18 July 2020

THE TRIUMPHANT RETURN OF THE AGO



The Art Gallery of Ontario reopened to visitors with annual passes on July 2nd and is reopening to the public on July 23rd. I was at the AGO on the last day it was open, nearly 4 months ago on March 13th, frantically rushing to get in and gather enough information on an exhibit in order to finish a class assignment before the shutdown. And while that day feels like a lifetime ago, the AGO is still there and it is just the same. . . but also different.

I have been going to the Art Gallery of Ontario for as long as I can remember – but my return visit on July 5th was unlike any other visit I had experienced before. There were no funky modern seating options in any exhibition spaces, no children in the AGO summer camp, and no "Pop Up On the Dot" tours. What there was, however, was a plentiful number of masked visitors. Before the City of Toronto implemented a mandatory mask bylaw, the AGO had already announced that masks would be mandatory for all visitors upon the reopening. And I can confirm, I did not see even one person without a mask – or even wearing a mask improperly – for my entire visit. Every visitor services associate, security personnel, child (over the age of two), and adult, was wearing a mask of some kind. All the new rules are outlined by a unique ad campaign, featuring modified versions of some of their most famous art works.


It’s hard to believe it’s been more than three months since we last saw you at the AGO. We’re beyond thrilled to announce that we’re re-opening on July 2 to AGO Members and Annual Pass Holders and on July 23 to everyone purchasing single tickets. Members will be able to book timed-entry tickets starting June 25 and Annual Pass Holders starting June 26. Timed-entry single tickets can be purchased starting July 16. We‘re taking our advice from health officials and will be implementing some new health and safety measures and strict capacity limits so that we can all stay safe while seeing our favorite art again. • Here’s what you need to know about visiting the AGO during this period: ⏰ We will be open Thursday through Sunday, from 10:30 AM to 5 PM 👥 Only AGO Members and AGO Annual Pass Holders can visit starting July 2. We open to the public on July 23. If you’re not a Member or Annual Pass holder, it’s not too late to sign up! 💻 Timed tickets must be booked in advance. Tickets will NOT be available onsite. 😷↔️😷All staff and visitors are required to wear a mask and adhere to social distancing. 🤒 If you are feeling unwell - please stay home. Staff will do the same. 🧼We have increased our cleaning schedule and will be disinfecting high touch and high traffic areas multiple times a day. ❤️ We cannot wait to welcome you back - we’ve missed you!
A post shared by Art Gallery of Ontario (@agotoronto) on

To visit the AGO, you now must book a timed entry ticket online through their website in advance, then download it to a device, or print out the ticket to bring with you. Upon arrival, visitors are greeted at the Dundas Street entrance with the banners bearing some incredible “AGO From Home” recreations of famous artworks.  Behind the banner posts is a spotted line of 6-foot spaced, social-distancing stickers – the same ones that we see in every store, sidewalk, and public indoor space. The line leads to one opened doorway, monitored by a staff member wearing a face shield. Inside, you follow the stickers to a staff member behind plexiglass, scan your own ticket under the machine, and enter the gallery. 


Photograph courtesy of Jessica Lanziner.

Once inside, you are barraged by a floor covered in directional stickers, with hand sanitization stations at every turn. The stairs are one way up, one way down, the elevators speckled with social distance stickers and hand sanitizer stations, and every single gallery has a panel sticker at the entrance that informs visitors of how many people are permitted in that gallery space. The special exhibitions, Diane Arbus:Photographs 1956-1971 and Illusions: The Art of Magic, are monitored by a staff member, who counts and limits the total number of visitors in the space. The magic shows in the Illusions exhibit are cancelled, leaving a hauntingly empty curtain where the magic shows used to run. Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Room is likewise closed, which while understandable, seems like a missed opportunity for an addition of masked-selfies to the visitors’ camera rolls.  

While odd, it was a welcome glimpse back to what I have been missing for months. Familiar faces and scenes looked out from frames across the galleries, remaining exactly where I remembered them to be. They remain unchanged, continuing to exist in a completely normal state, despite the lack of normalcy in the world beyond their frames. The whole experience was a breath of fresh (but mask-filtered) air. It was quiet, calm, and exactly as I remember the AGO being on a quiet day – a small number of visitors, soaking in text panels and a diverse range of art in almost complete silence. 


Photograph courtesy of Jessica Lanziner.

Once in a while, though, I couldn’t help but snap back into reality – remembering my masked self, in a room full of masked visitors, in the AGO – in the current era, perfectly normal. In my life overall, incredibly out of the ordinary.  If you want to visit yourself, you can book your tickets through the AGO’s website. Or if you want a more distanced, yet still rather different experience of it, you can watch their video that they made with the Toronto Zoo, where two tortoises demonstrate how to navigate the renovated space. I can attest, it is quite accurate to the real experience – slow and weird, yet somehow, familiar.  


Snapshot from the AGO's walk through video


No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.