Agnes Etherington Art Centre at Queen’s University has been awarded $50,000 through the Canada Council for the Arts’s Digital Strategy Fund. This breakthrough funding will support a digital needs assessment and a digital strategic plan, focusing on the gallery’s Contemporary Art and Indigenous Collection’s programs.

Recognizing that the power of digital and online tools is vital to the work of leading art museums around the world, Agnes aims to expand its digital presence and engagement with its contemporary and Indigenous collections, exhibitions, research, residencies, programs and publications. The overall goals are to create expanded avenues of participation around visual and media art and artists, and to participate in the evolution of digital visual cultures. “We are eager to extend our digital reach by creating new avenues for engagement with online collections, and with in-gallery and born-digital projects and programs” says Jan Allen, Director of Agnes Etherington Art Centre. “The digital needs assessment and digital strategic plan will enable us to shape a digital future at Agnes that’s both inspired and sustainable. This new capacity, through the Canada Council, is especially timely as we move towards launch of the new Screen Cultures and Curatorial Studies graduate program with the Department of Film and Media at Queen’s.”

This new support complements an ongoing digitization drive at Agnes. In December 2018, Danuta Sierhuis joined Agnes staff as Digital Development Coordinator to advance an ambitious three-year initiative supported by the Isabel & Alfred Bader Fund of Bader Philanthropies. That project will transform the digital presentation of The Bader Collection of European art. Sierhuis’s work includes deploying state-of-the-art interactive digital tools for in-gallery experiences, developing beautifully designed templates for born-digital exhibitions and publications, and enhancing the documentation and availability of critical research on The Bader Collection online.  

Inspired by this initiative, Agnes will harness these thrilling technologies to increase access to contemporary art and programs, and ensure a beautiful and balanced digital stream is built that reflects the full scope of the gallery’s achievements and capacity. The needs assessment and strategic plan components of the new project, which will take place from fall 2019 to fall 2020, will ensure these efforts meet the highest standards in this fast-evolving environment.

Agnes’s Contemporary Art and Indigenous Collections capture the emerging generation of artists and works that reflect contemporary life and diversity of Canadian society, including media-based works. It is national in scope, representing vital artistic impulses, diverse cultures, ideas and events of the current period and context, and capturing movements at the forefront of artistic practices.

The Canada Council for the Arts Digital Strategy Fund Special Initiative for Core Grant Recipients is a one-time initiative to support current core grant recipients in evaluating their digital readiness and developing a digital strategic plan.

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien.