FEMINIZING COLLECTIONS? LOOKING AT WOMEN'S PLACES IN ART COLLECTIONS IN TORONTO AND BEYOND

She's My Muse | Joanna Wreakes

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Wall text from Mickalene Thomas: Femmes Noir at the AGO this past winter. Photo courtest of Joanna Wreakes.

Recently, the Baltimore Art Museum has made headlines for this announcement - they will only acquire work by women artists in 2020. The decision came following the disappointing results of the survey done by artnet News, which showed only 11% of all acquisitions and 14% of exhibitions at 26 prominent American museums over the past decade were works by female artists. These stats get even worse when we consider intersectionality - African American woman artists made up only 3.3% of the women artists who's works were acquired by these American institutions (source)

Disappointing but not surprising, right?

Accurate depiction of me reading the artnet survey results. Source.

The director of the Baltimore Art Museum, Christopher Bedford, addressed the announcement with this quote: “You don’t purchase one painting by a female artist of color and hang it on the wall next to a painting by Mark Rothko. To rectify centuries of imbalance, you have to do something radical.” On top of this collections decision, the Baltimore Art Museum is also focusing the exhibition programming on women artists and women-centric exhibitions.

Guerrilla Girls’ Do Women Have to be Naked to Get into the Met. Museum? (ca. 1989). Source.

This got me thinking, what are local institutions here in Toronto doing to address this imbalance?

Exhibition view of Femmes Noir at the AGO.
Photo courtesy of Joanna Wreakes.

In the spring of 2019 the AGO announced that they would be deaccessioning and auctioning off 20 works by Group of Seven member A.Y. Jackson. This caused enough of a stir in the public that the CBC actually published an article explaining deaccessioning and some reasons why the practice is carried out by museums and cultural institutions - it’s a great read for anyone who’s not familiar with the practice! The article also quotes curator of Canadian and Indigenous Art, Georgiana Uhlyarik discussing what the AGO would do with the money from auctioning off these pieces - it is designated for the purchase of new works for the Canadian and Indigenous collection. Ideally, these new purchases will reflect a more diverse collection for the AGO with works by women and particularly women of colour, but only time will tell.




I am hopeful that the AGO is on their way to including more women in both their permanent collection and feature exhibitions though. Last year the gallery hosted the first large-scale solo exhibition in Canada by American Artist Mickalene Thomas - Mickalene Thomas: Femmes Noirs. Currently, there are two feature exhibitions showing the work of local and international women artists - Hito Steyerl: This is the Future and Sandra Brewster: Blur. Never mind the recent acquisition of “Let’s Survive Forever”, an iconic infinity room by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama.

Results of the survery undertaken by artnet News and In Other Words. Source.

Just a few blocks north of the AGO, the Gardiner Museum is also putting a focus on women artists. This month the International Ceramic Art Fair focused on showcasing “outstanding Canadian women-identified artists”. Also currently on display in the museum’s lobby is Kali Spitzer: Sister (in conjunction with Cannupa Hanska Luger: Every One). The two works address the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, queer, and trans community members.

What examples have you seen here in Toronto (and beyond!) of feminizing museum collections? What is the next step museum professionals and visitors alike can take to continue to address this inequality in our collections and programming?

MANSPLAINING THE MUSEUM

She's My Muse | Joanna Wreakes

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Hey Musings, Joanna here! I’m so honoured to be taking over the She’s My Muse column from my colleague Samantha - if you haven’t had a chance to check out what she wrote over the summer I would highly recommend it. I found so much inspiration in her articles, especially 30 Female Artists to Feature in Your Future Museums, where Samantha discusses so many talented women from all around the world!

The author during Nuit Blanche. Photo courtesy of Cher-Ann Chai

I’ll also admit, I was a bit apprehensive taking on such an important column - there are big shoes to fill and I found myself wondering what exactly I would write about. The idea for this article stemmed from a personal experience I had recently and after talking with my friends and colleagues realized it wasn’t so rare.

Have you ever been to Nuit Blanche Toronto? The all-night art festival happens annually here in Toronto with amazing installations across the city. This year I was lucky enough to check out the sites on Sterling Road and near Fort York with a good pal. It was an inspiring evening full of intriguing installations, fellow art lovers, and sardined streetcars in the middle of the night.

The scene of the crime, so to speak, was a work by local artist Shay Salehi. Standing Still (Walking Composition) invited viewers to contemplate what it means to “make progress” or “move forward”.

Standing Still, 2018 from shay salehi (source.)

Upon entering the room to view the work, it was quite crowded. Rather than follow the crowd of people I moved in the opposite direction towards a part of the room where there was space to stand and observe. When I did this, an older man I had never seen before took it upon himself to try and explain that I was going the “wrong way” and if I followed them I would be walking in the same direction of the character depicted in the work. I was taken aback at why this person thought it necessary to explain this to me - my first major incident of mansplaining in the art and museum world.

Mansplaining is a combination of the words “man” and “explain” and the phenomenon is by no means exclusive to the museum world. Women and nonbinary folks have shared their experiences with the term across professional disciplines. This BBC article does a really succinct job of summing mansplaining and includes this handy chart:

Mansplaining explained. Source.

I brought this experience up with friends and colleagues in the Museum Studies, and found that many of them had similar stories, both as museum visitors and professionals. One colleague, a collections assistant in a sports institution, talks about how people doubt her knowledge purely based on her gender.

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A post shared by The Wing (@the.wing) on Oct 11, 2019 at 6:01am PDT

Have any readers had a similar experience? Or realized you were an inadvertent mansplainer? What do you think we can do to combat the issue of mansplaining in the museum (and beyond)?

TEACHING AND LEARNING AS INTERNS: FROM TORONTO TO NAPLES

 Internship Check-In | Joanna Wreakes

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Hello Pals, back again for another Internship Check-In. I’m super stoked to share what some of my colleagues are up to in the diverse roles they’re tackling for their internships. Read on to grab a small taste of the kinds of work an MMSt internship can lead to!

In this edition we'll be hearing from:

Amelia Smith: Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, Toronto, ON

Defne Inceoglu: Lambton House (Heritage York), Toronto, ON

Revital Weiss: Koffler Gallery, Toronto, ON

Selin Kahramanoglu: Colegio Oficial de Doctores y Licenciados en Filosofia y Letras y Ciencias de Valiencia y Castellon,  Naples, Italy

This photo featuring Lambton House juxtaposes the historic and modern found all around Toronto. Source.

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your internship role.

Amelia: I'm Amelia and I have been interning at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre as a research assistant. The JCCC has begun redesigning their permanent exhibition on Japanese diaspora, and I've been taken on to research Japanese migration into Imperial Manchuria.

Defne: Defne Inceoglu here, I’m the archives and records intern at Lambton House, which is a historic house run by the charity Heritage York. While my title says archives and records, I’m ALSO a collections manager, library cataloger, website designer, photographer, policy writer, exhibition designer, provenance researcher, cleaner, resident neighbourhood expert, admin worker… I wear a lot of fun, fun hats.

Revital: My name is Revital and I’m an urban-planner-turned-Museum-Studies-student. This summer, I’m working as a Gallery Education Assistant at the Koffler Gallery, a contemporary art gallery. Together with a devoted education team, I am responsible for making our summer show accessible to our diverse visitors through engaging tours and conversation. I also help create and facilitate workshops that highlight some major themes in the exhibition, and research for the development of education packages.

Selin: I am entering my third year in the CDP (Combined Degree) program this September, with a concentration in Archives and Records Management. I had the great fortune of joining a dig in Naples this summer. My internship role is to clean, label, store, and inventory all of the artifacts recovered from our excavation site in Pompeii, for the local museum's use.

Defne in the Blue Room at Lambton House, surrounded by the library to be catalogued. Photo courtesy of Defne Inceoglu.

What is a typical day like at your institution?

Amelia: My average day is not very exciting to write about. Most days consist of endless reading and making as many notes as I think necessary. I usually get in at 8:30 AM and the reading doesn't stop until around 4:30 PM (excluding a break for lunch around 12/12:30 PM).

If feel I need a break from reading, I will usually go on a search for artefacts that could make it into my section of the exhibition. As I cannot read Japanese, the places I can search are limited. Nevertheless, I have been able to find a load of excellent items through The Library of Congress and Harvard Libraries.

Defne: My day starts early in the morning, as I throw my thermos of coffee into my backpack and take my bike ride through High Park/the Humber River trails and the surrounding neighbourhood. The Humber River and the former City of York is incredibly important to us at Heritage York, our mandate is centered around the history of this area. Plus, the exhibition I am designing is about the City of York. I like to spend time every morning getting to know the neighbourhood better. Once I get to work, I start up on one of my projects. I type-type away at my desk. We open to the public around 12:30-1 PM until around 3:30 or 4. At this time myself or the other intern (CDP student Devin Benczik!) will greet people, chat and give tours. However, much of my day is spent at my desk, cataloging books or objects, writing copy for my exhibition, researching provenance or designing the website.

Revital: Each day is slightly different and there have been phases of work throughout the internship. Ahead of the exhibition opening, my typical day was spent on various activities related to the summer show, like helping complete the education package used for tours, building the summer workshops, and reaching out to cultural and academic organizations to offer a tour and workshop.

Selin: Typically, we leave our residence by 7:00 AM and head to the dig site. I gather all the materials excavated the day before, and take the boxes to another on site lab. There, the materials undergo general conservation treatment and are recorded. In the evenings, our team has a debriefing, or we tour another local site, before having dinner by 9:00 PM!

Amelia looking beautiful in yukata at the JCCC's Natsu Matsuri. Photo courtesy of Amelia Smith.

Is there anything that’s surprised you about your internship?

Amelia: I was surprised by how quickly I started locating artefacts that could make it into the exhibition. Within my first couple of weeks, I had found a book at Downsview library that I felt would be perfect. Granted, about a week later I realized that books from the first half of the 20th century might not be the best choice for a permanent exhibition at the JCCC, but you win some, you lose some.

Defne: I am surprised at how trusting and supportive my supervisors are. As a volunteer Board, they care very much about their work and in return they care very much about us interns. They let me run around with my ambitions and guide my ideas without restricting the limitations. It has been a fun process getting to create my own projects and implement them. Their expertise and kindness has been very valuable.

Revital: I am surprised about the level of autonomy I have been given and the amount of responsibility with which I have been entrusted. My supervisor is always available to answer questions and checks in occasionally, but I am mostly self-monitoring to complete my tasks. I am especially surprised and appreciate that my supervisor has faith in the work I produce and accepts ideas that I bring to the table.

Selin: I was surprised to learn that my supervisor was willing to take my advice in regards to improving some workplace practices. Mostly, the project is well-organized and progressing smoothly, but I was able to make some suggestions about better practices. For example, I've been helping with improving the code of the photographs in the hard drive so that they're easier to find, using archival standards.

Selin hard at work cleaning artifacts excavated from the dig in Naples. Photo courtesy of Selin Kahramanoglu.

What are you excited about accomplishing throughout your internship?

Amelia: I'm excited to write the essay that will be the basis for my portion of the exhibition. With the amount of time I have put into the research and the multiple dimensions I have imagined for it, I am confident this will be an essay unlike any other I've written in the past. And that is exciting to me.

Defne: I am excited to lock down the accession and storage frameworks that I am currently helping to develop and/or improve. It has been a fun, challenging process. We are currently getting ready to start accessioning more of the objects in the collection. The best part about this is the provenance research. I have been doing a big research project on a William Notman/John Arthur Fraser painting that we have. It's like playing detective and I am excited for what else is left to be turned up.

Revital: The Koffler maintains ideals of social justice, equality and inclusivity. I am most excited about fulfilling this mandated practice and have already done so through giving tours that highlight the need for social change, providing arts programming to children in underserved communities, and contributing to a lecture about erased art history that centres on marginalized and oppressed communities. I very much look forward to continuing this social practice both at the Koffler and future workplaces.

Selin: I'm most excited about seeing the full lifecycle of these artifacts. So far, these very interesting objects have been recovered after thousands of years, cleaned like new, catalogued, and shipped to the museum. I'd like to know more about how the museum displays these objects, and how they hope to tell the story of Pompeii, using our archaeological data and modern exhibition techniques.

Revital leading some young visitors through a guided meditation. Photo courtesy of Revital Weiss.

Do you have any words of wisdom for someone entering a similar position?


Amelia: Don't be afraid to see where a position will take you. I knew nothing about the Japanese occupation of Manchuria before I started this position, and now I've got Manchurian postcards indelibly burned into my mind's eye for all eternity.

Defne: Pacing your work is important. It can get a bit hectic with lots of projects on the go, so remember to take your time and plan accordingly.

Also, when you work in a food desert, don’t forget to pack your lunch!

Revital: The best tours are those that feel like a conversation, so ask your audience questions and listen when they have something on their mind; you will not only learn new pieces of information that you can incorporate into the show, but your day will go by much faster when you treat visitors like friends!

Selin: Don't be afraid to speak up. You are more qualified than you realize, and you've got some great ideas to offer. Keep an open mind when it comes to learning something new, but don't forget that you might end up being a teacher too!
 
The interviews have been edited for length and clarity. 

Edit: A previous version of this article linked Selin's internship to Archaeological Institute of America. This has since been updated to accurately reflect the organization she is working with. 

INVENTORYING, EXHIBITION BUILDING, AND STAYING WARM IN COLLECTIONS

Internship Check-In | Joanna Wreakes

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Welcome back to another edition of Internship Check-In! Today’s column takes us across the country from Saskatchewan to Ontario with 4 interviews. Keep reading to see what MMSt students have been up to this summer!

Sam Richardson: The Ontario Regiment (RCAC) Museum, Oshawa, ON

Julie Suh: Heritage Services, City of Richmond Hill, ON

Matthew Dominico: Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto, ON

Ally Forand: Western Development Museum (WDM), Saskatoon, SK

Doorway details at the Hockey Hall of Fame, where one of our interns is spending their summer. Source.

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your internship role. 

Sam: My name is Sam Richardson, and for my summer internship I am working as an assistant curator at the Ontario Regiment (RCAC) Museum in Oshawa, Ontario. My responsibilities are typical of an assistant curator, like making exhibits, giving tours, and helping people with research, but those “other duties as assigned” come up a lot too.

Julie: Hi, I am Julie! I am currently working at the City of Richmond Hill’s Heritage Services as a Curatorial Attendant. I am on the Collections team within the Heritage Services. I mostly manage the City’s Heritage, Sports Hall of Fame, Public Art, and Archaeological collections. Besides the collections management, I also assist with exhibition planning and installations.

Matthew: Hey guys, my name is Matthew Dominico and I am completing my internship at the Hockey Hall of Fame in downtown Toronto. I work in the exhibitions department as a researcher and writer for upcoming exhibits. The department is small but it is directly responsible for everything that goes on display within the museum from full size exhibits to individual artifacts.

Ally: I’m Ally, and I am working as a collections assistant at the Western Development Museum (WDM) in Saskatoon, SK.

Julie at work with the City of Richmond Hill's Heritage Service. Photo courtesy of Julie Suh.

 What is a typical day like at your institution? 

Sam: There is no such thing as a “typical day” at this museum, and that is exactly what I like about it. My day can range from exciting to mundane and back again. In the morning, I could be helping the head curator install a new exhibit on the War in Afghanistan. After lunch, I could be suiting up in waterproof gear to hose down a Soviet Cold War tank for a movie shoot. On the odd occasion, I may even drive something. And after that, I could be helping someone find out what Grandpa did in the Second World War.

Julie: Since there are two other Curatorial Attendants whom I work with, we all take turns in our rotating job stations. So, my duties vary every day. But mostly, I start my day by logging onto a computer, open PastPerfect and database artifacts (many artifacts!). Then in the afternoon, I would sometimes catalogue or take professional photographs of artifacts or plan/install exhibitions.

Matthew: I begin my day at the Hall by checking the museum floor. I take a walk around every case and display making sure that all of the lights are on, the artifacts are still in place, and the captions are straight and properly secured. If I find anything out of place in the case, I simply open it up and fix it. I then begin work on whatever project I happen to be working on. We have a number of exhibits currently planned that I am in the process of researching and writing for so it just depends on which one I feel like working on right away. I continue to work on that during the day, switching exhibits from time to time. I also complete any small tasks that my boss asks me to do. Around 4pm I pack up my stuff and head home.

Ally: Most days I am inventorying artifacts, which includes photographing, describing and reporting on their description. Since the WDM is so collaborative every day is a little different. For instance, I worked with the curatorial and marketing department to write an article about my work! Also, this past week I have worked with the exhibition team to install “The Saskatchewan Doukhobor Living Book Project” exhibit.

Matthew with arguably the most well-known artifact at the Hockey Hall of Fame. Photo courtesy of Matthew Dominico.

Is there anything that’s surprised you about your internship?

Sam: With how unpredictable each day can be, I have learned to let nothing surprise me about this
job. I take everything in stride as it happens, go with the flow, and see where the excitement takes me.

Julie: The fact that my supervisor, the Collections Supervisor, is a part-time staff who only works 22 hours a week when myself and two other Curatorial Attendants work full time surprised me the most. This was not only surprising but also worrisome as it indicates fewer stable (full-time) cultural heritage jobs in municipalities.

Matthew: Being that this is my second time working with this department, not too much has surprised me. I guess the sheer amount of work that goes into building an exhibit from the ground up is something that always surprises me. Even when it is simply switching out teams in a particular showcase, the effort to really make the exhibit memorable is something that I relish doing because the impact is immediate when you see a fan taking it all in.

Ally: I was surprise by the degree of teamwork at the WDM! Since the institution is on the smaller size you know what people are working on and they are more than willing to share their knowledge with you.

Was Ally transported to the 1910's?! Nope! She is strolling down the Boom Town exhibit at the WDM. Photo courtesy of Ally Forand. 

What are you excited about accomplishing throughout your internship? 

Sam: I am excited to finally finish up an exhibit on military badges that I have had to put off for over a year because of constant delays. There are 219 badges to go in that exhibit and finishing it will be immensely satisfying.

Julie: Digitizing artifacts on PastPerfect was something that I have not had a chance to learn in school. Learning how to use PastPerfect makes me feel like a real “emerging museum professional.” I am also excited to plan and install an exhibition from the ground up for a community centre in Richmond Hill at the end of the summer.

Matthew: The project I am most excited about finishing is the Stanley Cup Vault renovation project. The Hockey Hall of Fame is partially housed inside the old Bank of Montreal building at Yonge and Front. The historic bank holds the honoured members plaques and the NHL’s individual trophies. It also holds hockey’s holy grail, the original Stanley Cup bowl. The bowl is kept in the old bank vault which was last renovated in 1993, the year the Hall opened downtown. This summer I will be working on the revitalization of that vault and I am very excited to get started.

Ally: The accomplishment I am most proud of during my internship is gaining technical skills to accompany the academic knowledge I am learning from the MMSt program. I think these skills are acquired with time, but I cannot imagine a better place to learn them or better role models to shadow.

Sam at his internship labelling military badges for installation in a future exhibition. Photo courtesy of Sam Richardson.

Do you have any words of wisdom for someone entering a similar position?


Sam: Be prepared to “mount up and move out” for anything on the job and see where it takes you.

Julie: It is such a cliche but don’t be afraid! Just explore, try, and ask everything and anything you would like to learn. Another word of wisdom: bring your thickest winter cardigan. Artifact storage is SUPER cold and gets colder as summer weather heats up. I mean a colder storage room is better for artifacts and we all want to create the ultimate environmental conditions for artifacts, right?

Matthew: I would have to say to anyone coming into a similar position as me, to be open to doing everything. Making yourself invaluable is the best thing you can do in this kind of work because it shows that you are willing to do whatever is required of you and more. You just never know where these jobs will take you.

Ally: I recommend taking chances, which is scary because you are an emerging professional, but now is the time to make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, and grow. You’ll be a better person and professional for it.

The interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

IDENTITY, REPRESENTATION, AND INDIGENEITY: ART IN THE HOSPITAL

Exhibition Reviews | Joanna Wreakes 

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For this Exhibition Review we venture out west to Edmonton and the McMullen Gallery, located inside the University of Alberta Hospitals. An intriguing space, the free public gallery looks to reach a wide audience including medical staff, patients, and the greater public. Currently showing at McMullen Gallery is The Future All At Once, a solo exhibition of work by Lauren Crazybull, Alberta’s first provincial Artist in Residence.

View of The Future All At Once in Edmonton's McMullen Gallery. Photo courtesy of Joanna Wreakes

The exhibition features 10 portraits she completed during a recent residency at McLuhan House in Edmonton. Each portrait represents someone that the artist knows personally.

With windows facing into the hospital, Crazybull’s vibrant work draws in visitors passing by who may not have realized that the gallery was there at all!

Looking into the gallery from the hospital's main hallway. Photo courtesy of Joanna Wreakes

Upon entering, viewers are immediately greeted by a large introductory text panel, featuring a reproduction of one of the portraits in the exhibition and the same bright colours found throughout. The introductory panel was written by the artist. In it, she speaks of using portraiture to confront (mis)representation of Indigenous peoples. The title of the exhibition, The Future All At Once, was inspired by thinking both back to her childhood and towards shaping Indigenous Futures - on this topic the artist says "today is a future for our past selves."

The artist and Tyler Sherard, executve director of Friends of University of Alberta Hospitals and McMullen Gallery, work on installation of the exhibition while being filmed by a local journalist. Photo courtesy of Joanna Wreakes.

The majority of works in the exhibition are acrylic on unstretched canvas and all are unframed. Each piece is installed in such a way that it appears to be almost floating off of the walls. By not installing the artworks flat to the wall, beautiful shadows and slightly curled edges of the canvas are visible. The effects that are created here only add to the depth of the work. Though the gallery is relatively small, it’s easy to lose track of time gazing at the expressive portraits.

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🗣 My show is up at @mcmullengallery until August 4th! Hope to see you at the opening reception this Thursday at 7:30 💌

A post shared by Lauren Crazybull (@elceebee) on Jun 10, 2019 at 12:04pm PDT

Crazybull's work is also extremely appropriate considering the location of McMullen Gallery and mandate of the Friends of University Hospitals, the non-profit that overseas the gallery, collection, and other arts programming in the hospital. The benefit of art on people's wellness is beginning to be discussed in both the arts and healthcare realms - remember when the news broke about doctors prescribing museum and art gallery visits? The bright colours and use of portraiture in this setting can be extremely beneficial in aiding patient, staff, and visitor well-being. 

"Power and Vulnerability" by Lauren Crazybull. Photo courtesy of Joanna Wreakes.

Crazybull will also be completing a short residency at McMullen Gallery during the exhibition. From July 24th to 26th, she will be working in the gallery from 1 to 3 each day. Members of the public are encouraged to visit during this residency to see the exhibition and engage with the artist.

To finish this review, a powerful quote from the artist that is included in the introductory text:

“I believe that our choice to be vulnerable in our healing & uprising has created power."

"Self Portrait" by Lauren Crazybull. Photo courtesy of Joanna Wreakes.

The Future All At Once opened on June 8th and runs until August 4th. If you find yourself in the Edmonton area make sure to take a trip to McMullen Gallery to see it!

RESEARCH, NETWORKING, AND SNACKS: INTERNSHIP CHECK-IN 2019

Internship Check-In | Joanna Wreakes

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Welcome to the first edition of Internship Check-In for 2019. This summer we've got MMSt students working all over Canada (and beyond) and I am so excited to be able to share what they're up to with all of you!

Our brave interns who have agreed to be interviewed will be asked five questions:

1. Please introduce yourself & tell us about your internship role
2. What is a typical day like at your institution?
3. Is there anything that’s surprised you about your internship?
4. What are you excited about accomplishing throughout your internship?
5. Do you have any words of wisdom for someone entering a similar position?

This post features:

Savannah Sewell: Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, ON

Emma Puddicombe: The Canadian War Musuem, Ottawa, ON

Jordan Fee: Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON

Erin Stodola: Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON

Toronto's AGO - where two of this edition's interns are working! Source.

Please introduce yourself & tell us about your internship role.

Savannah: Hi there, my name is Savannah Sewell and I am completing my summer internship in the marketing department at the Aga Khan Museum. My role here is a little bit of everything. The marketing department is made up of seven individuals, including myself who range from designer to social media coordinator. The role I play, specifically, usually incorporates a bit of all of the marketing and communications jobs together. For example, my project for this internship is to prepare the social media campaign for the fifth anniversary of the Aga Khan Museum. This project will narrate the impact of the museum and hopefully engage new visitors.

Emma: My name is Emma Puddicombe, and I’m currently completing my internship at the Canadian War Museum in the Education, Creative Development and Learning Department (ECDL) and I love it! This department is responsible for creating public and educational programming for the institutions as well as exhibition development for the whole institution. The programs the staff work on include tours of the museum, theatrical orientations (mini skits presented to schools by staff in character), and the Supply Line Discovery Boxes. My role in this internship is to help out with various projects, such as developing condition tracking tools for the Supply Line Discovery Boxes (the staff simply call them ‘kits’), helping with planning and operations for the Historical Thinking Summer Institute, and also helping with planning for the family-targeted series, “Awesome Sundays”.

Jordan: My name is Jordan Fee, and I am currently working as an Exhibition and Publishing Intern at the Art Gallery of Toronto. The department that I work in is under the umbrella of Curatorial Affairs, and my supervisor is Jim Shedden.

Erin: I’m Erin! I am the Curatorial Intern of Indigenous + Canadian Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Which means: I help the Assistant Curator of Indigenous + Canadian Art, Renée van der Avoird (an MMSt Alumni!), with research tasks and projects, among other things. These vague-sounding tasks and projects are things like researching a work of art that the AGO wants to acquire, preparing reports for Cultural Property Export Permits, writing text briefs that will turn into didactics, cross-referencing sources to prove a contested date on an artwork and anything else Renée needs a hand with. Donald the librarian and I are good friends! While these are the main things I have been working on, Renée has been so generous to include me in departmental meetings, conservation demonstrations, installation supervision, trips to the vault, acquisition committee meetings, watching a Renoir being packed for travel... and the list truly goes on.

Emma & colleagues at the Canadian War Museum recreated this photo from the Second World War for #MuseumsWeek. Photo courtesy of Emma Puddicombe.

What is a typical day like at your institution?

Savannah: A typical day at the Aga Khan Museum begins with logging in and answering any emails that have come up. Most of the staff here works later than I do (I rather coming in earlier), so sometimes there are a few things to catch up on. After that is finished, I check up on our Monday.com checklist and begin one of the tasks that have been assigned to me. These tasks range from packaging donation requests, archiving collateral, and writing copy for events on our website. As the day continues, I am usually a part of one or two meetings, the staff here is very welcoming and often invite me to sit in, in order to expose me to as much of the institution as possible. The tasks continue through the day, sometimes new ones getting assigned as we go. The great thing about this department is that the constant collaboration between people allows me to challenge myself and learn new skills every day.

Emma: A typical day for me begins with arriving at my little cubicle (which I did not think I was going to have) and turning on my computer. Almost everything at the institution is done online, such as scheduling, planning meetings, sending files, etc. First thing in the morning I always look to see what new emails I have (regarding meetings, readings about projects, etc.) and what my schedule for the day is. From there, my day usually involves shadowing meetings and working on various projects. I always love attending the meetings because they give me a better insight into what projects the department is working on. Sometime, I’m even asked my own opinion on how to move forward with certain decisions (minor ones, like “Do you think this is a good photo to include in the Supply Line kits?”). The projects I’m working on include my own Big Project (more info below), and also smaller tasks that permanent staff just need taken off their own plates (eg. data entry and organization). This part of the day is always so great because I actually feel like I am contributing in the department. The last notable thing about my ‘typical day at my institution,’ is lunch. The majority of the staff take lunch at the same time each day, so there’s always a large group to eat with and talk to about non-work related things (Eg. Cheese and what your favourite cheese is….which turned into create Cheese Club, who meet every Tuesday at lunch to try new cheeses!). At the end of my day, I clean up my desk to make it look clear and fresh for the next morning and my day is done.

Jordan: My day typically begins around 9am, although I sometimes arrive a little early to spend time in Grange park prior to entering the building. I take the elevator to the third floor, step into our collective office, and begin work on my computer. So far, I’ve been predominately working on the first draft of a publication in Adobe InDesign, although there have also been a number of days when we’ve spent time planning the layout of an exhibition. I generally try to take a break around 1pm to have some lunch with Erin (in the park whenever possible). After this, I will either return to what I was doing in the morning or go to a meeting with Jim. The day ends sometime around 5pm, when I leave to go make dinner.

Erin: May 31, 2019: I spent the morning finishing a report for an Export Permit review, gathering any relevant information to help Renée make a decision as to whether or not the piece was of “outstanding National significance”. Later, Renée and I met with Karl Beveridge of Carole Condé and Karl Beveridge, Toronto’s social activist artist duo, to talk about a few of their pieces that will soon go on temporary display. It was such a pleasure hearing an artist speak about his own art in person. As I will be writing the text briefs for the labels, it was an amazing opportunity. Meeting artists doesn’t happen for me everyday, so on a more typical one, I would attend a small departmental meeting for a project, which are fascinating in a different way! After having lunch in Grange Park with fellow AGO intern and desk neighbour, Jordan Fee, I went over several Export Permit reports with Renée and we decided that they were all ready to find new homes outside Canada. For the rest of the day, I researched a number of specific facts about David Milne for the upcoming revamp of the David Milne Centre. Also there were surprise donuts. All in all, a very good day!

Jordan enjoying the Henry Moore Sculpture Centre during some downtime at the AGO. Photo courtesy of Jordan Fee.

Is there anything that’s surprised you about your internship?


Savannah: I was surprised by how much they trust me! When anyone hands me a new task they are so confident in my ability to succeed at it. The support from the whole institution has been incredible and continues to allow me to push myself and learn. I really feel like they like me! Wasn’t expecting that.

Emma: What surprised me most about my internship, besides getting my own desk and cubicle, was how much my supervisor wanted to help me network. During my first week at the institution she told me to take some time and think about what museums I wanted to visit and who I wanted to talk to at those institutions. From there she would help me set up informational interviews with them so I could get a better idea of where my career could take me. This was something I would never have expected to happen at my internship, and I am so grateful that I have been given this opportunity.

Jordan: The thing that surprises me most is the amount of creative freedom that I have been given so far. Of course, it’s not like I’m making any final decisions, but Jim is quite open to new ideas and generally lets me try them out. Other than that, I would say that the amount of people working at the AGO is quite astounding. I’m still meeting someone new every day, and I don’t think that will stop anytime soon.

Erin: I had a fairly good idea that the AGO was a large, well-oiled machine but I did not know just how large! It is its own little city and everyone has their job to do to make the city function and flourish.

Savannah at her placement at the Aga Khan Museum. Photo courtesy of Savannah Sewell.

What are you excited about accomplishing throughout your internship?
Savannah: I am really excited about accomplishing this social media campaign, it is a new type of project for me and the challenges of a large institution’s narrative is exciting. This would also have a lasting impact on the museum itself and be an excellent addition to my resume. I have also begun to archive and organize all of their collateral which is exciting! Right now it resides in piles that have collected for five years and have been driving me BONKERS!



Emma: What I am most excited about accomplishing throughout my internship is my Big Project. Even before my internship started, my supervisor kept telling me, “We’re going to give you your own project that you can call yours from start to finish. Something you can leave this internship with and say ‘I did that.’” This Big Project is to create a Condition Tracking Report for the objects included in the Supply Line kits. It’s no quite condition reporting, but it is supposed to help the staff track the condition of the objects within the box so they can monitor object lifespans and budget accordingly for replacements and repairs. At first I thought I was going to be quick and fairly easy, but it was only once I started working on it that I realized how much work is going to be put into this. I have loved every step of this process so far. I cannot wait until I have the final product completed!



Jordan: I am excited about the fact that I will be able to walk away from this internship with some sort of portfolio, showing the work that I have done in InDesign and Illustrator. I have learned that the person who was in my position last year got to leave their internship with a bound book of all of the work they had accomplished in terms of research and writing, so I am hoping that I might be able to walk away with a similar document.

Erin: I am excited to soak up as much knowledge as I can handle in 12 weeks! From learning the ways that departments work together and the systems they use, to conservation theories, to political structures that can dictate the decisions of the gallery, to all the AGO’s works by Arthur Lismer, to how to send meeting requests in Microsoft Outlook. 12 weeks is time enough just to get my feet wet, which is to say: not enough time. A specific project that I very happy to be working on is researching a collection of Mary Wrinch’s miniature watercolour portraits on ivory. There is a lot to be said about this trailblazing woman, her fascinating career, the implications of ivory and discussion of femininity and gender roles in Victorian-era Toronto. The works won’t appear in the gallery until 2020, but my research will inform the accompanying didactics.

Erin in the beautiful Galleria Italia at the AGO. Photo courtesy of Erin Stodola.

Do you have any words of wisdom for someone entering a similar position?

Savannah: My words of wisdom would be to remain positive. The space is accepting, exciting and supportive. Ask questions and enjoy yourself while challenging your skills. Its sometimes difficult to recognize when you’re pushing yourself too hard vs. just the right amount. Ask questions! No one is going to laugh at you or get angry if you need help, everyone knows you’re new! Also, office jobs always have lots of snacks!! Be prepared for that, I wasn’t!

Emma: Keep a little notebook and a pen with you at all times and write down all the advice you hear. Just being in the office environment you hear so much advice that will be so useful in the future. No one will just sit and tell you everything you need to know, but sitting in on meetings you can easily catch on to what best practice is, and what has been most successful in projects. Always make sure to listen to what people say and take from it any advice you can.

Jordan: Well I don’t think that I can offer too much concrete advice, but I would say that it’s best to learn by doing. I had very little experience with the kind of work that I am doing now, but I just tried to jump in head first. If you get the chance to try something new, then take it!

Erin: Remember that everyone wants to help you learn! Ask questions. Of anybody. Take notes for when you forget everything all of the time. Show your enthusiasm, gratitude and willingness to take on tasks. Bring treats to share.

The interviews have been edited for length and clarity. 

That's all for this edition of Internship Check-In! And I have to agree with the advice above, office treats are plentiful and everyone appreciates when you bring things to share! Check back in a few weeks for another update about what some of the wonderful MMSt students are up to this summer.