Records group LA.AGOR025 - AGO Design records

Located in Toronto, the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) stands as one of the largest art museums in North America, attracting approximately one million visitors annually. The Gallery was first incorporated as the Art Museum of Toronto in July 1900, with the goal of establishing a public facility dedicated to the collecting and exhibiting of art both historical and contemporary, foreign and Canadian (Art Gallery of Ontario : selected works, pg. 12). This initial name was changed to the Art Gallery of Toronto in 1919, as it was thought that the term “Museum” conflicted with the Royal Ontario Museum, founded in 1912. The current name of the Gallery took effect on July 8, 1966 to reflect the rapidly growing role the Gallery played not only in Toronto but across the province.

Before finding its current location, the Gallery operated from several temporary sites. The first exhibition hosted by the Art Museum of Toronto, Pictures by Glasgow Painters, was held in 1906 at the Ontario Society of Artists’ galleries at 165 King Street West. The AMT made its first purchase that same year, acquiring The Captive Butterfly by Glasgow painter Edward Atkinson Hornel from the loan exhibition. The Gallery found its first permanent home in the Grange House, which it officially took ownership of in 1911 and occupied starting in 1913. (See The Grange records group). Shortly thereafter, construction began on new gallery spaces adjacent to the historic house, with the first of these new wings opened in 1918. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, additional gallery spaces were constructed with the aid of various benefactors. Some of these spaces, such as Walker Court, remain part of the AGO today, while others have been replaced to accommodate new expansions.
The Gallery’s building has undergone numerous periods of major growth and change as its audience and art collection have continued to grow and evolve. In 1968, planning began for three major renovation and expansion projects, known as Stage I, Stage II, and Stage III. All together, these projects significantly improved the Gallery’s capacity to host major touring exhibitions and provided new offices, storage, and other operational facilities. In the mid-2000s another ambitious architectural project was initiated, called Transformation AGO. This project was led by renowned architect Frank Gehry and was completed in 2008. These significant architectural changes have also often been accompanied by changes to the AGO’s brand identity, with Transformation AGO being accompanied by its own temporary branding and the Gallery’s relaunch in 2008 coinciding with the launch of a new brand and visual identity.
A new expansion project is currently underway to establish the Dani Reis Modern and Contemporary Gallery, expected to open in 2027. This addition will increase the museum’s gallery space by 40,000 square feet, with at least 13 new galleries across five floors, enhancing the AGO’s total display space by 30%.

From its founding until the 1960s, the Gallery was an important venue for annual exhibitions of various Canadian artists’ societies, such as the Ontario Society of Artists. In addition to Canadian artists, major international exhibitions were also hosted, such as Picasso and Man in 1964, which was the first-ever Canadian show of Pablo Picasso. Throughout the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, the Gallery expanded its focus to include international contemporary art and hosted major retrospectives and memorial exhibitions of Canadian artists.
The Gallery's curatorial practices have evolved significantly over time, along with the Gallery’s operational structure. In its early days, the Curator was also the administrative head for the Gallery, until the position of Director was created in 1948. By 1968, the Curatorial Branch was structured into four sections: Exhibitions and Collections, Registrar, Library, and Conservation. The number of curators continued to expand in the 1970s, reflecting the growing complexity of the Gallery’s operations and collections.
Today, the AGO's collection spans a diverse array of art forms and periods, including Modern and Contemporary, Canadian and Indigenous, Inuit, Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora, Prints and Drawings, European, and Photography. The Gallery's collection exceeds 120,000 works, encompassing cutting-edge contemporary pieces to significant historical works by Canadian, Indigenous, and European artists.

Education has been a core function of the AGO since 1926, when the Educational Committee was established. Arthur Lismer was hired as Educational Secretary in 1927 and later became Educational Supervisor. The committee's initiatives included Saturday morning classes for children, public school visits, lectures, and musical evenings. In 1943, the AGO began circulating exhibitions to bring art to various institutions, such as universities, schools, and community centers across the province. A weekly Open Nights program was introduced in 1945, which included activities such as tours, lectures, and films, intended to help reconnected with audience lost during WWII and as a community service. The Extension Program, officially initiated in 1949, further expanded outreach by offering loan exhibitions, talks, films, and art classes across the Toronto area and later the province. This function of circulation was taken over by the Art Institute of Ontario from its incorporation in 1952 until it was disbanded in 1968, at which point its programs were taken over by the Education and Extension Services branch.
By the mid-1970s, the Education and Extension Services had evolved into distinct departments, each becoming a separate division. Extension Services later became a department with the Curatorial Branch in 1981. Today, the AGO's education initiatives continue to serve the public, with year-round public programming, school programs, camps, Artist-in-Residence programs, and initiatives emerging from the Dr. Anne Tanenbaum Gallery School.

The structure of governance of the AGO has also undergone some changes over the course of the Gallery’s history. Initially governed by a Council from its founding until 1966, the institution then transitioned to a Board of Directors, which evolved into the Board of Trustees in 1968. This structure remains in place today, with a 27-member Board, including a President, presiding over the Gallery’s operations. Volunteers have also played a significant role in the Gallery’s operations, with bodies such as the Women’s Committee (later the Volunteer Committee) taking an active role in fostering interest in the gallery, promoting membership, and hosting fundraising activities starting in 1945.

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 departments separated, with Publishing and becoming a part of the Curatorial division after briefly being moved to the Digital division. As of 2024, the Design Studio is a part of the Brand and Business division and Publishing remains within Curatorial.