Today, March 17, 2021, marks one year since we first closed our doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We would like to reflect on this time, seeing it as an opportunity for Your AGA to grow and transform to in order to meet new challenges. Though we were closed to the public for much of the past year, we have remained “open” for virtual visitors, enabling audiences from across the world to experience the engaging exhibitions and programs that Your AGA has to offer. We have fostered strong partnerships with other arts organizations to create new programs and develop unique ways for our visitors to experience art in-person and at home.
On March 7 of last year, we had just opened the much-anticipated Leiden Circa 1630: Rembrandt Emerges, which was on view for just over a week before we closed to the public. In that time, our team worked hard to develop and present online programs, such as our six-part video series ‘Rembrandt Emerges at the AGA’ and a Virtual Reality tour that let our visitors “view” and learn more about Rembrandt and his important work.
We continued our forays in the virtual realm with more digital programming than we have ever produced before; we connected with you, our audiences, in exciting new ways with #yourAGAfromhome and #AGAlive. These new programs included artists’ talks, behind-the-scenes tours and photos, art activities and more ways to bring Your AGA into the comfort of your home. We joined Field Trip: Art Across Canada, an online initiative to deliver arts experiences in partnership with leading arts organizations across Canada. Field Trip gave us a platform to share the works of some of the fantastic artists we were fortunate to work with in 2020.
We have remarkable supporters and sponsors who share our belief that the visual arts in Alberta are an important part of our shared culture. We were selected as a recipient of the EPCOR Heart + Soul Fund, which provided support to improve our online initiatives such as #AGAlive and AGA Education On-Line learning programs which have helped us welcome audiences from across Alberta and Canada. Our most recent #AGAlive series featured artists’ conversations with the Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts 2020 winners, which you can watch here.
From May through December Amery Calvelli, Adjunct Curator of the Poole Centre of Design, developed 250 AGA, an online investigation across our communication channels inspired by architect Michael Sorkin’s essay 250 Things an Architect Should Know. The series consisted of 14-weeks of interviews with 17 different organizations and individuals from around the world.
We were thrilled to partner with local organizations to present music at the AGA when we re-opened in June, allowing audiences to see exhibitions and hear live musicians performing in AGA spaces. The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra played weekly mini-concerts throughout July, August and September. In August, we had three live music performances as part of the DBA’s Downtown Live series. These performances were attended by 500+ AGA Members and visitors, letting us know that Edmonton had truly missed the arts.
With the support of Capital Power, our sustaining partner since 2010, we opened 100 Years: The Group of Seven and Other Voices and its accompanying four-part video series Group of Seven: A Virtual Exploration.
One year later, although we have been closed again since early December, we look forward to re-opening our doors and welcoming you back to Your AGA. The museum experience truly is a safe space for you and your family (just check out this article for more here). We will continue to bring you engaging, educational and exciting online content, and please follow us on social media and subscribe to our e-newsletter for updates. We hope you will continue to join us as a virtual visitor until we can see you again in person.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your continued support.
Your AGA