VARLEY McKAY
ART FOUNDATION OF
TOWN OF
The
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2007
– 4:00 P.M.
MINUTES
Attendance:
|
Members: Howard Back, Chair Brian Ayer Karen Chadwick Anna Gauci Ernestine Tahedl Bill Pickering Councillor Drew Gerrard Regrets: Elizabeth Plashkes Stan Neal Lana Champion
|
Staff: John Ryerson, Director L. Gold, Assistant to Committee |
The 8th meeting of 2007 of the Varley-McKay Art
Foundation of Markham Board convened at the hour of 4:15 p.m. with Howard Back presiding
as Chair.
1. CHAIR’S OPENING REMARKS
Mr. Howard Back, Chair, acknowledged the additional
gift of just over $1 million from Mr. W. Joyce and informed the Board of a
reception that was being planned to acknowledge the gift. The Mayor has invited
Wally (as a guest) to attend the Mayor’s Dinner for the Arts. He will be seated with Board Members.
The Chair reminded the Board of Katerina Atanassova’s
Book Launch for “F.H. Varley: Portraits Into the Light” on October 3rd
at the Arts and Letters Club and encouraged all members to attend. He noted the
book has been well received throughout the community.
2. ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES OF THE
VARLEY-McKAY ART FOUNDATION OF
ON JUNE 25 AND AUGUST 22,
2007
Moved by
Seconded by
That the minutes of the Varley McKay Art Foundation
of Markham Board meeting held on Monday, June 25, 2007 be adopted.
CARRIED
Moved by
Seconded by Bill
Pickering
That the minutes of the Special Meeting of the Varley
McKay Art Foundation of Markham Board meeting held on Wednesday, August 22,
2007 be adopted.
CARRIED
3. FINANCIAL REPORT
Drew Gerrard distributed the Financial Statements for the Varley-McKay
Art Foundation of
The Board inquired where the funds raised for the Restoration of McKay
House appeared on the financial statements.
It was explained these funds came out of the Town’s Accounts and
therefore do not appear in the Financial Report. It was reported the project
cost approximately $350,000 with about $75,000 raised from the community. The Board
noted it would like a status report on this project to be provided to the Unionville
Business Improvement Area Board of Management and the Unionville Villagers Rate
Payer Association. It was recommended a
banner thanking the community should be displayed at the construction site.
Moved by Brian
Ayer
Seconded by
That the
Unionville Village community be thanked for its support of the Restoration of
the McKay House and be provided with a status report.
CARRIED
Corporate
Account Authorization
The Board was provided with an update in regards to a 2006 resolution to
sell a Gift by Wally Joyce in the form of a stock certificate. It was reported the Foundation had some
difficulty obtaining the proper format of the documentation required to sell
the certificate. It was also noted that the
corporate resolution would need to be changed in order for the Foundation to be
able to buy and sell securities
Moved by Don
Hindson
Seconded by Bill Pickering
That the corporate account authorizing resolution September 18, 2007
attached as Appendix A to the September 18, 2007 minutes and the corporate
resolution attached as Appendix B to the September 18, 2007 minutes be
approved; and that Howard Back, Chairman of the Foundation is herby authorized
to execute and certify these resolutions.
CARRIED
4. COMMITTEE REPORTS
Art Committee
The Board was informed that the Art Committee
will not meet until later in October. Members were told a list compiling the
Gallery’s inventory of paintings will be provided to the Art Committee in order
to help draft purchases and make reference to priority purchases. A donation of high caliber art from Christopher
Cuffs was reported to the Board. This
was an example of the type of art donations the Art Committee is working
towards.
A grant of $15,000 was received from the
Walter Foundation. If the Board raises
$5,000 by December the Foundation will provide another $5,000, with a condition
the money is raised from new sources.
This is the second time the Walter Foundation provided this grant. The first time was five or six years ago.
Building and Long Range Planning
It was reported that at the Boards special
meeting in August $30,000 was approved for a feasibility study to expand the
gallery. There was a discussion
regarding a consultant to conduct the feasibility study as well as the
potential associated fee. The Board can then proceed with a
recommendation to Council.
Development Committee
A list of Fall priorities was provided by
the Development Committee. This list
included the following items:
§
Ensure
the management software (ACT) is up and running;
§
Create
a website for the Foundation;
§
Compile
a list of potential sponsors for the Gallery’s programs and exhibits;
§
Recognize
Wally Joyce for his generous donation;
§
Create
informative brochures for the Gallery and Foundation;
§
Send letters
to residents that donated to the McKay Garden project updating them on its
status;
§
Send
letters to residents that donated to the Restoration of the McKay House
updating them on its status.
Other long term goals included, creating a
gallery membership, and a newsletter for the Foundation.
Volunteer Committee
The Board was informed invitations have
been sent out for Katrina Atanassova’s Book Launch for
“F.H. Varley: Portraits Into the Light”.
5. Directors Report
John Ryerson reported to the Board that school
revenue doubled over the past school year. He further indicated many schools were
interested in attending the Gallery this Fall as the
A brochure of the exhibit “Urge to
Abstraction” was displayed to the Board.
The exhibit opened on September 11th and runs until November
11th. It displays 50 abstract
paintings from the 1940s-1960s.The Board was informed the opening of the
exhibit was a success, attracting many influential lvisitors. The book entitled Abstract Paintings in
Canada, by Roald Nasgaard, created in conjunction with the exhibit,
received a two page spread in the Globe and Mail’s Books section and is
receiving favorable reviews from the community. The exhibit will later be displayed at other
art galleries in
The Board was informed of a potential project
the Gallery is trying to organize as a result of the success of the “Urge to
Abstraction” Exhibit. The project would involve creating a new
exhibit and writing a book consisting of about 75 images highlighting the new exhibit. The new exhibit would be based on work by Les
Automotistes. The Director explained
copyrights for these images would need to be obtained by May 2008. Roald Nasgaard has demonstrated an interest
in being the curator of the exhibit, which involves both writing the book for
the exhibit and planning the exhibit. It
was noted start up funds would be required immediately in order to secure this
project. It was suggested the $14,900
remaining in the Tenth Anniversary Celebration Account be used for the initial funding
of this project. provided that a more detailed presentation of the cost of the
entire project be made to the Board as soon as possible.
The Board was also reminded that the
Business Plan for 2008-2010 will need to be finalized.
Moved by Brian Ayer
Seconded by
That the Varley Mckay Art Foundation fund
up to $20,000 for a contract to secure a curator for an exhibit involving works
of Les Automatistes . It was noted that
the above resolution does not support any additional funding of the exhibit.
CARRIED
(with one dissenting vote)
6. UPCOMING
EVENTS
Opening of the
Abstract Exhibition
The opening of
the exhibit was on September 15,, 2007 and was extremely successful.
Mayor’s Dinner
for the Arts
Members were informed tickets for the Mayor’s Dinner for the Arts on October
25, 2007 are sold out.
Home for the
Holidays
The Board was informed a meeting was held on
September 17, 2007 with 150 sponsors, designers, and volunteers. Everyone who attended received a gift valued
at $50 provided by sponsors. Tickets for
the “Homes for the Holiday” Annual House Tour are now for sale. The media launch for the event will be on
October 18, 2007 from 11:00 -1:00 p.m. at on of the homes. The goal is to raise $100,000 from the Event.
10. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the Varley Art Foundation of
That the 8th meeting of 2007 of the
Varley-McKay Art Foundation of Markham Board adjourned at 5:45 p.m.
CARRIED