Canada Council Art Bank

The Canada Council Art Bank – A History

From its inception, the Art Bank was created to "supplement the income of artists whose works are purchased and to bring large numbers of Canadians in direct contact with contemporary Canadian art. It is also intended to provide stimulus to commercial galleries which have long made an important contribution to Canadian art." The unique idea for this program stemmed from the creative minds of two key people: Suzanne Rivard Le Moyne, then Visual Arts Officer at the Canada Council, and Al Johnson, Secretary of the Treasury Board of Canada at the time.

In 1972, Le Moyne forwarded a proposal to Treasury Board to set up an art rental project aimed at government agencies. Treasury Board responded, not with the $250,000 requested, but with an allocation of $5,000,000 over five years. This dramatic vote of confidence set the stage for what has become the largest collection of contemporary Canadian art in the world and the most successful art rental program in Canada. Today, Australia uses the Art Bank model; Norway has a similar project, and several other countries -- notably Singapore, India and Japan -- have asked for information.

This brief history will consider the policies and guidelines that over the years contributed to the success of the Art Bank and some controversies regarding its management.

Perhaps the greatest controversy has been the tension between the need to acquire works that are suitable for rental and the desire to build a major "collection" of Canadian contemporary art, regardless of whether the works would rent or not. Luke Rombout, the Art Bank’s original director, embodied this latter viewpoint with his comment that he was "not interested in becoming an interior decorator for the government" -- an opinion shared by subsequent directors.

This dichotomy of thought, perhaps, contributed to the inability of the Art Bank to achieve self-sufficiency within the first five years of its existence. In 1977, when Treasury Board realized that the Art Bank would not become self-sufficient, it did not recommend further government allocations. Self-sufficiency was dropped as a goal when the Canada Council then took over full responsibility for its operations.

When concern was expressed about the Art Bank’s collecting practices, the Council commissioned Davidson Dunton, a professor at Carleton University, to study its operations. In his report, he wrote "[t]here are obviously built in tensions between the two main purposes of the Bank". "The Art Bank should remain focussed on the acquisition and rental of art." Dunton also argued that "rental fees should meet operating costs, apart from those directly attributable to purchases or extension services." This recommendation was, in itself, a departure from the goal of self-sufficiency established earlier by Treasury Board. Over the next two decades, not only did revenues not cover purchases and services; it increasingly could not cover operating costs.

Throughout the 1980s, the Art Bank became arguably the most important player in the Canadian art market. Many considered its collection an important one, one that should be preserved for future generations. The rationale for purchasing major installations, films and videos was based on significant support for Canadian artists, not for ensuring the success of the rental program of the Art Bank. The original purpose was being eroded by competing needs, including the expanding nature of the Art Bank’s educational activities.

The collecting policy during the 1980’s led to a preoccupation that continues today. Some of the works purchased could not be rented. Large installations, large sculptures and films and videos were never suitable for art rental. While they may have been appropriate within the context of creating a national collection, there was never any intention of creating an exhibition program within that framework. At the same time, as rentals increased, clients were unhappy with the existing selection and were vocal about what was being purchased.

In 1995, when the Canada Council’s budget was cut by Parliament, the Council’s Board voted to close the Art Bank. This decision was prompted not only by the cost to the Council, but also by issues around the growth of the "collection", major artists repurchasing many of their works, and the large number of works which were never rented. Fortunately, a vocal public outcry forced the Board to reconsider its decision.

As a result, Luke Rombout, the first Director of the Art Bank, was asked to come back to try to bring its expenses under control. He cut staff, closed programs, froze the purchase program and began to look for new, less expensive warehouse space. As a result of major interventions on the part of the arts community and Rombout’s decisive actions, the Board allowed the Art Bank to continue operations and supported the move to a new location on St. Laurent Blvd.

All of these actions bought time for the Art Bank to reconsider its fundamental purpose and to take steps to ensure its future growth. For the Art Bank to succeed it was clear that a more businesslike approach to its management was essential.

When Victoria Henry was appointed Director in 1999, the mandate from the Board was to cover all costs -- including purchases -- with revenues generated from the rental of art. The Council would not finance the operations of the Art Bank beyond 2002.

Well aware that this might imply a major shift from collecting to renting, Henry first analyzed the entire collection. All 2,800 artists, their dealers or their estates were contacted, artist’s files were updated and all 18,000 works were professionally appraised. Now worth over $60,000,000, many works in the collection needed framing, reframing, and conservation. Criteria were established for identifying works that had never rented for future divestment.

At the same time, Henry took advantage of every marketing and media opportunity that presented itself and developed an advertising campaign around "Rent works of art for your place of work." The new location on St. Laurent Blvd was opened with great fanfare and a superb party. The Art Bank staff was reorganized to emphasize the client-centred focus of the three Art Consultants, each with technical and administrative support staff. The result has been a dramatic increase in revenues over the last three years. The Art Bank became self-sufficient, and purchased new work for the first time in 2000-2001.

In February 2002, the Art Bank celebrated its 30^th anniversary with a Mardi Gras event at the Bank. There was a great deal to celebrate. From its own revenues, the Art Bank has been able to purchase work by younger artists like Eliza Griffiths, Scott Griffin, Pearl van Geest, J.J. Lee, Alexandre Castonguay, Joseph Siddiqi, Todd Munro, Martin Bourdeau and Isabelle Hayeur. The Art Bank is financially secure with a small surplus and the client base is again expanding across Canada. Despite the shift in emphasis from collecting to renting, the Art Bank has still succeeded in purchasing important works of art and will continue to do so in the future.