Agnes Etherington Art Centre

About

A research-intensive art museum, the Agnes illuminates the great artistic traditions of the past and the innovations of the present. Admission is free.

Story

The Agnes Etherington Art Centre is an active educational resource at Queen’s University, and the public gallery for the Kingston region and beyond. With eight beautiful art galleries and the elegant Etherington House, the Agnes is situated in the core of the city on the historic main campus. Through a year-round program of collecting and preserving works of art, exhibiting and interpreting visual culture, and fostering and disseminating research, the Agnes illuminates the great artistic traditions of the past and the innovations of the present. Our programs are driven by the belief that encounters with original works of art contribute to understanding the world and ourselves.

Admission to the gallery is free; donations are welcome.

History: The seeds of the Agnes were sown in 1926, with the formation of the Kingston Art and Music Club, of which Agnes Etherington (1880–1954) was a driving force. She nurtured the arts in Kingston throughout her life and, in her final years, drew up plans to bequeath her house, an elegant Neo-Georgian mansion, to Queen's University for use as a university and community art gallery. The Agnes Etherington Art Centre opened to the public in 1957, with artist André Biéler as founding director. To fulfill the gallery's expanding functions, extensions to the gallery were added in 1962, 1975, and 2000.

Mission

The Agnes Etherington Art Centre
•advances the academic mission and priorities of Queen’s University. We create opportunities for curricular and co-curricular experiential learning, and for scholarly research in visual art and museology. In all its work as an art museum and a welcoming social hub, the Agnes enhances campus life, as well as the public profile, creative leadership and distinction of the university. It provides a vital meeting place and connection point between Queen’s and the world.
•serves as the public art gallery of Kingston and the region of southeastern Ontario, showcasing high achievement in the visual arts and providing access to renowned artists and specialists, emergent forms of expression and the transformative power of visual art.
•is locally anchored, nationally engaged and globally connected. Our immediate context is a constant touchstone and point of reference in our work. At the same time, we participate in networks of affiliation through outreach programs, publications, collection loans, traveling exhibitions, online presence, and collaborative projects and exchange.
•builds and sustains the physical integrity and the intellectual and cultural value of its significant art collections. Key collections are held in contemporary art, historical Canadian art and historical European art, with smaller concentrations of African art, Indigenous art, historical dress and decorative art. These diverse collections crossing historical periods and cultures support specialist, emerging, intra- and inter-disciplinary research and practices.
•nurtures visual literacy, critical thinking, contemplation, and participation in the creative life of the community. Our programs embrace cultural diversity, foster discourse and inspire engaged citizenship.
•aspires to excellence in all facets of its work, guided by professional best-practice standards.