EX-CEO SAYS CREDIBILITY OF REMAI IS THREATENED
Gregory Burke notes gallery is all too open to political meddling by city councillors
If these forces are left unabated, Remai Modern will most certainly fail to deliver on its potential and promise to the community.
A year after opening, Remai Modern bathed in international acclaim, immense community support and outstanding attendance. Many around Canada, and beyond, were in awe of how a small Prairie city captured the global imagination.
Now, just a few short months later, the gallery’s future is uncertain and it is at risk of losing the local and international credibility it has established. You would be right to ask how did this happen and who is responsible.
There are still factions that won’t support the bold move to leave the Mendel and build a new gallery five times the size. Let’s face it, the new gallery was never going to be the Mendel, and yet the political and philosophical debate over Mendel versus Remai is central to the current upheaval.
Despite Ellen Remai’s amazing support, in 2013 I found a project alarmingly short on funding for construction, transition and operations once open. The projected budget for staff, programs and services was little more than the Mendel. To put this into perspective, the Mendel earned about $100,000 in non-public funding. In 2019 Remai Modern needs to raise and earn about $5.4M in non-public funding to meet its budget. The gallery simply cannot operate like the Mendel.
Something radical needed to happen to avert disaster. Together with the board, staff and stakeholders we developed a courageous and transformational brand, based on the simple premise that you can be the best in the world anywhere in the world. To be successful the gallery needed to inspire the Saskatoon community, while becoming a compelling destination for visitors. The board fully committed to the vision and remained unwavering in its support.
Among myriad challenges, I had the unenviable task of closing the Mendel two and a half years before opening and then recruiting for a much larger gallery, where all rewritten jobs had to meet dramatically different operating conditions. I also faced the relentless machinations of City Hall, with many board members often commenting that I had a bull’s-eye on my back.
As part of its consideration of what was needed to successfully meet the vision, the board reviewed the gallery governance structure, submitting its recommendations, including a very limited extension of independence, to City Hall in mid-2016. They have languished there ever since. The gallery is the only one of such scale in Canada, where the council completely controls the board appointment process, making the gallery susceptible to the whim of political interference.
As if to prove the point, things took a dark turn after the October 2016 election. In 2017-18 City Hall engaged in an active campaign to have me removed. The independent board members did not support this; nevertheless my contract renewal was delayed five months. This began before the opening. At the opening gala, I was not thanked by City Hall, a fact noted by many with astonishment. In contrast, a great many in the community approached me during the opening weekend, and since, to say thank you. This has been the most gratifying aspect of my last six years, if not my life.
Shortly after opening, the troubling non-reappointment of business leaders to the board began. I counselled from my start the need to enhance both diversity and business acumen on the board. In order to meet its goals, which include raising millions of dollars each year, Remai Modern has a great need for the unpaid voluntary hours these people bring in terms of their business and governance skills, community relations and competence. I note, with alarm, it is primarily the highly ethical business leaders who are gone.
Once open, I reminded the board we were entering the third stage of transition; beginning actual operations, which meant challenges typical of startups. I recommended the board mandate both an organizational and strategic review.
The ensuing work was extensive and done professionally and well. It resulted in a comprehensive updated strategic plan, which clearly spelled out major commitments to community engagement and local art.
A constant over the years has been concerted opposition, by some, to the vision and direction of the gallery as both a local and international destination. This disgruntlement ignores the amount of local art shown at the gallery (more than at the Mendel) and that the gallery in its first year has been second to none in terms of community and family engagement. It further ignores the wider exposure garnered for local art via a mix of local and international programs. Lastly it disregards, or is irritated by, the incredible success of the first year, which of course was driven in large measure by community support. In short, the citizens of Saskatoon got it right.
I worked passionately over the last six years to establish a sustainable and successful institution that would make Saskatoon proud and reflect the ambitions and spirit of its citizens, and one that was based on a questioning spirit, ethical behaviour and core values of accountability, tolerance, inclusivity, truthfulness and fairness. Recent events have sorely tested the values upon which Remai Modern was built.
The success of Remai Modern in its first year was exceptional and certainly unprecedented in Western Canada, in spite of the politicized forces that worked to undermine this feat. If these forces are left unabated, Remai Modern will most certainly fail to deliver on its potential and promise to the community.