MacLaren Art Centre officials have painted a picture for Barrie councillors of a gallery needing to be better funded by the city.
During a presentation to council Monday night, MacLaren executive director and curator Lisa Daniels, along with gallery board chairman and president Michael MacMillan, asked for a near doubling of the Mulcaster Street’s annual city grant on an ongoing basis.
Using 2019 numbers, the MacLaren received $137,000 in city money, or 7.5 per cent of the gallery’s $1.825-million total operating budget.
This compared to municipal gallery grants of 54.5 per cent in Peterborough, 29.5 per cent in Oshawa, 26.5 per cent in Kitchener-Waterloo, and 17 per cent in Guelph.
“The average annual grant given by the municipality for general operating costs is in the range of 25 per cent of the gallery’s budget,” Daniels said. “We are… asking that the city take steps to bring our annual operating grant in line with the industry’s standard, to within the range of 20 per cent of our budget.
“Which, based on our 2022 budget, which is just under $1.4 million, would represent an increase to our current city operating funding of about $122,600," Daniels added.
“It seems like a very fair ask, based on the economics of comparables (other municipal galleries),” said Coun. Jim Harris, who sits on the MacLaren board.
“We really need to get that stable base to get our heads above water as a starting point,” MacMillan said.
But Coun. Sergio Morales said he has a problem with the math.
“Is there a reason you presented these numbers this way? Any specific reason?” he asked Daniels. “And what I mean is in relation to the municipal operating (money) that we cover to the total budget?
“The reason I bring that up is these numbers are a little bit misleading," Morales added.
Morales said the $137,000 should have been compared to this year’s $1.4-million MacLaren operating budget, which would have meant a 10 per cent share, not 7.5 per cent, and it should have been the median of the other municipal operating budgets, not the average, that was used for comparison purposes, because of the large Peterborough percentage, which skewed the average.
“I am troubled about the way the numbers were presented,” he said. “I heard the what and the what is we want more money. We want a doubling… of the municipal operating (funding). And we want it stabilized and formalized.”
Daniels said she could redo the numbers for Morales.
She said the MacLaren needs stable funding.
“Anytime you have a stable base to work from, more things are possible,” she said. “You’re able to be more creative, you’re able to take more risks, which prompts more initiative and engagement in community and you’re also able to provide programs that maybe are cheaper, more accessible, and possibly even some free programs to members of the community.”
The MacLaren primarily relies upon three funding sources: its self-generated revenue, fundraising and sponsorship, and from the three levels of government.
Fundraising and philanthropy were hindered by the pandemic, resulting in $790,000 totals in 2019 dropping to $575,000 in 2020 and $450,000 in 2021, Daniels said.
The MacLaren’s overall budget was reduced by 25 per cent from 2019, the last normal year, and fill-time staff was cut by four to make ends meet.
“You guys have made some tough decisions. Sometimes it’s hard to make those,” said Coun. Robert Thomson. “You’ve cut back on staff.”
The cafe and gift shop are also on shaky ground.
“Those operations were not generating revenue… they were no longer viable,” Daniels said.
But she said just more fundraising isn’t the answer, hence the need for more city funding.
“It was getting to the point where fundraising was taking over as the primary activity of the MacLaren and that kind of skewed a lot of the other programming… because of that imbalance,” Daniels said. “So our goal is to balance it out, not to omit it. To focus on fundraisers that actually have a large enough return.”
She mentioned MacLaren bingo, which brings in almost $500,000 a year.
Daniels also said she would like to change the relationship between the city and MacLaren, so the gallery is more of a service partner, but not a city department.
Exactly what this looks like and how it works would be part of a report Daniels said she would have back to council by the fall or year’s end.
City council normally does its operating and capital budget in December, although the Oct. 24 city election and a new council could push that back to early 2023. Budget time is when council would decide on an extra $122,600 for the MacLaren.
