Thank you, Mr. Chair and standing committee members.
Good afternoon.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today.
I am speaking to you today from Regina, Saskatchewan, Treaty 4 territory, the traditional territories of the Cree, Saulteaux, Ojibwa, Dakota and Lakota, Nakota peoples and homeland of the Métis.
My name is Anthony Kiendl. I am executive director and CEO of the MacKenzie Art Gallery and president of the Canadian Art Museum Directors Organization.
I acknowledge our council board with representatives from across Canada, and our executive director, Moira McCaffrey.
CAMDO represents about 100 chief executives of our country's diverse and dynamic public art galleries and museums. Our mission statement asserts that CAMDO strengthens the ability of Canadian art museum and public art gallery directors to champion art and its significance in society. It is in this spirit we address the committee today.
Our members and their organizations are being deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. All art museums and galleries in Canada were forced to temporarily close our doors out of immediate concern for public health and safety. A handful of our organizations have recently begun to open to the public. However, many are predicting extended closures for a variety of reasons.
We understand that the government's first priority is saving lives and supporting all Canadians, many of whom are in critical, life-threatening situations, including our front-line workers and essential services, to whom we are grateful for their dedication and service.
CAMDO members believe passionately that art museums and galleries help people to imagine and create a better world. In these unprecedented times, Canada's art museums continue to offer information, learning opportunities and solace to the public. By connecting us, art and culture foster empathy and understanding of the broader human condition beyond our lived experiences.
We are inspired by the creation and outpouring of art in all its forms, which have made the last few months not only more tolerable but have transformed people's lives and helped us all see things from a different perspective. Over 95% of our galleries have shifted programming online and have continued to share resources with artists and our communities. Statistics Canada estimates that the direct economic impact of culture was $53.1 billion in Canada in 2017, or 2.7% of overall GDP. In visual and applied arts alone, that includes $10.2 million as key contributors to the gross domestic product.
We applaud and are grateful for the various measures the Government of Canada has undertaken to support the sector during COVID-19. Of note are the various wage subsidy programs as well as additional sector-specific funding, including $500 million from Canadian Heritage. Of special note has been the proactive and positive engagement of the Canada Council for the Arts.
These lifelines have had a meaningful and significant impact and enabled most of our organizations to continue and have widely kept our employees on the payroll.
I want to draw the attention of the committee to a significant portion of our member galleries and museums that may fall through the cracks with regard to federal support. Those are the myriad university and municipal art galleries from coast to coast that serve wide public audiences but are ineligible for federal funding due to jurisdictional structures. We would like to respectfully suggest that more could be done for university and municipal art galleries, which are ineligible for the wage subsidies due to their provincial mandates.
CAMDO conducted a national survey in April to explore how art museums are being affected and 62% of our galleries indicate increased costs of doing business, while at the same time about 75% are reporting lost revenue. In the commercial gallery sector worldwide it was reported that galleries expect a 72% drop in revenues and that one-third of commercial galleries worldwide do not expect to survive the crisis. The implications of this are profound, with an anticipated effect through the visual arts sector, including both individual artists and larger institutions.
Our sector anticipates new challenges as we emerge from the pandemic and seek ongoing support as part of the recovery. Added costs of ensuring public health and safety measures, such as increased staffing, digital technology and programs, IT to manage timed entry and contact tracing, plexiglass shields and cleaning, all of these will strain our resources, even as we expect reduced attendance and reduced revenue in the near term to support these costs.
We believe it is imperative to ensure that all Canada’s public art galleries and museums will receive additional support to cover these urgent items that have not otherwise been supported through previous programs, including the wage subsidies or the Canada Council for the Arts funding.
Over the long term, changes to tax incentives for philanthropy and matching endowment programs enacted by the federal government will be required to foster greater resiliency, reduce reliance on government funding and ensure that the dramatic and devastating impact of the pandemic does not occur again.
In conclusion, thanks in large part to the measures taken by the federal government so far, Canada’s art museums and public art galleries are well positioned to be active participants in leading us towards Canada’s economic recovery. Further support is an investment that will position art galleries and museums to be part of the recovery, to foster social inclusion, kick-start the economy and spur domestic tourism. These are roles Canada’s art museums and galleries are uniquely positioned and excited to realize with your support.
Thank you.