Julianna Yau’s blog

(continued from VAS Day 2 Summary)

More specifically, some of the main/reoccurring issues identified were:
-visual arts literacy (or visualcy, a termed being used by NAVA), especially compared to visual arts exposure
-educational standards and priorities for visual arts
-education not only in institutions, but also through artist-to-artist mentorships
-education at the K-12 level, both as integrated programs and specialized schools for the arts
-reaching a wider audience and allowing the general public to feel more comfortable in galleries and with art
-how can the arts community shift their thinking and practices to satisfy the public’s appetite for art
-the need for the arts sector to be recognized as having real financial weight
-how to build a stronger bond between the art being collected and the art being exhibited
-the need to document and publish catalogues and other materials on collections and exhibitions
-space issues when it comes to collecting and exhibiting
-financial constraints for collecting new works (Allan McKay of the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery said that about 90% of newly acquired works, overall, are donations)
-how to make private collections and permanent collections more accessible (McKay here offered a more astounding estimate that 95% of a gallery’s collection is usually warehoused)
-engaging artists in the acquisition and exhibition process

There was also some discussion about the possibility of using new digital media as a possible solution for some of the issues of accessibility, education and preservation of works. Although these opportunities are very exciting, there is much yet to be discussed around the administration of these issues, and how much we really are reaching out. Alternative venues such as Facebook, Second Life or an independent website are great. But they are still inaccessible to the Canadians living in rural areas without an internet service to support the amount of information to be transmitted (if they have any access to internet services at all), and without careful planning we would soon end up having to rethink the issues again, or to need to convert everything to another format.

I also wonder, as did Jeffrey Matt, what other cultural industries face as issues of literacy and accessibility, and what they’re doing to address those challenges. Both composers of classical music and authors & writers certainly must face these issues to some degree–what are they doing about it?

I’m very curious to see what comes out of tomorrow’s discussions and closing remarks, and what will happen with all of this discourse after the conclusion of the Summit.

Today was very intensive, very condensed. As I type this, many of my peers are attending an informal tour of the galleries in Ottawa…and although I don’t normally have the chance to visit these galleries, I am in dear need of some downtime.

Throughout today’s panel discussions and smaller discussion groups, it was very apparent that it is problematic for the Summit to be the first in over 40 years. If the Summit had a different agenda, it would have been extremely useful for simply gathering a list of all many the things which need to be addressed in the arts community and collecting names of people who were willing to tackle the individual issues in smaller, more focused groups. As it is, we have been charged with the task of identifying key issues, propose policy changes to address the issues and make recommendations for creating support for resolving the issues. The task is hugely daunting, considering that this meeting of the minds does not happen more regularly.

There is certainly no lack of enthusiasm, interest or passion in what is happening right now. The resonating concern I’ve heard from my fellow delegates is on the lack of strong focus or clear direction. Although this lack of focus and direction is very unfortunate, I think it is a natural result of the fragmentation of the community which has occurred and which has been mirrored by the fragmentation of the network of support for arts and culture within the government. I’m really seeing a need for us to look at what other artist communities have done (and here I’m thinking primarily of NAVA) and bring into our community methods and perspectives which are useful and relevant to us.

I can hardly believe that everything we discussed today did in fact happen within a single day. This morning, we discussed education, access, interpretation and audiences. Each one of these issues could be a summit discussion unto themselves—and this was merely the morning! In the afternoon, we discussed the myriad of issues related to collecting and exhibiting art (and, more specifically, Canadian art).

My personal summary of the issues boil down to the matters of intellectual, physical and financial accessibility of art. Although I identified these constraints when we were discussing education and audiences, I think it applies equally from the perspective of galleries, curators and researchers (although some repositioning of the intellectual accessibility would have to be made to apply it from a research vantage, rather than one of direct interpretation of the work).

(continued in VAS Day 2 Further Thoughts)

Edit 8-Dec-2007: I feel like such an art newb. I was flipping through the pages of Canadian Art to see Michael Awad, the delegate who asked all of the artists to stand. The post below has been updated.

Yesterday was Day 1 of the Visual Arts Summit. In the morning, I got my information package, which included the schedule, a list of the delegates, a name-tag (thankfully, it was on a lanyard and not a pin or requiring an adhesive) and a brochure about some of the arts destinations in Ottawa. The list of delegates has been very useful for a “newb” like me, because I simply haven’t been around (in every sense of the word) enough to know many people. I’m also horrible with names, so the name-tags have been very useful (although they always seem to get turned around when I actually need to make use of it).

In the early afternoon, I was able to attend the tour (organized through the Summit) of vault 34 at the Gatineau Preservation Centre. The vault contains several of the portraits held by the Portrait Gallery of Canada, which is the first national portrait gallery to collect not merely works of the “important men in history books”, but works of and by all Canadians. The director, Lilly Koltun, was our guide to some of the works and was truly a wealth of information. She had intimate knowledge of the portraits’ history, both prior to being acquired by the Portrait Gallery and the acquisition itself. Everyone I talked to who had attended one of the tours agreed that they could just sit there and listen to her tell us about the portraits for hours, days, or more!

The Summit began in the late afternoon with an open plenary session. The start of the conference was punctuated with the announcement that “a landmark agreement has been reached for the first time in over 40 years between the museum community and the artists’ organizations over fees for exhibition of artists’ works. The agreement puts an end to a long-standing impasse and will lead to a new era of cooperation.”

The organizers announced that there were approx. 450 participants—200 more than they had anticipated. This is the first major gathering of the players in the arts community (in Canada) in over 40 years, and I think everyone agrees that it’s long overdue. During the introductory session, I could tell by the murmurs in the room and the questions following the panelist discussion that everyone was extremely eager to jump right into things. At the end of the question period, someone (my most sincere apologies—I didn’t catch his name) Michael Awad asked all of the working artists in the room to stand up. This was a potent statement because one-third to half the room stood up! I think all of the artists were relieved to know that so many of their peers were in attendance—I know I was.

My hope is that we can use that meeting of the minds to direct the Summit and use this time to start and maintain a more open dialogue between the different aspects of the arts community. NAVA seems to have done a fantastic job at that type of cooperation, and shows that it is possible.

Ottawa, November 26, 2007 – A landmark agreement has been reached for the first time in over 40 years between the museum community and artists’ organizations over fees for exhibition of artists’ works. The agreement puts an end to a long-standing impasse and will lead to a new era of cooperation.

“We are very pleased with this agreement,” said Gerald Beaulieu, President of CARFAC, on behalf of all organizations. “It means that museums and artists’ organizations will work closely together on many fronts, including the economic well-being of artists and for improved funding for Canada’s museums and galleries.”

On November 19 and 20, 2007, representatives from CARFAC and RAAV met with CMA and CAMDO representatives to hammer out the new deal with a retired justice of the Supreme Court of Ontario as mediator. Subsequently, the agreement has been formally approved by all organizations.

The new streamlined fee schedule goes into effect on January 1, 2008 for a 5-year term and soon will be posted on the partners’ websites. It is simplified for ease of administration and provides useful definitions. It will be adjusted annually by a 3% increase.

Most importantly, the parties agreed to pursue the establishment of a new Exhibition Right Fund, similar to the highly successful Public Lending Right Fund, which provides compensation to authors of books used in public libraries. When the new Exhibition Right Fund is established the fee schedule will be renegotiated at that time.

The agreement establishes a joint committee that will advocate for the proposed Exhibition Right Fund, develop templates for standardized contracts for exhibition and acquisition, and address mutual interests which will move the visual arts forward.

The announcement was made at the opening of the Visual Arts Summit, the largest meeting in Canadian history of the visual arts community. Over 450 artists, dealers, collectors and museum officials have gathered in Ottawa to explore new ideas to strengthen the sector and to improve the public appreciation of the visual arts. A statement and action plan will be finalized at the conclusion of the Summit on Tuesday, November 28, 2007.

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For further information, contact:

John McAvity
Executive Director
Canadian Museums Association
613-567-0099 x226
jmcavity@museums.ca
www.museums.ca

Shawn Van Sluys
Executive Director
Canadian Art Museums Directors’ Organization
613-862-5035
shawn.vansluys@camdo.ca
www.camdo.ca

April Britsky
Executive Director
Canadian Artists’ Representation/le Front des artists canadiens (CARFAC)
613-233-6161
carfac@carfac.ca
www.carfac.ca

Christian Bédard
Executive Director
Regroupement des artists en arts visuels du Québec (RAAV)
514-866-7101
christian.bedard@raav.org
www.raav.org