It’s not the answer the Burnaby Arts Council was hoping for.
The City of Burnaby won’t support a new art gallery, according to a recent staff report.
The city’s parks director says the need for the project isn’t widely accepted by the community.
The arts council disagrees.
“This has been an issue that’s been going on for 30 years now; submissions have come up over and over again,” says arts council member David Handelman, adding more than 100 people attended a forum on the matter in November 2015.
The current gallery is at Ceperley Mansion in Deer Lake Park. It’s been there since 1967 and was restored in 1998.
The arts council has long argued the space is a fraction of the size (1,500 square feet in total) of art galleries in other municipalities with a similar population. There’s also no secure or environmentally controlled storage area in the building for the city’s art collection, which is stored offsite at the Burnaby Village Museum.
The gallery’s location is another problem, according to the arts council. The organization says it’s tucked away from where the majority of people shop and access SkyTrain, and lacks handicap access to the second floor. The arts council is proposing to build a new gallery at Civic Square in Metrotown.
Dave Ellenwood, director of parks, recreation and cultural services and co-author of the report, says going forward with the project contradicts the city’s arts policy, the social sustainability strategy and the economic development strategy.
“There’s no real statement there that a structure or a building is necessitated by policy. What’s necessitated by policy is development of the arts – period.”
Finding new ways to get the artwork to the public is “paramount,” and that is where staff are focusing their efforts, adds Ellenwood.
“The arts community is thriving. I’ve seen it for myself, but I don’t necessarily agree that the tipping point is a brand new gallery. It’s the collection we want to focus on,” he says, rejecting the claim Deer Lake Park isn’t an ideal location.
“It’s a central location; it’s in the precinct that includes the Shadbolt (Centre for the Arts). It includes major recreation facilities,” he says. “It’s right by the festival lawn where we have thousands of people coming through there every year. Everybody knows it’s Burnaby’s arts centre hub.”
Rec centres versus the arts
The report “doesn’t express much of a vision,” according to Handelman.
“Every policy they’ve identified seems to support the fact that they don’t need or want a new gallery,” he says.
Handelman wants the city to update its 27-year-old arts policy.
“The conditions that existed in Burnaby in 1990 are not the same; the population is much greater, density’s much greater and we would think there’s a lot more people involved in the arts,” he tells the NOW.
The report notes city staff will consider engagement opportunities in the arts at new and renovated city facilities and projects going forward – such as the public art components of the Willingdon Linear Park currently being developed.
“That’s a good thing but that’s not a place where people are going to gather,” Handelman says.
The report mentions the city’s use of community benefit bonus funds – money developers pay that is used for civic projects like non-market housing and community amenities.
A new Edmonds arena complex, the replacement of Cameron Recreation Centre and a new Brentwood Community Centre are just some of city council’s priorities.
The city allocates about three times the amount for recreational centres compared to cultural facilities.
According to the city’s 2017 to 2021 capital plan, $9,818,000 will be spent on rec centres in 2017, compared to $3,552,400 allotted for cultural facilities.
“The way Burnaby seems to go, they seem to build things when they want to,” says Handelman. “Burnaby has done a very good job at building recreation centres and sports facilities. … We think more should be done (for the arts). … We support their efforts; we just think in this particular area, they could be doing a better job.”
Having corporate partners step up to the plate for a new art gallery could be an option, he adds.
The arts council asked the city to take a lead on a feasibility study back in February 2016. Council agreed to have staff look into the request and report back.
The 14-page document initially came before city council on June 12 and an advanced copy was sent to the arts council. The organization requested some time to review it, so the report was tabled until July 10, at which time some arts council members will appear as a delegation and discuss the report.
