ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: June 13, 2003
Author: K. Hasselfelt
Phone: 604-871-6045
RTS No. 03355
CC File No. 4006
Meeting Date: July 10, 2003
TO: |
Standing Committee on City Services & Budgets |
FROM: |
Directors of Office of Cultural Affairs & Finance |
SUBJECT: |
Vancouver Art Gallery -
|
RECOMMENDATION
THAT Council approve a 2003 operating grant of $1,924,600 to The Vancouver Art Gallery Association (the "Association"); source of funds to be the 2003 "Other" Grants budget.
GENERAL MANAGERS' COMMENTS
The General Managers of Community and Corporate Services RECOMMEND approval.
COUNCIL POLICY
On March 31, 1992, City Council approved a change in the basis of the City's financial support to the Vancouver Art Gallery from a grant in support of specific items to a grant supporting general operations. Approval of grants requires eight affirmative votes of Council.
In October 1980, British Columbia Buildings Corporation (BCBC) leased Block 51, DL 541, for 99 years, to the City as premises for the Vancouver Art Gallery. The City's relationship with Vancouver Art Gallery Association is generally outlined in an operating agreement dated October 1992 between the City and the Vancouver Art Gallery which has not been signed. Council authorized the execution of a new comprehensive operating/lease agreement under approved terms and conditions on June 13, 2002 and this agreement isin the process of being negotiated. In the intervening period, the relationship is being continued on generally the same terms and conditions as contained in the proposed 1992 operating agreement.
PURPOSE
This report provides a review of the Vancouver Art Gallery's 2002 activities and recommends Council's approval of their 2003 Operating Grant request.
BACKGROUND
Founded in 1931, the Vancouver Art Gallery Association is an independent not-for-profit cultural organization which operates Canada's fourth largest public art museum, and collects, preserves and exhibits the City of Vancouver's collection of fine art. The Collection comprises over 8,000 works with an estimated value of $100 million. The Vancouver Art Gallery Association occupies a provincially-owned building which is leased to the City of Vancouver for a 99-year term at a nominal rent. The Vancouver Art Gallery is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and has 50 full time staff and 65 permanent part-time staff. Approximately 500 volunteers contribute 25,000 hours to the Gallery's programming and activities. Membership currently stands at approximately 9,150.
The Vancouver Art Gallery's relationship with the City is generally outlined in an operating agreement from 1992 which has not been signed and a new lease/operating agreement is currently under negotiation. In addition to an annual operating grant, the City currently provides occupancy of the facility at a nominal rent, property tax exemption, exterior maintenance and exterior security. The organization's sources of revenue and City support (28% of revenues from all sources) is illustrated in Table 1.
2002 Year in Review
The Vancouver Art Gallery enjoyed a successful year in 2002, with major temporary exhibitions such as The Uncanny: Experiments in Cyborg Culture; Emily Carr, Georgia O'Keefe and Frida Kahlo: Places of Their Own; and a retrospective of work by Tom Thompson bringing in record attendance and a 26% increase in membership revenues. The exhibition program also focussed upon the work of individual artists including: Liz Magor (Vancouver), Janet Cardiff (Canada), Douglas Gordon (Scotland), Gillian Wearing (Britain) and Won Ju Lim (USA) .
These exhibitions were complemented by others from the Collection, including work by Vancouver multimedia artist Paul Wong; Unravelled, an exhibition on the subversive history of fabric-based work in contemporary art; and This Place, which featured 75 works from the collection according to three themes: the land, indigenous cultures and the self. The Gathie Falk and Stan Douglas: Journey into Fear exhibitions, both featuring well-known Vancouver artists, completed tours to Ottawa, Fredericton and San Paulo, Brazil this past year. The Vancouver Art Gallery also gave the public an opportunity to view the additional works from the Collection in the Collection Storage Project, which made accessible the behind-the-scenes work of the Gallery including photographing and preparing works for off-site storage in an exhibition gallery. And Drawing the Forest offered an in-depth look at the rarely seen charcoal drawings of Emily Carr from the 1920's. With the acquisition of the Schwartz collection in late 2002, which included more than 60 works by 16 internationally acclaimed artists, the Vancouver Art Gallery now holds one of the most comprehensive photo-based art collections in North America.
Public programs scheduled gallery animators, as well as artist and curator talks for exhibitions, continued with the Philosopher Café series, organized two day-long symposia for the Cyborg and Douglas Gordon exhibits, and remounted the "Open Studio" in conjunction with both the Cyborg and Carr, O'Keefe, Kahlo exhibitions. For families and children, the gallery provided self-guided family tours and Kidstop, a drop-in space for school-aged children for the Carr, O'Keefe, Kahlo exhibit, as well as the monthly supersundays program. The Teacher Institute, jointly organized by the gallery and UBC's Department of Curriculum Studies, focussed on visual culture and the work of Carr, O'Keefe and Kahlo. The Vancouver Art Gallery's 2002 Annual Report will be circulated under separate cover to Council and is available at the City Clerk's Office.
2003 Plans
For 2003, the Vancouver Art Gallery continues to follow the objectives and strategies outlined in its Strategic Plan and is preparing to embark on a master planning process in the Fall. The Vancouver Art Gallery currently has an application in with Cultural Spaces Canada to assist with funding this initiative. The Gallery has also launched a new visual identity that includes an updated website and recently renovated Gallery Café.
Vancouver Art Gallery attendance is exceeding budget projections for the first quarter of 2003, with large survey exhibitions of well-known artists such as B.C.'s E.J. Hughes continuing the momentum of 2002. The E.J. Hughes and Liz Magor exhibitions are scheduled to tour in 2003/2004, giving profile to both Vancouver and B.C. artists nationally. The Schwartz collection will be the focus of The Big Picture exhibition, a comprehensive overview of contemporary photo-based practices that includes Vancouver artists such as Jeff Wall. A series of five exhibitions, both historical and contemporary, will explore the drawings of many cultural traditions in Drawing the World over the summer months. In the Fall, Home and Away: Crossing Cultures on the Pacific Rim will present the work of seven internationally acclaimed artists whose work address themes of globalization, diaspora, and changing concepts of home and nation. Individual artists will be also be featured in exhibitions including an installation by Vancouver artist Robert Arndt, American earthworks artist Robert Smithson, and a survey exhibition by 20th century European artist Marc Chagall featuring paintings and prints from the National Gallery.
DISCUSSION
The Vancouver Art Gallery has had a very successful year both programmatically and financially, and staff commend the Vancouver Art Gallery's Board and staff for their commitment to restoring vitality to its exhibitions and programming within a balanced budget, and its success in reaching new levels of private sector support. In last year's submission to the City, the Vancouver Art Gallery had projected a deficit budget for 2002. The Board subsequently modified this budget to bottom line a small surplus, but still had ambitious fund raising targets. While the Vancouver Art Gallery did not quite meet these targets, the Gallery was successful in generating significant increases in earned and fund raising revenues - admission revenues increased by 42%, sponsorships by 43% and donations by 52% - over the previous year.
This was due in part to renewed efforts on the part of the Board, Director and staff, and through an increased focus on marketing and development. The gift shop was renovated, a new manager hired and a new merchandise mix was tested, resulting in almost $2 million in gross sales and a 400% increase in net revenues over the previous year. The cumulative result of these initiatives enabled the gallery to conclude its fiscal year with an excess of revenues over expenses of $99,203 on a total budget of $7,489,383.
A surplus in 2002 enabled the Vancouver Art Gallery to requalify for the Vancouver Arts Stabilization Team Program (VAST), receiving a working capital grant of $360,000. Vancouver Art Gallery is now completing its fifth year and preparing to exit the program, as the institution is entitled to receive one more installment of $179,797 provided it continued to meet the terms of the grant agreement. The Vancouver Art Gallery Association's 2002 financial statements are attached to this report as Appendix "A".
In 2003, the Vancouver Art Gallery has projected conservative admission revenues (16% lower than 2002), as the success of last year is not considered sufficient to establish a consistent benchmark for revenue growth. However, private sector revenues are projected to be 65% higher than 2002, with sponsorship and donation targets once again quite aggressive, given the substantial increases attained in 2002. The Vancouver Art Gallery must meet these challenging targets if it is to maintain a surplus in 2003.
Given the Vancouver Art Gallery's successful exhibition record and noteworthy performance in 2002, and its positive financial position, which is projected to be sustained in 2003, staff are recommending a 2003 operating grant of $1,924,600.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
Staff are recommending to Council a 2003 operating grant of $1,924,600 based on an increase of 1.75% over the 2002 grant as approved by Council in the 2003 Operating Budget. The source of funds for the operating grant is the "Other" Grants allocation in the 2003 Operating Budget.
CONCLUSION
The Vancouver Art Gallery has successfully managed the early stages of transition with a new Director and a rejuvenation of the institution is underway. A strategic plan which proposed an ambitious renewal of the institution has been balanced with the desire to maintain a balanced budget. Therefore, staff are recommending to Council a 2003 operating grant of $1,924,600 to the Vancouver Art Gallery Association.
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