The Galeries Ontario / Ontario Galleries (GOG), formerly Ontario Association of Art Galleries / Association Ontarienne des Galeries d’Art (OAAG/AOGA), was established in 1968 to encourage development of public art galleries, art museums, community galleries and related visual arts organizations in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It was incorporated in Ontario in 1970, and registered as a charitable organization. It is a successor organization to the Southern Ontario Gallery Group founded in 1947, renamed the Art Institute of Ontario in 1952. In December of 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 Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...

, 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. Zainub Verjee was appointed as the executive director in 2015.

Board of Directors

Serving to AGM 2020 *York Lethbridge - Board President 017-2020 Serving to AGM 2021 *Dawn Owen - Board Member 015-20182018-2021] *Glen Bloom - Board Member 018-2021*Devyani Saltzman - Board Secretary 018-2021 Serving to AGM 2022 *Christian Bernard Singer - Board Vice-President 016-20192019-2022] *Robert Steven - Board Treasurer 016-20192019-2022] Serving to AGM 2022 *Shelley Falconer - Board Member 019-2022*Ann MacDonald - Board Member 019-2022 Serving to AGM 2023 *Nahed Mansour - Board Member 019-2023 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 The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...

, 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 In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agency, regulatory agencie ...

, outreach and education, among others. 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.

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. 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.

Awards

The Galeries Ontario / Ontario Galleries Awards program is one of the most comprehensive and established among Ontario's sectoral arts awards programs and was first established in 1978. They are also the only annual juried awards to recognize excellence and significant achievement in programming and partnerships within the Ontario public art gallery sector and, in doing so, advance, empower, and strengthen Canada's visual arts sector. The Awards recognize new exhibitions, publications, programs and community engagements that have been produced and commissioned by Ontario's public galleries throughout the past year. In 2019 GOG introduced the Changemaker BIPOC Award. This Award celebrates the diverse and innovative arts practices of Black, Indigenous, People of Colour leaders, which are essential to the country's cultural vitality. GOG acknowledges that historic and systemic barriers have affected access to opportunities and resources for BIPOC arts professionals. This has led to marginalization and inequities for artists and arts leaders in presenting and practicing their work within public art galleries in Ontario. There are twelve award categories for artistic merit and excellence: *Exhibition (subdivided by cost) *Curatorial writing *Art writing *Public program *Education *Art publication *Design *Partnership *Lifetime achievement *Colleague *Volunteer

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 The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is a publicly-funded Canadian organization in the province of Ontario whose purpose is to foster the creation and production of art for the benefit of all Ontarians. Based in Toronto, OAC was founded in 1963 by On ...

. 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). 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
/ref> *A Space Gallery, Toronto * Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston * Agnes Jamieson Gallery, Minden * Art Gallery of Algoma, Sault Ste. Marie *

Art Gallery of Burlington The Art Gallery of Burlington, founded in 1978, is the seventh largest public art gallery in Ontario. The Gallery collects and maintains Canada's largest collection of contemporary Canadian ceramics. It is located on the City of Burlington water ...

Art Gallery of Guelph The Art Gallery of Guelph (AGG), formerly the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, is a public gallery and adjoining sculpture park in Guelph, Ontario. The AGG has a collection of over 9,000 works and focusses on research, publishing, educational progra ...

* Art Gallery of Hamilton * Art Gallery of Mississauga *Art Gallery of Northumberland,

Cobourg Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is ...

* Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto *

Art Gallery of Peterborough The Art Gallery of Peterborough is a free admission, non-profit public art gallery in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. A registered charity that depends on the support of its members, it was founded in 1974 by an independent board of volunteers. In ...

Art Gallery of Sudbury The Art Gallery of Sudbury is an art gallery in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1967 by the city's chamber of commerce under the Canadian Centennial projects, the gallery is located in the historic turn of the century arts and c ...

/ Galerie d'art de Sudbury * Art Gallery of Windsor *Art Gallery of

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

, Toronto * Art Museum, at the University of Toronto *

Bata Shoe Museum The Bata Shoe Museum (BSM) is a museum of footwear and calceology in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum's building is situated near the northwest of the University of Toronto's St. George campus, in downtown Toronto. The museum building was de ...

, Toronto * Belleville Public Library and Art Gallery * Blackwood Gallery, at the

University of Toronto Mississauga The University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), also known as U of T Mississauga, is one of the three campuses that make up the tri-campus system of the University of Toronto. Located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, the campus opened in 1967 as Er ...

* Cambridge Galleries *Campus Gallery:

Georgian College Georgian College is a College of Applied Arts and Technology in Ontario, Canada. It has 13,000 full-time students, including 4,500 international students from 85 countries, across seven campuses, the largest being in Barrie. History The colle ...

, Barrie *

Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery , image= File:C2G2.jpg , established= , location= Waterloo, Ontario, Canada , visitors = 20,000 , director= Denis Longchamps , map_type = Canada Ontario , map_caption = Location of the gallery in Waterloo ...

, Waterloo *

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

Art Gallery, Ottawa *

Craft Ontario Craft Ontario, legally known as the Ontario Crafts Council (OCC), is a member-based, Nonprofit organization, not-for-profit arts service organization based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The organization is dedicated to promoting the recognition and ...

, Toronto *

Design Exchange The Design Exchange (DX) is a Canadian event venue. It is located in Toronto's financial district in the historical Toronto Stock Exchange building, that was incorporated into a skyscraper in 1991, the Toronto-Dominion Centre (222 Bay Street). Th ...

, Toronto * Doris McCarthy Gallery at the

University of Toronto Scarborough The University of Toronto Scarborough, also known as U of T Scarborough or UTSC, is one of the three campuses that make up the tri-campus system of the University of Toronto. Located in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the campus is set upo ...

*Durham Art Gallery, Durham, West Grey *Durham West Arts Centre, Ajax *

Etobicoke Civic Centre The Etobicoke Civic Centre in the Eatonville, Toronto, Eatonville neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, once housed the municipal government of the former City of Etobicoke. The building was built in 1958 by the firm Shore and Moffat to repl ...

Art Gallery, Toronto *Gallery 1313, Queen Street West, Toronto * Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography, Toronto *

Gallery Arcturus Gallery Arcturus is an art gallery and museum in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located near Toronto Metropolitan University and Church and Wellesley in the Garden District neighbourhood, on Gerrard Street East. The gallery is a member ...

, Garden District, Toronto * Gallery in the Grove, Bright's Grove * Gallery Stratford * Gallery TPW, Toronto *

Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art The George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art (commonly shortened to the Gardiner Museum) is a ceramics museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is situated within University of Toronto's St. George campus, in downtown Toronto. The museum bu ...

, Toronto * Gibson Gallery, Fort Malden Guild of Arts and Crafts, Amherstburg *Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford *Grimsby Public Art Gallery *

Haliburton Sculpture Forest The Haliburton Sculpture Forest is an outdoor collection of sculptures located in Glebe Park near the village of Haliburton, Ontario, Canada. It is operated by the non-profit organization Haliburton Sculpture Forest et al. Exhibits Opened in 2 ...

, Haliburton * Harboufront Centre, Toronto *Homer Watson House & Gallery, Kitchener *Humber Galleries and Collection, Toronto * John B. Aird Gallery,

Mowat Block The Mowat Block is an office building in Toronto, Ontario, home to Ontario's provincial Ministry of Education, Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development (MAESD), and Infrastructure. It is part of a massive 24 storey government complex ...

, Toronto * Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery, Sarnia * Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery *

Koffler Gallery The Koffler Centre of the Arts is a broad-based cultural institution established in 1977 by Murray and Marvelle Koffler and based at Artscape Youngplace in the West Queen West area of downtown Toronto, Ontario. History Established in 1977 as part ...

, Toronto *Kawartha Art Gallery, Lindsay, Ontario * Latcham Art Centre, Stouffville * Leamington Arts Centre * Living Arts Centre, Mississauga *

MacLaren Art Centre The MacLaren Art Centre is an art gallery and museum, located in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. It is named in honour of Maurice MacLaren, who bequeathed his Victorian home, Maple Hill, to the Barrie Gallery Project in 1989. The MacLaren Art Centre l ...

, Barrie *

Market Gallery Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography * Märket, an ...

, 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 London is an art and history museum located in London, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the forks of the Thames River. It started its operations in 1940 with London Public Library and amalgamated with London Regional Art Gallery and Lon ...

Museum of Contemporary Art Museum of Contemporary Art (often abbreviated to MCA, MoCA or MOCA) may refer to: Africa * Museum of Contemporary Art (Tangier), Morocco, officially le Galerie d'Art Contemporain Mohamed Drissi Asia East Asia * Museum of Contemporary Art Shangha ...

, 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 The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is a Canadian non-collecting public contemporary art gallery located at the heart of Toronto, Ontario at the Harbourfront Centre. It is a registered Canadian charitable organization supported by its membe ...

at Harbourfront Centre, Toronto *

Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art is a public art gallery and an arts publishing house with a focus on contemporary photography, new media and digital arts. It is located in the 401 Richmond Street arts centre in Toronto, Canada. ''Prefix Phot ...

, Toronto * Rails End Gallery, Haliburton * Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario, Toronto *

RiverBrink Art Museum RiverBrink Art Museum is located on the Niagara Parkway in the historic village of Queenston, Niagara-on-the-Lake. Open to the public since 1983, the museum is home to a unique collection of over 1,400 works by Canadian and international artists. ...

, Queenston *Robert Langen Art Gallery at

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...

, 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 Kitchener City Hall is the seat of municipal government of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. It has gone through many iterations through the 20th century, culminating in the current building, which opened in 1993. History The original location of ...

*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 The Toronto Reference Library is a public reference library in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The library is located on the corner of Yonge Street and Asquith Avenue, within the Yorkville neighbourhood of downtown Toronto. The Toronto Reference Library ...

, Toronto *

Textile Museum of Canada The Textile Museum of Canada, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a museum dedicated to the collection, exhibition, and documentation of textiles. History The Textile Museum of Canada was founded as the Canadian Museum of Carpets and Textiles ...

, Toronto *Thames Art Gallery, Chatham *

Thunder Bay Art Gallery The Thunder Bay Art Gallery is Northern Ontario's largest art gallery specializing in the work of contemporary Indigenous artists. It is located on the campus of Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The Thunder Bay Art Gallery is ...

*Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre, South Porcupine *Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Owen Sound * University of Waterloo Art Gallery, Waterloo *

Varley Art Gallery Frederick Horsman Varley Art Gallery, or the Varley Art Gallery of Markham, is an art museum in Markham, Ontario, Canada. The museum is situated in a building on Main Street Unionville. The gallery was named after Frederick Varley, an artist from ...

, Markham *Visual Arts Centre of Clarington, Bowmanville *WKP Kennedy Gallery, North Bay *Woodland Cultural Centre, Brantford * Woodstock Art Gallery *

Ydessa Hendeles Art Foundation Ydessa Hendeles is a German-born Canadian artist-curator and philanthropist. She is also the founding director of the Ydessa Hendeles Art Foundation in Toronto, Ontario. Hendeles is an adjunct professor with the Department of Art History at the ...

, Toronto

Selected publications

* * *
"Seminar and conservation survey"
Roche, Roger. 1972 * * * * *

References

{{Authority control Culture of Ontario Organizations based in Ontario Art Organizations established in 1968 1968 establishments in Ontario