UPCOMING ONLINE EVENTS TO KEEP YOU INSPIRED

Friday Special | Erika Serodio

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As Toronto settles into this new phase of pandemic lockdown, we hope you're finding ways to stay engaged and inspired in the museum world. Here are a few free events you can attend from home in the coming weeks. Stay strong, friends. There are so many real world museum experiences waiting for us on the other side. In the meantime...

Saturday, November 28th, 6:00 to 8:00 PM — Beyond the Block: A Celebration

The final event in a digital series presented by the Toronto Ward Museum will feature live music, spoken word performances, a live trivia game, and video storytelling.

Register here

Toronto Sculpture Garden | Source

Tuesday, December 1st, 1:15 to 3:00 PM —Becoming Public Art: Temporary Programming

After a historical presentation on the Toronto Sculpture Garden, major voices in temporary public art programming will discuss the significance of the project and its impact on projects that came after it.

Register here



Wednesday, December 2nd, 1:00 to 2:00 PM —Where is the love? 

The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH) has brought three artists and researchers together to discuss the exhibition Losing Venus. Through this exhibition, they will consider how ethnographic museum collections can bring emotion, intimacy, care, and love into their work. 

Register here



Thursday, December 3rd, 7:30 to 9:00 PM — A Virtual “Music in the Museum”

The American University Museum at the Kaizen Arts Centre will be live streaming an iconic bytebeat duo performance between Washington, DC and Toronto.

Register here



Friday, December 4th, 9:00 to 10:00 PM — DISplace Curator’s Talk

The Five Oaks Museum provides a platform for culturally embedded storytelling with this conversation between curators who will share personal stories alongside the research of this online exhibition.

Register here



Sunday, December 6th, 4:00 to 5:00 PM — Counter Attack: Artists and Curators Creating Change

New Wave brings together four artists and curators to discuss the roles they play in challenging dominant cultural narratives and institutional practices. 

Register here

Abstract Work by Rothko | Source

Tuesday, December 8th, 7:00 to 8:00 PM — Driven to Abstraction: A Panel Discussion on Art & Authenticity in Practice

Join what is sure to be a lively discussion with art world experts who will discuss the recent documentary Driven to Abstraction which looks at an $80 million forgery scandal in a New York City gallery.

Register here



Friday, December 11th, 9:00 to 11:00 AM — Museums and Digital Culture after the Pandemic

This online symposium will look at how museums adapted to changes during the pandemic and what the new future of digital will look like in museums after the pandemic.

Register here

FREE UPCOMING TALKS AND EVENTS THAT ARE (SHOCKINGLY) ONLINE

 Friday Special | Erika Serodio

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Lately, I’ve been trying to think about those things that were hard in a pre-pandemic world and are easier now. Things like commuting to class in the morning, spending all afternoon working in the library, and then really dreading that evening workshop or lecture I had previously added to my agenda. Sometimes I would just call it a day and go home instead of attending. I promise myself that when this is all over, I’m never going to be home again. Catch me at every social engagement, evening lecture, etc. etc., forever, for the rest of my life, cross my heart and hope to die. But until then, I’m telling myself, isn’t it nice that after a long day of sitting at my desk, I can curl up on my couch with a bowl of popcorn (glass of wine) and attend a lecture with outstanding museum professionals from all over the world? A past version of myself would have loved this. Current me – a silver lining. 

A Silver Lining | Source

Anyway, join me in making the most of this twisted world. And remember that if you make it to that zoom lecture, and you decide that A. you've been zooming enough lately, or B. it's not your thing, oops!  Technical difficulties! Back to Netflix. But I do hope you find something in this list that you enjoy. And I invite you to link to any other interesting events in the comments section. 

ETHEL and Friends: Balcony Bar from Home

Start your Friday night off right with the Met’s resident string quartet playing live in your living room:

Friday, October 23, 2020 (& every Friday for the rest of 2020)
5:00 PM – 5:30 PM EST
Free admission


Becoming Public Art: Working Models & Case Studies for Art in Public

Spend your Tuesday afternoons learning from industry experts on the forces shaping public art making today. Presented by the City of Markham and ART+PUBLIC UnLtd. 

October 13 to December 8, 2020
Every Tuesday from 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM EST
Free admission, Registration required


Rayyane Tabet / Alien Property: In Light of What We Know Now

Sit in on a conversation between Met curators and contemporary artist Rayyane Tabet as they consider how their perspectives on an exhibition have changed with respect to global events this past year. 

Wednesday, October 28, 2020
6 PM EST
Free admission, Registration required


ART CONNECTS | Fall Reading Session With Indigenous Brilliance

Join Afuwa, Emily Dundas Oke, Jónína Kirton, and Michelle Sylliboy for a poetic and artistic response to the Vancouver Art Gallery's current exhibition: Uncommon Language. 

Thursday, October 29, 2020
7 PM EST (4 PM PST)
Free admission

Innovate: Public Spaces with Silo Studio

Visit with a curator from the Victoria & Albert Museum and two London-based designers who focus on designing for community spaces. 

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

12 PM EST (5 PM UK)

Free admission

AGO Live: Brendan Fernandes: The Left Space

This choreographed performance will use the grid formation of zoom to connect a team of dancers from their homes around the world, while engaging with the language of protests in our current time of global political uprisings. An interview between the artist and curator will follow.

Friday, November 6, 2020
7 PM EST
Free admission, Registration required

OPERATING ONLINE: TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF IN A DIGITAL WORLD

GLAM Gets Mindful | Melissa Mertsis
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Welcome back to the first summer post of GLAM Gets Mindful — I'm excited to be back! In my last article, "Mitigating Loneliness by Moving Online," I shared with you some of the coolest online exhibitions, digital tours, and museum resources for curing that quarantine loneliness. Two months later,  the GLAM sector continues to operate exclusively online. Although many of us are grateful to be able to experience our favourite institutions digitally, the internet is exhausting. How do you balance staying connected to your sector while still being mindful of your well-being? 

Social media is just one way we've been able to stay connected in the GLAM sector, especially during times of distancing and isolation. Instagram has been an especially useful tool for many of our favourite institutions, providing a great platform for new online campaigns. For example, you can check out the Royal Ontario Museum's (@romtoronto) Instagram campaign "Ask ROM Anything" where they share expertise from their curators and staff, or Bata Shoe Museum's (@batashoemuseum) Trivia Thursdays. Museum twitter is also especially active and generates some incredible content (we're looking at you, Museum of English Rural Life) that you don't want to miss out on.

Told you @TheMERL's twitter was great. Go check it out!

Unfortunately, as the saying goes, you can have too much of a good thing. Social media can easily exhaust its users and cause them to feel even further away from their community. Social media fatigue results in people visiting social media less because of feelings of anxiety and overstimulation. If you're starting to feel this way, it's okay to take a step back and take a break! Museum Twitter will still be there when you get back, and you might be able to enjoy it more with a rested mind. 

Zoom and other video platforms have also become an asset for collaboration during COVID-19. Museums and other GLAM institutions have been implementing webinars and digital talks about professional development, online engagement, and more. The Group of Emerging Museum Professionals has compiled a list of online resources, including an extensive list of webinars, that you can check out here. 

Learn more about the Group of Emerging Museum Professionals here. 

Although we can learn a lot from the experts in our sector in an online webinar, it's important to consider the impact these calls have on our mental health. Zoom exhaustion is real, and the quality of our attention differs in an online lecture. Often we are multitasking while online, visually over-stimulated, and - quite frankly - that much eye contact is not normal. If you've been feeling Zoom exhausted, simple tricks like turning your camera off or relocating outside while taking a call can help you be more productive, and feel less drained. Give it a shot on your next conference call, it can make a world of a difference. 

You can also turn to the GLAM sector for assistance with mindfulness tips and tricks (while keeping the previously mentioned suggestions in mind). The Rubin Museum of Art has been sharing a number of resources on Instagram TV (@rubinmuseum) including guided curatorial object tours, musical performances, and philosophical discussions. The National Museum of Asian Art is offering free online meditation workshops with no previous experience required - take a look at their workshop schedule for the next session. Our own Inforum has also transitioned their Mindful Moments workshops to a digital format, which you can find on their Instagram  (@uoftinforum) every Wednesday. 

Times may be tough, confusing, and uncertain right now, but two things we know for sure: 

1) Pay attention to your well-being, and don't hesitate to take a break or a step back.

2) We sure are lucky to be a part of the GLAM sector. Thanks for reading everyone — until next time!

MITIGATING LONELINESS BY MOVING ONLINE

GLAM Gets Mindful | Melissa Mertsis
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Humans are inherently social creatures, but with social distancing and isolation in full swing, many of us are bound to have creeping feelings of loneliness and anxiety. These past few weeks have been a drastic change from my average social life; instead of visiting museums and galleries, I'm stranded at home, and it's only a matter of time before boredom prevails. GLAM institutions are aware of the effect that closures have on the publics that typically enjoy them, and have come up with many ways to mitigate loneliness, curb your boredom, and keep your mind active. Here are some of the coolest online activities to explore when you're feeling especially restless. 

Digital tours are a great way to satiate your need to visit your favourite museum, especially since many institutions have closed their doors. The Museum of Modern Art in New York offers more than 84,000 of its artworks through online collections; from Van Gogh to Picasso, you really can see it all from the comfort of your living room. Always wanted to see Musée d'Orsay, but never been to Paris? Never fear. You can sift through the museum's collection index to see some of your favourites (or perhaps discover a new one!) 

One of my favourite fossils at the Royal Ontario Museum - the T. Rex! You can check this guy out on the ROM's online collections page while the museum is closed. Photo Courtesy of Melissa Mertsis.

If you're more of an auditory learner, the GLAM sector's got you covered. Many institutions offer free videos on their websites, from artist interviews and exhibition previews to collection highlights. The Met Museum has over 1400 videos available to watch on their website, in addition to audio guides of different exhibitions (available in 10 languages!) Some institutions are also on YouTube. The National Gallery of Canada's YouTube channel offers short video clips about exhibition installation, the curators behind your favourite exhibits, and more. 

Social distancing also allows time for picking up a new skill or a craft. Although many museum craft tutorials tend to be geared towards children, adults are free to try too! The Children's Museum of the Arts offers free online resources for crafting, including how to emboss with foil and painting with ice cubes. The #MetKids series on YouTube offers a variety of video tutorials at different learning levels. Try your hand at weaving on a hand-made loom, or learn some comic illustration techniques - the possibilities are endless. 

I tried my hand at weaving with some help from the #MetKids YouTube series - it's for grown-ups too! Photo Courtesy of Melissa Mertsis. 

If you're worried about losing out on learning opportunities while you're at home, there are plenty of opportunities to move this learning online. For example, you could try enrolling in an online lecture series such as the one John Walsh (Director Emeritus) of the J. Paul Getty Museum offers. This lecture series on the art collection at Yale University has a "syllabus" of its own, with recorded lectures and even a suggested reading list. Just because you're not in school anymore, it doesn't mean the learning needs to stop! 

We're certainly living through an interesting period in history with many of us spending more time at home than ever. The good news is that you don't need to stop interacting with museums just because you're at home! From arts and crafts, to tutorials, to exploring a new collection - moving your discovery online is one way to mitigate loneliness and boredom in our current climate, all thanks to museums.