makes a bet on sustainable tourism
Taking a lesson from how the pandemic dispersed crowds, the organisation selects seven sites for preservation and promotion (via The Art Newspaper)...
2020 OAAG/AOGA Awards Nomination Package
The Ontario Association of Art Galleries (OAAG) has proudly celebrated excellence in Ontario’s public art galleries through the annual OAAG/AOGA Awards, a keystone event in our cultural calendar. By now, planning for the 2020 awards season should be well underway; however, the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated a few changes....
IN THE NEWS: 37% of Major Galleries Cut Staff During the Pandemic
A new survey by Art Basel and UBS that looks at the pandemic’s impact on galleries found sizable staff cuts, including at galleries with net profits of $10 million or more....
OAAG/OAGA Member Monday: September 14th, 2020
Join us next Monday, September 14th for our OAAG/AOGA Member Monday Meet-up! Our Member Monday Meet-ups are an opportunity for OAAG/AOGA members to check-in with one another and discuss the challenges they are currently facing during the COVID-19 crisis. These meetings will not only offer peer-discussed solutions, but will...
IN THE NEWS: Exhibitions during COVId-19: Museums turn to ‘virtual couriers’ to protect unchaperoned art
To overcome travel restrictions, registrars are using Zoom and other technologies to monitor works on loan remotely (via The Art Newspaper)...
IN THE NEWS: It is not just artists who are starving: how the US can rebuild its creative industry post-Covid
A proposal issued to both presidential campaigns by Americans for the Arts outlines a national strategy to put creative workers back to work. (via the Art Newspaper)...
IN THE NEWS: French Art Museums Get a Big Boost From the Government’s New $2.4 Billion Rescue Package for the Culture Sector
The Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, and the Centre Pompidou are among the institutions that stand to benefit. (via Artnet News)...
OAAG E.D., Zainub Verjee, in the National Post
An excerpt: In the world of Canadian art galleries, the pandemic brought financial havoc, personal stress and organizational chaos. Exhibits years in the making closed suddenly or never opened. Travelling shows were put off or cancelled. For months, in most parts of the country, patrons couldn’t come inside. Ontario...
IN THE NEWS: UK museums are back open – but visitors are staying away
Our data shows that most major London art museums had many available booking slots for next-day entry despite operating reduced capacity (via The Art Newspaper)...
IN THE NEWS: Museums Are Being Tasked with Radically Transforming the Way They Work. Here are 6 Practical Steps They Can Take to Do That
Institutions across the US are facing unprecedented pressure to reform. But many remain tied to models that need to be reimagined. (via ArtNet News)...
IN THE NEWS: Plexiglass. Temperature Guns. Sanitizing Stations. Here’s What It’s Like to Visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art Right Now – and Why Staff Still have Concerns
Visitors are excited about the reopening, but some workers still feel uneasy. (via ArtNet news)...
OAAG/AOGA JOB OPENING: Communications/Public Relations and Special Projects Assistant (YCW-BCH)
ONE POSITION: Communications/Public Relations and Special Projects Assistant (27.5 weeks contract) CONTRACT: September 14, 2020 – March 31, 2021, 9.30 am-4.30 pm, Monday to Friday (27.5 weeks for 30 hours per week) COMPENSATION: $17/hour APPLICATION DEADLINE: September 4, 2020LOCATION: Remote due to COVID-19 until OAAG deems it safe to return to officeOntario Association...
IN THE NEWS: It’s a constant battle to keep Canada’s museums afloat. COVID-19 has made it worse
A lot can go wrong in a museum that’s been shut down. Moths can get into textiles. A change in temperature or humidity can make mummies leak fluids. Museums in the U.S., Canada and Australia have reported break-ins — a Van Gogh was stolen from a Dutch art museum...
IN THE NEWS: ‘Do Less, Better’: 4 Lessons I Learned about Leading Cultural Institutions Before the Pandemic That are Even More Relevant Today
Dia Art Foundation director Jessica Morgan reflects on insights gleaned during the Verbier Art Summit in February. (via Artnet News)...
IN THE NEWS: ICOM in turmoil after row over new definition of museums
Wrangling over “ideological” text prompts resignations from International Council of Museums (via The Art Newspaper)...
GOG Members Reopening Directory
This list is updated as of August 06, 2020. OPENED: Abbozzo Gallery Agnes Etherington Art Centre Art Gallery of Algoma Art Gallery of Burlington Art Gallery of Guelph Art Gallery of Hamilton Art Gallery of Northumberland Art Gallery of Ontario Art Gallery of Peterborough Art Gallery of Sudbury |...
IN THE NEWS: How the Pandemic Has Highlighted a Crisis in Contemporary Museums
In researching three Indiana institutions, it is clear that the lockdown has exacerbated trends in the museum field such as a lack of relevance to the general public and increasing reliance on private philanthropy. (via Hyperallergic)...
OAAG/AOGA 2021 Pre-Budget Submission to Government of Canada
The last five months have undoubtedly brought unprecedented change to Canada’s art landscape. Prior to March, the arts in Canada were in a precarious state; and the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed that instability even further. During this time, OAAG/AOGA’s pre-budget submission to the Government of Canada in advance of...
OAAG/AOGA Member Monday Virtual Meeting: August 10, 2020
Join us on Monday, August 10, 2020 for our OAAG/AOGA Member Monday! Topic 1: Ask an Auditor David Burkes, Chartered Accountant is here to answer your questions! David will be available for the first half of our Member Monday to ask any general questions about accounting and your audit...
IN THE NEWS: Despite Bans on Public Gatherings, Marc Glimcher’s New ‘Superblue’ Initiative Is Launching a Series of Venues Dedicated to Big, Immersive Art
In addition to commission fees, artists will share part of the profits from ticket sales. (via Artnet News)...
IN THE NEWS: Deadline Explosion in Beirut Decimates Thousands of Buildings, Including Galleries and Museums
In the wake of the massive explosion, which killed at least 135 people, art institutions in Beirut are banding together to help protect collections and offer storage. (via Hyperallergic)...