Last year proved a tough one for the Burnaby Arts Council, but there’s hope on the horizon for 2025.
After delegates from the arts non-profit presented to council in November, councillors unanimously voted to hire a consultant to help the group get back on its feet as it faces “significant financial and organizational difficulty.”
“Since 2019, we have been riding a financial rollercoaster with fluctuating expenses and income streams,” board co-president Anna Maria Parolin told council Nov. 4.
The group, which has operated in Burnaby since 1970, runs a variety of programs including exhibitions at Deer Lake Gallery, workshops, grant programs to local high schoolers, and the popular Deer Lake Winter Craft Festival.
While the group was “ready to have renewed impact,” the money troubles continued, according to Parolin.
“We did not expect our operation grants to disappear so quickly,” Parolin said.
The Burnaby Arts Council lost $25,000 in operations funding from the BC Arts Council, Parolin told council.
The non-profit also faces rising costs, sponsorship changes and volunteer challenges, according to a city report.
The group’s executive director resigned in June, and the board made the decision to temporarily close Deer Lake Gallery in September.
The city report said the loss of the organization would have “a significant impact on the strength of the cultural sector in Burnaby, limiting opportunities for local artists to present their work and the variety of cultural experiences available to residents.”
Parolin said the consultant is expected to consider “the full picture of the role of the arts in Burnaby” and the arts council’s role within it.
The work could include fundraising and strategic planning.
Emmaline Hill, the city’s culture director, estimated the budget for the contractor would be between $50,000 and $75,000 and noted the time frame for the scope of work could vary within about six to nine months.
The goal is to become self-sufficient, Parolin said.
“It is getting us back on our feet.”
Grant Withers, a board member, said it goes further than that.
“We want us to start running and do really big things for the city,” he said.
“There’s new energy in the council … The community has spoken to us in different formats and told us that they’re yearning for a stronger arts sector in the city, and we feel poised to help make that happen.”
The City of Burnaby leases the Deer Lake Art Gallery space at 6584 Deer Lake Ave. to the arts council as an in-kind contribution and provides annual operating funding of $25,000, according to the staff report.
Staff will develop a full scope of work for the consultant and go to a bid process.
The arts council plans to report back to council when the consultant’s contract is finished.
