Up until 39 years ago, we were the Art Gallery of Toronto. Today we are the Art Gallery of Ontario. While we have a strong commitment to the province, we have a distinctive role in the future of the city, as well.

We hear the expression, “world-class city” all the time. (It’s a phrase I don’t like, it speaks to me too much of a mindset of being judged by others.) The idea of a city connected to the world interests me though, for it means a city in active dialogue and partnership with other great cities. It doesn’t mean simply a city judged by its amenities: a few nice places, a few good restaurants and an art gallery. It means Toronto is actually engaged in relationships and associations with peer cities around the world. We are arguably the most diverse city in the world, and we should build on this in terms of the connections we make.

This city has many people who have a dual sense of what home is: here and New Delhi, here and London, here and Adelaide, here and Jerusalem. People’s sense of home is precisely the relationship between Toronto and another city, and the potential of that is very exciting to me. The ethnic diversity of this city makes it alive and it also opens doors; it creates openings to places around the world. In fact, that’s one of the great challenges for us: how to make those connections, both through communities and through other art museums and galleries. We’re working on it pretty aggressively right now, and we’re open to ideas.

On the exhibition front, one of our greatest successes this year was the partnership that sent the AGO-conceived Turner Whistler Monet: Impressionist Visions exhibition to Paris and London after its debut in Toronto. Its unqualified success was good for Toronto, for Ontario and for Canada. I could do that again.