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Factory 77, initially known as Galerie Scollard, was a Toronto artist-run gallery focused on art education which operated between 1976 and 1982. Galerie Scollard was established in Toronto in 1976 as a nonprofit charitable organization by Dushka Arezina, a Yugoslavian emigrée, artist, and art historian. It was coined a “centre for education in vision” and was located on Scollard Street in Toronto. The gallery was operated by a Board of Directors of which Harvey Cowan was the chairperson and Kenneth Lund the president. Dushka Arezina sat on the Board of Directors as treasurer and was also the gallery’s executive director. Galerie Scollard ceased operations under that name in 1978 and was re-established
as Factory 77 in November 1978 upon moving into a former carpet factory at 77 Mowat Ave. in Toronto’s Parkdale area. Factory 77’s operations were overseen by Arezina and a Board of Directors chaired by Lund, a Toronto lawyer. It aimed to present a broad view of contemporary visual arts by exhibiting established artists together with emerging ones. In the years between 1978 and 1982, the gallery mounted more than 13 exhibitions per year, featuring prominent Canadian artists such as Mary and Christopher Pratt, Lynn Donoghue, and Ken Danby. The gallery also placed significant emphasis on exhibitions by Eastern European artists such as Jiri Ladocha. The gallery aimed to foster student participation through exhibits of student and youth work, and placed significant focus on art education and appreciation outreach programs in elementary and secondary schools in the Toronto area. Due to financial and administrative difficulties, Factory 77 ceased operations permanently in February 1982.

Formed by Lady Kemp in 1945 at the request of the Art Gallery of Toronto’s (now the Art Gallery of Ontario) President of the Council, the Women’s Committee functioned to foster interest in the Art Gallery of Toronto, promote membership, and host fundraising activities. These high-level functions distinguished the volunteers on the Women’s Committee from the volunteer docents and other volunteer roles within the Gallery. The Committee reported directly to the AGT’s governing council and included some of Toronto’s most prominent women. Over the years, the Committee managed many projects and consisted of the following sub-committees: Education, Art Rental, Membership, Gallery Shop, Grange Restoration, Purchasing, Men’s Luncheon, Exhibitions, House, Communications, and Nominations.

In 1950, the Women’s Committee formed the Junior Women’s Committee to provide mentorship opportunities for younger women. The Junior Women’s Committee provided help to the Women’s Committee with various annual events such as the Men’s Luncheon.

In 1974, the Women’s Committee was renamed the Volunteer Committee and the Junior Women’s Committee renamed the Junior Volunteer Committee in an attempt to be more inclusive and reach out to more members. No other significant changes were made to either Committee otherwise.

The Board of Trustees disbanded both Committees in 1998, and their functions were taken over by departments of paid staff within the Gallery. Another volunteer committee oversaw the work of docents.

The Master Print and Drawing Society of Ontario (MPDSO) is the first independent body of specialist collectors of prints and drawings in Canada. Founded in 1985 by Sidney Bregman and Katharine Lochnan, the Society first came into existence as the Master Print and Drawing Society, and operated as a non-profit educational association that provided special assistance to its members with problems unique to collecting. The Society is officially affiliated with the Art Gallery of Ontario, but is an independent organization belonging to its members, and through its Board of Directors determines its objectives, policies and activities, requirements for membership, selection of new members, and the composition of its executive. The executive consists of the President, Vice-President(s), Secretary/Treasurer, and Directors. The President has primary responsibility for determining the Society's activities, making arrangements for lectures, tours, and other special events. Since 1989, the MPDSO has been supported by the Fraser Elliot Foundation in fulfilling its mandate to represent the collective interests of its members in seeking out the expert advice of scholars, curators, and visiting lectures to contribute special assistance with collecting master prints and drawings from the 15th to the mid 20th century.

On March 15, 1900, Mr. George Agnew Reid, then President of the Ontario Society of Artists, convened a meeting of representatives from various top educational, government, business and arts organizations, as well as prominent citizens to discuss the organization of a public art gallery. The meeting was chaired by Sir (Byron) Edmund Walker and included representation from the Ontario Government, Canadian Institute, Public Library Board, Public School Board, High School Board, University of Toronto, Trinity University, Ontario Society of Artists, Board of Trade of Toronto, City Council, Guild of Civic Art, Women’s Art Association, Ontario Association of Architects, Canadian Club, Women’s Historical Society, and Central Ontario School of Art and Design. A group of approximately 50 representatives from this initial meeting met again on March 31, 1900 where they elected the first Provisional Council and agreed upon the first articles of incorporation. The Ontario Legislature passed the Act of Incorporation July 4, 1900, forming the Art Museum of Toronto.

In order to recognize the importance of its role in hosting art exhibitions, and it help distinguish the Art Museum of Toronto from the Royal Ontario Museum, the Council passed an amendment to change the name of the institution to the Art Gallery of Toronto. A Statute Law Amendment Act 1919 reflecting this name change was assented to April 24, 1919. Later, due to its rapidly expanding role throughout the province, the Art Gallery of Toronto became the Art Gallery of Ontario by an act of Parliament in July 1966. The Gallery has remained a private institution with a governing body of appointed and elected Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees was briefly named the Board of Directors from 1966 to 1968.

The Women’s Cultural Building (WCB) was a feminist cultural organization, or women’s collective, that aimed to initiate and support artistic projects and programmes promoting community and feminist concerns. It emerged with the intention of salvaging the presence of a Toronto women’s cultural centre following the dissolution of the Pauline McGibbon Centre in November 1981. The collective from the onset encouraged inclusive membership and collaborative programming, aiming to “develop a critical framework that functions within a feminist discourse by placing work in a social, political and aesthetic context.” The WCB was most active during the years 1982-1984.
Collective members included Kay Armitage, Rene Baert, Carole Conde, Christine Curlin, Rosemary Donegan, Susan Feldman, Colette Gagnon, Lina Fratticelli, Cynthia Grant, Janice Hladki, Johanna Householder, Sandra Janz, Kerri Kwinter, Tanya Mars, Joyce Mason, Christina Ritchie, Tanya Rosenberg, Lisa Steele, Nesya Shapiro and Susan Swan, among others.
Notable WCB programmes include the “Women Building Culture” festival, which included a series of events such as the “Womanfilm” film festival, the “Pork Roasts” exhibitions, “Storefronting” installations, the “Edible Art Show”, the “Five Minute Feminist Cabaret”, as well as a number of performances, talks, and slideshows. Other WCB activities and projects included the Women’s Info Hotline, panel discussions, workshops, toolkits, benefit concerts, poetry readings, window displays, independent film screenings and a resource video library. The collective began activity in November 1981, incorporated in March 1983, and ceased activity in approximately March 1997. The subsequent collective decision to transfer WCB archives to the Women’s Art Resource Center in the late 1990s was celebrated with a final exhibition titled “Building Women’s Culture: Women’s Cultural Building - Selections from the Archive.”
It is important to note that the use of the word “Building” in the collective’s name referred primarily to the verb. Though they did acquire a storefront headquarters for a brief period, the collective organized predominantly in the homes of its members and satellite spaces. The WCB launched their storefront headquarters and gallery at 563 Queen Street West with the Pork Roast’s exhibition on March 14th, 1983. Other possible locations referenced in the papers are 350 College Street, Suite 1 and 984 Queen Street West. Satellite spaces and venues that hosted WCB events included the A.R.C. gallery, A Space, Cameron Tavern, Dufflet Pastries, Nightwood Theatre, Nine Forty, Pages, Pelican, Stagger Lee’s, the Rivoli, Bloor Cinema, and the Centre for Contemporary Photography.

Photo Eclipse was a group of photographers who operated The Photo Passage gallery at Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, from 1992 to 2000. Founding members Pamela Harris, Judy Whalen and Henry Jablonski organized themselves in the spring of 1992 upon learning that The Photographers Workshop (Gallery TPW) planned to relocate their exhibition space from Harbourfront, and recognizing a resulting loss to the photography community. Calling themselves initially the Committee for the Continuation of Photography at Harbourfront, and later the Curved Wall Collective, the group settled on the name Photo Eclipse. They successfully petitioned Harbourfront for use of the gallery space, naming it The Photo Passage and opening their first exhibition in November of 1992. Other group members included David Hlynsky, Elaine Ling, Vince Pietropaolo, Judith Sandiford, Irena Schön, John Scully, Volker Seding and Jane Watson. Photo Eclipse was active until 2000, mounting more than 30 exhibitions over the course of that time.

A formal Design Unit was first established at the Gallery in 1974. Prior to this, design projects that provided visual identity for the Gallery and promoted exhibitions and events were completed without the assistance of a formal department, often with assistance from external contracts. The Design Unit was established shortly after Scott Thornley joined the institution as Head Designer, and was at first separate to the Publications Department that was established in 1972. In 1981, however, these two departments were amalgamated as Publications & Design, a division of the Public Affairs branch. This department was responsible for all print and graphic material produced by the Gallery, including catalogues, posters, brochures, postcards, banners, and signage.
The department went through a series of name changes in the 1980s, becoming “Promotion” in 1983, “Graphic Design & Production” in 1986, and “Publication & Design” in 1989. The heads of the department between 1981 and 1990 included Denise Bukowski, Normand Terry, and Alan Terakawa. The Publications and Design department became a part of the Exhibitions division in the early 1990s, where it remained until the early 2010s.
During this period (1990-2010), there were a number of additional Designer roles established in different divisions, separate to the Publications and Design department. This included a Designer in the Marketing division.
In approximately 2011, the Publications and Design department separated, with Publications becoming “Publishing” and moving to the Curatorial division. Publishing was later briefly moved to the Digital division while publications were increasingly being released digitally, but the department returned to Curatorial shortly thereafter. As of 2023, Publishing remains part of Curatorial and the Design Studio is part of the Brand and Business division.