Agnes is now “on retreat,” which is what we are calling the period between January and June 2023. As we plan for our move off-site and the construction of Agnes Reimagined to begin, we take stock, pack and digitize our 17,000-object collection, and concentrate on developing our integrated and entangled approach to programming and practices of in-reach. We put the institution itself into residence as we research, reflect, and reassemble. And while our galleries are closed, we certainly won’t be absent!

Our retreat sees us renovate our “MacBrownLab” (an experimental arts ecosystem in a defunct Kingston community centre), launch Open Secret, a collection of film screenings, artist conversations and workshops with artists Parastoo Anoushahpour, Kriss Li, Sharlene Bamboat, and Sofía Gallisá Muriente, produce the first Canadian Assembly of Zina Saro-Wiwa’s Illicit Gin Institute; host a spoken word workshop series with Billie the Kid; and prototype and welcome the commoning practices that guide our closure by turning our current facility over to art-making initiatives and family-friendly studio programs.