VARLEY MCKAY
ART FOUNDATION OF
TOWN OF
Tuesday, September 8, 2009 – 4:00 P.M.
MINUTES
|
Attendance: Members Present: Allan Bryce Patrick Carr Elizabeth Plashkes Terrence Pochmurksi Councillor Bill Pickering, Building and Committee Staff: John Ryerson, Director Francesca Amato-Gauci, Development Officer Kathleen Chiu, Culture Coordinator Judy Kee, Committee Clerk |
Absent: Anna Hudson Robert McCulloch |
The
meeting of the Varley-McKay Art Foundation of Markham Board convened at 4:15 pm,
without quorum, with Howard Back presiding as Chair. Quorum was reached at 4:30 p.m.
1.
CALL TO ORDER AND CHAIR’S OPENING REMARKS
The Chair welcomed back all those present hoping that
everyone had had a great summer.
Members were advised that Ms. Francine Perinet has
been appointed as Director of the Gallery and will be full-time by the end of
September. A Welcoming Reception is
being planned and Members were requested to set aside the tentative dates of
September 23 and 30. Once the date is
finalized, Members will be advised, and invitations will also be extended to
Members of Council and Senior Management.
It is expected that the Reception would be from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The
Chair advised that the Director’s first priority is the selection of a new
Curator, which is to be filled as soon as possible. Members were advised that an advertisement
has been prepared, and there was discussion regarding the placement of the ad
in the major newspapers and throughout the arts community and arts
organizations. Ms. Perinet is in the
process of putting together a selection panel which will include one or two
members of the Foundation Board.
2. ADDITIONS/CHANGES TO AGENDA
There were no additions or changes to
the Agenda.
3. ADOPTION OF MINUTES OF THE VARLEY-McKAY
ART FOUNDATION OF
MOVED BY:
SECONDED BY: Elizabeth Plashkes
THAT the minutes of the Varley McKay Foundation of
Markham Board meeting held on June 15, 2009 be adopted.
CARRIED
4. BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
“The
Automatiste Revolution” Book Launch
– The Chair advised that a Book Launch is being held on Tuesday, October 6,
2009, from 6 – 8 p.m. at the Canadian Fine Arts Gallery in Toronto for the
formal launch of the publication “The Automatiste Revolution”.
As
the Chair will be out of town, Ms. Elizabeth Plashkes, Vice-Chair, will
officially represent the Board. Other
members of the Board were encouraged to attend this event.
5. SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS
a) Building and
Mr. Bill Pickering provided Members with an update on
the Gallery expansion project. He
advised that the meetings of the Town Building Committee had occurred over the
summer, and that a new Project Manager has been selected.
The site plan is being submitted and is expected to
be reviewed by the Heritage Markham Committee later this month, and the Building
Permit application will be submitted for approval in October. Release of the construction tender is planned
for November, with review in December, allowing for the contract to be awarded
by Council in January of 2010. The
construction period is estimated to be approximately eight (8) months,
beginning once the ground is workable – in March.
Mr. Pickering also reported on the status of the
agreement with the adjacent church, the local daycare operation, surrounding landscaping,
including fall tree removal, and tree planting in the New Year.
Members queried whether any of the events or
exhibitions would be impacted by the construction, and staff advised that other
than the Homes for the Holidays event being held at the Markham Civic Centre in
November, the currently planned building’s activities are expected to continue.
It was suggested that there may be some merit in
erecting signage regarding the upcoming removal of trees and construction,
however, it was agreed that all approvals should be in place prior to any
signage being installed.
There was a brief discussion regarding budget
estimates, and it was noted that the Gallery expansion remains well within the
projected budget of $2.5M.
b) Art Acquisition
Committee
An update was not provided.
c) Development Committee
Ms. Elizabeth Plashkes reported that work has been
continuing on the Varley-McKay Art Foundation Website and Ms. Francesca
Amato-Gauci provided a run-through of the test version. Members were advised that the design has been
completed and details of the website, including: location and hours; some of
its content; events calendar; and links were presented. More visuals will be added, including the
capability for donations, and the domain name will be: “visitthevarley.com”. It is expected that the website will go live
within the next week. Members were
encouraged to contact Francesca with any suggested amendments.
Ms. Plashkes advised that she and her husband will be
hosting a “VIP – Donor & Lenders” event on October 22nd,
beginning at 5:00 p.m. Invitations have
been extended to the Board, financial partners, Automatiste artists and lenders
to the Automatiste Revolution Exhibition.
Ms. Plashkes reported that Anna Hudson and
As part of the initiative to create a Varley Brand,
work is continuing on signage at the Gallery, including the following:
·
didactic panels/permanent indoor information
boards on Fred Varley, McKay Art Centre and the
·
outdoor Kiosk
signs are also in design draft; the 4-sided Kiosk signage will be presented at
the next Heritage Markham meeting
·
outdoor banners
for courtyard pillars and a permanent “Welcome to your Gallery” banner – for
the south side of the clock tower – have been approved and are currently being
designed
·
building
identification, address, hours, current exhibitions; annual listing of events
on Main Street Unionville – to be changed as necessary
·
Kiosk will be
made of aluminium; display case – bust of Varley’s head
d) Volunteer Committee
Ms. Amato-Gauci provided an update on the activities at the Gallery
since of end of June, and presented details of the Home for the Holidays event,
scheduled for November 20 and 21. The
homes have been confirmed and the sponsorship packages have been sent out. Members were requested to forward any
additional contact information for potential sponsors.
Members and staff were congratulated on the excellent work carried out
both on the development of the website and the upcoming events.
6. FINANCIAL REPORT
Mr.
7. DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Copies
of the following report from Ms. Francine Perinet, newly appointed Director of
the Gallery, were distributed at the meeting:
“I thank
everyone for including me on The Varley Art Gallery team. I am honoured and
intend to work very hard to further the Gallery’s development.
My
official start date is 22 September 2009 and I look forward to meeting you all
at the next meeting of the Board. I would also like to thank John Ryerson and
the staff at the
The
Automatiste Revolution exhibition is almost ready to go. The promotion is well
under way, most sponsors are in place and the public programme is confirmed.
The invitation is being printed and will be distributed as soon.
The
Curator’s job description was drafted, approved and the ad was reviewed and
will be posted in the current week. Next week, we will confirm the members of
the hiring committee and establish a schedule for the interviews. The ad will
also be forwarded to a list of people provide by John and Margaret. I will also
send it to people who may be interested.
I have
met with both Cheryl Rego and Kathleen Chiu to discuss the fall and winter
programmes.
Brian
will attend this fall a professional development session offered by the Ontario
Association of Art Gallery and a session to further his knowledge of the
collection database management.
I will
attend a meeting to review the 2010 Business plan with all Departments of the
Town on September 10, 2009.
A new
sponsor joined the Varley Art Galley: Le Sommelier who is a wine agent and who
agreed to sponsor the event A Taste of Quebec during the Automatiste
exhibition.
John has
worked with me to submit the 2010 Budget for the Gallery within a framework of
zero tax increase. We are hoping to attract new sponsors and start developing a
closer relationship with granting agencies.
I have
done a radio fifteen minute interview on Société Radio-Canada promoting the
Gallery and the fall exhibition.
I have
accepted an invitation to join CAMDO – Canadian Art Museum Directors
Organization.
Marc
Mayer, the Director of the National Gallery of Canada will be attending the
Automatiste opening.”
Mr.
John Ryerson, Director of Culture, advised that the first draft of the Gallery’s
2010 Budget has been submitted and staff have been successful in preparing a
straight line budget. As in 2009, the
Mayor and Council are trying to bring in a zero percent tax increase.
8. NEW
BUSINESS
Automatiste Revolution
Exhibition
Ms. Kathleen Chiu
distributed copies of a listing of the Exhibition’s events scheduled from early
October to the end of February 2010, including the Book Launch, VIP Donor and
Lenders Exhibition Preview, Exhibition Opening, lectures, readings, tours and
round table discussions. Copies of the
book will be available for sale at the Gallery following the book launch on
October 6th.
Members of the Board
expressed their appreciation to Ms. Chiu for the tremendous work involved in
the organization of these events.
With respect to the importance
of “getting the message out” regarding this Exhibition, the Board queried the
marketing of the Exhibition. Mr. Ryerson
advised that he is working with Ms. Perinet on a marketing strategy that will
include, but not be limited to, advertisements in the conventional media; arts
community publications; promotion through tourism; specialized culture
packages, including hotels and meals; and promotion to specialized/targeted
interest groups. It was suggested that a
dedicated “P.R.” person may be a good investment to assist with the marketing.
9. DATE
OF NEXT MEETING
The
next meeting is scheduled for:
Monday,
October 26, 2009 at 4:00 pm at the
10. ADJOURNMENT
The
meeting of the Board of the Varley McKay Art Foundation of