I have always been attracted to positions that are somewhat risky, unstable and where the chance of failure is high. As the Canadian Craft & Design Museum had been without a permanent Director for more than a year, I knew that I would be going into a challenging situation, however, I was excited about the opportunity that this challenge presented.
It was mid-morning on my first day, when the Administrator knocked softly on my office door and said, "I have a feeling you have not seen this and think you will probably want to take a look." We spent the morning pouring over and discussing the year-end financials and projected 2002 budget. It was not looking good, but was not hopeless either.
My first few months were spent meeting with the staff, the board, representatives from the City of Vancouver, the Province of British Columbia, artists, community members, former board members, the Directors of other arts organizations in the city, etc. It was a little schizophrenic. While I was being interviewed and photographed by the media and talking about the bright future of the museum, I was trying to figure out how to keep the museum alive. I believed strongly in our mission and mandate. I believed in contemporary craft. I believed that there was a place and need for institutions such as the Canadian Craft & Design Museum in Vancouver and in Canada. However, the reality of our financial situation kept me awake at night. We needed money and we needed it now!
The funny thing is that in the big picture of things it was not really that much money. We were using our line of credit, which in an ideal world you would like to avoid, but it was the loss of our Canada Council Operating Grant that put us in crisis. Funding that amounted to only about $30,000 a year, but enough to make our cash flow situation impossible. We received notification from Canada Council mid-April, laid off the staff with the exception of the Administrator and myself on April 30th and closed our doors May 15, 2002.
In Canada we are fortunate to have access to multiple layers of government support, however, this support no longer meets the rising costs associated with running our public arts institutions. It costs money to run a building, maintain collections, research and mount exhibitions, pay for advertising and other administrative costs and to hire a professional staff. In most arts organizations salaries are considerably lower than comparable positions in other fields or in the private sector, and often the demands on the staff are much higher.
Every arts organizations attempts to balance the production or display of high quality artistic or cultural experiences within a limited budget. Every organization is unique and what works for one organization in a particular city or at a particular time may not work for another. While the needs and support for arts organizations vary tremendously, the importance of arts and culture in society is universal. It is our arts and culture that marks who we are as a society or a nation. It is one of the things that differentiates us as humans.
Sadly, it is support for the arts and culture that is often the first to go when we need to cut costs or save money. I would like to argue that the arts and culture are what we should maintain, support, encourage and embrace. Art is our universal language. We may not all appreciate the same works of art in the same way, but that is the beauty of expression and creativity.
It is seven and a half years since the Canadian Craft & Design Museum closed. It still haunts me and causes me sleepless nights. What if I would have done this, or not that, what if I had talked to that person, or made one more phone call, or ..........? The possibilities and scenarios are endless, yet, in total I was only there for four and a half months. Yes, if I could go back I may have done some things differently, but at the time I, together with my Board of Directors, staff, our funders, and the rest of the arts community were all reacting to a difficult crisis and situation. I don't think any of us realized until it was too late that the museum closed.
Canadian Clay & Glass GalleryWaterloo, ON
image retrieved from: http://classes.uleth.ca/200603/nmed2005a/10/pat3.jpg
Last Tuesday, I heard that the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery in Waterloo, ON was facing a crisis of their own. A wave of nausea came over me. I felt like I was reliving late April - May 2002. How is it that we could possibly be losing our second major public institution devoted to craft in less than a decade?
The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery recently made a formal request to the City of Waterloo for bridge financing in the amount of $300,000 to sustain its operations over the next eighteen months as it re-evaluates its operations and builds a plan for a sustainable future. Robert Williams the vice-chair of the gallery's board of directors was quoted November 17, 2009 in The Record.com stating that The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery has an annual budget of $800,000, an art collection valued at more than $1 million, a staff of seven and averages 20,000 visitors a year.
The City of Waterloo currently owns the building and pays for its maintenance and utilities, but does not provide any assistance for general operations or programming. On November 30th The Record.com reported results from The Prosperity Council of Waterloo's Creative Enterprise Task Force concluding that the Kitchener / Waterloo region does not get a fair share of provincial or federal funding, that private sector contributions are below average, and that municipal investment in culture falls below the provincial mean and significantly lower than areas like Hamilton, Ottawa and London.
Gallery Director, Robert Achtemichuk was quoted in The Record.com last February stating that they receive $40,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and $30,000 from the Ontario Arts Council, but nothing from the City of Waterloo. The same article stated that the Kitchener - Waterloo Art Gallery (KWAG) received $56,000 from the City of Waterloo and a May 1st article in The Record.com stated that KWAG receives $187,ooo in total support from Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council.
No arts organization can rely on one type of support, however, it is virtually impossible to survive without strong municipal support. Cities use their cultural facilities to attract visitors and to represent a high quality of life. The City of Waterloo is no exception. Their website states: "Waterloo is a mecca for the arts and culture enthusiast with galleries, studios, museums and festivals at every turn. We're proud to be home to numerous galleries celebrating and showcasing a great diversity of artistic undertakings ..... Be certain to visit our cultural attractions - the world renowned Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery ....."
Museums, galleries and arts organizations have not been alone in searching for ways to survive the recent economic downturn. Earnings from endowments are down or have become non-existent, many foundations have reduced the amounts given to local charities and organizations, corporate and personal giving has also been lower than normal and many areas have seen a drastic downturn in local tourist activity resulting in a decrease in visitors to local attractions. It is at times like this that we need our local arts and cultural institutions to assist us in maintaining and celebrating the vitality of our communities.
The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery is not asking for a permanent hand-out, they are asking for bridge financing so that they can sustain themselves during the next year and a half as they plan and strategize for the future. While many organizations rely almost completely on various forms of government and public assistance, the Canadian Clay & Glass earns almost thirty percent of its revenue through Gift Shop sales allowing the gallery to continue to offer innovative high-quality programming in their galleries.
We need to believe in and support the cultural institutions in our country. Canada has a strong history and tradition of craft, yet, craft is typically under-represented in our visual arts organizations. The recent popular interest in DIY and crafting holds promise for the future, but what about the promise of continued success or even continued existence for the institutions devoted to or who have a curatorial interest in craft.
In some ways $300,000 seems like a lot of money, but in the larger picture, it is such a small investment towards securing the fiuture of an institution that should be the pride of the Kitchener / Waterloo community and a treasure for the country. We should not let our cultural institutions disappear so easily. The global economic situation has made it difficult for many of us, however, if we allow the Canadian Clay & Glass Museum to close, it will never have the opportunity to recover or rebuild. We need to give it a chance now!
Lindsay Craig, from exhibition Playing with Dolls, 2009The Masquerade October 15 2009 - January 10, 2010
Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery
Waterloo, ON
image courtesy of Lindsay Craig
retrieved from: http://blog.glassquarterly.com/2009/09/29/the-canadian-clay-glass-gallerys-new-exhibit-reveals-as-it-conceals/
Visit the gallery to check out the current series of exhibitions that make up The Masquerade. Lindsay Craig's installation Playing with Dolls addresses issues of identity, feminity, and popular culture by adorning the "Composition Doll" with bronze masks and wreaths that carry multiple layers and symbolic meanings. Aganetha Dyck's The MMasked Ball transforms porcelain figurines with the help of honeybees. The result is beautiful and somewhat surreal as the honeycombs and beeswax create masks, wigs, and othewise alter the appearance of these figures. Carole Epp's A Collection of Innocent Crimes creates a place of dialogue, narrative and metaphor in the miniature vignettes she has created to look at the ethical position of the artist in relation to the subject matter they represent.
Aganetha Dyck, Checkers and Bees, from exhibition The MMasked Ball, 2009The Masquerade October 15 2009 - January 10, 2010
Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery
Waterloo, ON
image courtesy of Aganetha Dyck
retrieved from: http://www.canadianclayandglass.ca/images/Checkers%20and%20Bees.jpg
The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery is located at 25 Caroline St North, Waterloo, ON N2L 2Y5 They are open Tuesday - Friday from 11 - 6, Saturday 10 - 5, and Sunday 1 - 5. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for Students and Seniors and is free for everyone from 5 - 6pm Tuesday to Friday. Information on exhibitions, the collection and their extensive educational programs for adults, children, youth and school groups can be found on their website. The City of Waterloo City Council will be reviewing the gallery's request soon. Please join me to show your support for this vital Canadian institution and for craft in Canada. You can email Robert Achtemichuk, Director of the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery at: robert@canadianclayandglass.ca or Mayor Brenda Halloran at: brenda.halloran@waterloo.ca

















































