The Galeries Ontario / Ontario Galleries (GOG), formerly Ontario Association of Art Galleries / Association Ontarienne des Galeries d’Art (OAAG/AOGA), is a Canadian art organization founded in 1968. It was incorporated in Ontario in 1970, and registered as a charitable organization."GOG: What We are" GOG. Retrieved 21 September 2021. It is a successor organization to the Southern Ontario Gallery Group founded in 1947, renamed the Art Institute of Ontario in 1952. In December 2020 Ontario Association of Art Galleries / Association Ontarienne des Galeries d’Art (OAAG/AOGA) rebranded to the name Galeries Ontario / Ontario Galleries (GOG) which included new brand identity, logo, and website to better serve art organizations in Ontario and Canada.
GOG is an art service organization serving over 270 Public Art Galleries, museums, artist-run-centres, and arts organizations, through advocacy, professional development, and network-building. GOG fosters a sustainable, healthy, diverse public art gallery sector to further the visual arts as a key component of the cultural life of the province."GOG: What We Do" GOG. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
Zainub Verjee was appointed as the executive director in 2015.
Board of directors
Serving to AGM 2020GOG: Who We Are GOG. Retrieved September 21, 2021. York Lethbridge - Board President [2017-2020]
Serving to AGM 2021 Dawn Owen - Board Member [2015-2018][2018-2021] Glen Bloom - Board Member [2018-2021] Devyani Saltzman - Board Secretary [2018-2021]
Serving to AGM 2022 Christian Bernard Singer - Board Vice-president [2016-2019][2019-2022] Robert Steven - Board Treasurer [2016-2019][2019-2022]
Serving to AGM 2022 Shelley Falconer - Board Member [2019-2022] Ann MacDonald - Board Member [2019-2022]
Serving to AGM 2023 Nahed Mansour - Board Member [2019-2023]
Ex-Officio Zainub Verjee
Founding member galleries There are eleven founding members of the modern organization. The founding members are: Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston Art Gallery of Hamilton Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (formerly Art Gallery of Toronto) Justina M. Barnicke Gallery (formerly Hart House), University of Toronto Kitchener/Waterloo Art Gallery London Regional and Historical Museums (London Public Library and Art Museum) National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto Sarnia Public Library and Art Gallery Rodman Hall Art Centre (formerly St. Catharines and District Arts Council) Art Gallery of Windsor (formerly Willistead Art Gallery
Services Advocacy
GOG's advocacy initiatives are a pillar of their service to the sector. These services include lobbying, outreach and education, among others."Advocacy" GOG Website. Retrieved September 23, 2021. The organization works on behalf of public art galleries, and the cultural sector in Canada as a whole, to increase public awareness of issues affecting the visual arts and culture sectors in Ontario and Canada."What We DO" GOG. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
Professional Development
GOG produces professional development opportunities designed to increase the capacity of their members to navigate and advance in the cultural sector, taking the form of workshops, think tanks, symposiums and other initiatives."Past Programmes" GOG. Retrieved September 23, 2021. These professional development opportunities cover a wide range of relevant topics, including emerging technologies, new ways of working, accessibility, strategy, and engagement. The programmes are mainly tailored for emerging to senior-level arts professionals working in Ontario's public art galleries, but are often applicable to arts professionals across the board. GOG's membership program and various initiatives also serve as tools for network building to strengthen the body of public galleries across Ontario.
Membership
Most member galleries participate in a reciprocal admissions program, where membership of one gallery gives admission to the others. The organization provides a liaison between galleries and the Ontario Arts Council.
Members can join as an institution (public art galleries or affiliate organizations), individual (someone who works in an art gallery, or a student) or business (commercial galleries or other for-profit groups)."Join Us" GOG Website. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
GOG's membership consists of over 270 art museums, public art galleries, artist-run centres, visual arts organizations, professional colleagues, and friends across Ontario, including:OAAG Membership
A Space Gallery, Toronto Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston"Ontario Association of Art Galleries recognizes Art Centre's excellence" Agnes Etherington Art Centre. Retrieved 3 March 2009. Agnes Jamieson Gallery, Minden Art Gallery of Algoma, Sault Ste. Marie Art Gallery of Burlington Art Gallery of Guelph Art Gallery of Hamilton Art Gallery of Mississauga Art Gallery of Northumberland, Cobourg Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto Art Gallery of Peterborough Art Gallery of Sudbury / Galerie d'art de Sudbury Art Gallery of Windsor Art Gallery of York University, Toronto Art Museum, at the University of Toronto Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto Belleville Public Library and Art Gallery The Blackwood,Blackwood Gallery website at the University of Toronto Mississauga Cambridge Galleries Campus Gallery: Georgian College, Barrie Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo Carleton University Art Gallery, Ottawa Craft Ontario, Toronto Design Exchange, Toronto Doris McCarthy Gallery at the University of Toronto Scarborough Durham Art Gallery, Durham, West Grey Durham West Arts Centre, Ajax Etobicoke Civic Centre Art Gallery, Toronto Gallery 1313, Queen Street West, Toronto Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography, Toronto Gallery Arcturus, Garden District, Toronto Gallery in the Grove, Bright's Grove Gallery Stratford Gallery TPW, Toronto Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, Toronto Gibson Gallery, Fort Malden Guild of Arts and Crafts, Amherstburg Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford Grimsby Public Art Gallery Haliburton Sculpture Forest, Haliburton Harboufront Centre, Toronto Homer Watson House & Gallery, Kitchener Humber Galleries and Collection, Toronto John B. Aird Gallery, Mowat Block, Toronto Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery, Sarnia Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery"July 7, 2006 No Bluff! The Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery receives an OAAG Award" Kitchener/Waterloo Art Gallery. Retrieved 3 March 2009 Koffler Gallery, Toronto Kawartha Art Gallery,Kawartha Art Gallery Website Lindsay, Ontario Latcham Art Centre, Stouffville Leamington Arts Centre Living Arts Centre, Mississauga MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie Market Gallery, Toronto McIntosh Gallery at The University of Western Ontario, London McMaster Museum of Art, Hamilton McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg Mercer Union, A Centre for Contemporary Art, Toronto Museum London Museum of Contemporary Art, Toronto National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa Neilson Park Creative Centre, Toronto Niagara Falls Art Gallery Niagara Pumphouse Visual Arts Centre, Niagara-on-the-Lake Norfolk Arts Centre, Simcoe Oakville Galleries Open Studio, Toronto Orillia Museum of Art & History The Ottawa Art Gallery / La Galerie d'art d'Ottawa Peel Art Museum and Archives, Brampton Penetanguishene Centennial Museum & Archives Power Plant Contemporary Art Centre at Harbourfront Centre, Toronto Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art, Toronto Rails End Gallery, Haliburton Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario, Toronto RiverBrink Art Museum, Queenston Robert Langen Art Gallery at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa Rodman Hall Art Centre,Rodman Hall Website Retrieved 3 March 2009. Brock University, St. Catharines Rotunda Gallery Kitchener City Hall St. Thomas-Elgin Public Art Centre, St. Thomas Station Gallery, Whitby Stephen Bulger Gallery, Toronto Sur Gallery, Toronto Temiskaming Art Gallery, Haileybury TD Gallery, Toronto Reference Library, Toronto Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto Thames Art Gallery, Chatham Thunder Bay Art Gallery Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre, South Porcupine Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Owen Sound University of Waterloo Art Gallery, Waterloo Varley Art Gallery, Markham Visual Arts Centre of Clarington, Bowmanville WKP Kennedy Gallery, North Bay Woodland Cultural Centre, Brantford Woodstock Art Gallery Ydessa Hendeles Art Foundation, Toronto
Selected publications
"Seminar and conservation survey" Roche, Roger. 1972
References