Audio visual station
The past couple of weeks have been exciting around here, at least for me, as I am starting to see everything I have been working on for our upcoming show, At Work: Hesse, Goodwin, Martin, be realized. One of those things has been the audio elements we’d like to include in the show. While we are not producing a traditional audio guide, we will have some audio stations in the galleries, to provide you, our visitors, with a different way to gain insight into the lives and work of the artists. The process of creating these audio elements has been very interesting. Scripts need to be written, interview questions thought of, extensive editing done by our media team…I didn’t even know that an art gallery would have a recording studio, and now I can say that I have sat in one!
Audio stations can be a great way to provide different perspectives on the artwork in an exhibit, particularly when they are varied in terms of content and style. When At Work opens, you will have the opportunity to listen to one of our archivists talk about visiting Betty Goodwin’s studio and why the AGO is so interested in her notebooks. For a completely different experience, you will also be able to sit back, relax and listen to a soothing recording that guides you through a new way of looking at Agnes Martin’s work, The Islands.
If you are interested in getting a sense of some of the work featured in the show in audio form, Matthew Teitelbaum, the Director of the AGO discusses Agnes Martin’s painting The Rose, featured in this exhibition, as part of the AGO’s pre-existing Director’s Highlights podcast series.
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What are your thoughts on audio stations or tours? Do you use them, and if so, do they enhance your experience in the gallery?
Kendra Ainsworth is a Masters student in Museum Studies at the University of Toronto, and an Interpretive Planning intern at the AGO.