Art Gallery of Ontario top leader Stephan Jost stepping down after a decade of expansion and controversy

“I’ve been here for a decade, which is quite a long time for a museum director,” Jost said in an interview with the Star. “We have a strategic plan and I’ve hit all four pillars of that plan, and I realize that it’s now time for another person to step in.” 

Jost, who originally hails from Michigan but is also a citizen of Canada and Switzerland, joined the AGO in 2016 after previously leading the Honolulu Museum of Art and the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. 

During Jost’s tenure, the AGO significantly expanded its permanent collection, acquiring more than 18,000 works of art. He also helped introduce the museum’s popular free ticketing program for Ontarians under 25. 

“Stephan has transformed the AGO over the past decade,” AGO co-president Beth Horowitz said in a statement. “The collection is broader, deeper and more inclusive, the audience is younger and more diverse.”

Jost said he’s most proud of shifting the AGO’s audience base, and welcoming visitors who are younger and from more diverse backgrounds. Currently, more than half of the museum’s audiences are under 40, and nearly two-thirds come from a non-European background, he said. “I am a firm believer that institutions should reflect the people who live in the community that they serve.”

Jost’s departure comes amid a period of significant change for the AGO, which is in the midst of constructing a new wing to house its modern and contemporary art collections. The gallery, which will add 40,000 square feet of exhibition space, is scheduled to open next year.  

But the AGO has also been plagued by significant controversies throughout Jost’s time at the helm. Over the past year, the museum has faced controversy and accusations of censorship over the failed acquisition of a photography exhibit by American artist Nan Goldin. According the Globe and Mail, Goldin’s work was rejected because the artist’s political views and outspoken support for Palestine. 

In 2017, senior curator Andrew Hunter resigned from the museum, writing in a Toronto Star op-ed that he was worried “about an institution wavering in its commitment to make space for new voices.” In response to Hunter’s column, Jost said at the time that the AGO still had room for improvement. 

In 2023, the museum also faced intense scrutiny following the abrupt departure of celebrated Indigenous curator Wanda Nanibush. The Globe and Mail, citing unnamed sources, said Nanibush’s “vocal opinions” on various subjects — including her support of Palestinian causes — had caused friction among AGO staff, supporters of the institution and those who complained about Nanibush’s stance.

While Jost said he could not comment on the individual departures, he said that “everybody who left is a decent, hardworking individual whom I care about.”

He added: “The bigger issue here is often when political systems fail, cultural institutions are asked to kind of substitute in for those failures, and that can be really difficult for everybody. I wish things were different, but this is not unique. Every single museum director has been dealing with things very similar.”

Jost, who currently lives in Toronto with his husband and daughter, said he has no future opportunities lined up and plans to take a three- to six-month break before looking for new opportunities. 

The AGO said it will soon announce an interim leadership structure while it begins a global search for a new director and CEO.

With files by The Canadian Press

Clarification – Sept. 1, 2026

This article was updated from a previous version to note that the new wing is scheduled to open sometime next year.