More on what it is that Brock University wanted to see happen at the Art Gallery of Burlington

artsblue 100x100By Pepper Parr

November 25th, 2106

BURLINGTON, ON

 

There is now a little bit more to tell about the conversations that have taken place between people at City Hall, the Art Gallery of Burlington and Brock University.

In a previous article we said: “Turns out that Brock University, headquartered in St. Catharines, has been sniffing around the Art Gallery of Burlington to see if some kind of a deal can be put together.”

There are a number of different pieces that need to be pulled together to get a clearer picture of what might be taking place.

We know that Brock University people have been talking to people in Burlington. At the time we didn’t know quite what the Brock agenda was. Nor did we know who at City hall was having the conversations with Brock – was it on the administrative side or the political side?

We do know that the discussions put the president of the Art Gallery of Burlington in an awkward position.
We are now pretty sure those conversations were with the Office of the Mayor.

What was the connection between Brock, the AGB – that we did not know.

Some context.

martin-and-daughter-von-zan

Martin von Zan and his daughter Kayla of Interkom Smart Marketing

Martin van Zon of Burlington based Interkom Smart Marketing prides himself on the work he has done for the St. Catharines Performing Art Centre where we understand he has helped them with fund raising. Van Zon was always disappointed that the Burlington Performing arts centre didn’t avail themselves of his services.

We know that Martin van Zon has had discussions with Mayor Goldring about being involved in the Mayor’s re-election campaign. We suspect he has asked von Zon to play a major role in his 2018 re-election campaign.

We know that Kayla , Martin’s van Zon’s daughter, is deeply embedded in the Mayors Millennial Advisory Committee. she was part of the committee, along with a Kimberly Calderbank, Christopher Reuse and Tyler Freeman who presented their subcommittees co-created critical success factors for the work plan at the May meeting of the Millennial Advisory Committee.

We know as well that Martin van Zon has been hired by Brock University as a consultant to help the University decide what it wants to do with the Rodman Collection.

How do all these pieces come together?

rodman-hall

Rodman Hall Art Centre – part of Brock University in St. Catharines has a highly rated collection.

In 2003 Brock University bought the Rodman Hall Arts Centre for the token fee of two dollars, and the agreement that no assets or holdings would be sold off for 20 years.

In 2015, Brock University VP Finance and Administration Brian Hutchings said Brock is “looking to reduce its subsidy to the Rodman Hall Arts Centre by 50%”. He is reported to have added that they needed to determine where Rodman fits in Brock’s orbit which was something to be studied. The university then went looking for an external consultant.

They ended up hiring van Zon for a reported $50,000 to hold four discussion meetings in St. Catharines about the Rodman Hall Arts Centre.

Those meetings did not go all that well. We will return to them
A little more background.

In 1955, St. Catharine’s residents began to develop an interest in a cultural centre. They saw many advantages from the coordination of activities among the cultural groups active in St. Catharines and region and decided to hold a conference to explore some ideas.

From that meeting came the idea that an arts council be formed. With that objective set – the group set out to find a building and facilities to provide workshop and studio space for activities of the member groups and a gallery for art exhibitions. They did that during 1957-58.

In early 1959, the nascent Arts Council approached Mr. T. R. Merritt, then the owner of Rodman Hall, and learned that Mr. Merritt was not only willing to sell his property, but was pleased at the prospect of his family home becoming a civic cultural centre. An agreement was reached quickly, on price and conditions, and the Arts Council was ready to proceed with property purchase and arts centre establishment.

welland-canal

St, Catharines is bisected by the Welland Canal. The Rodman home was built for one of the sons of the man who built the first canal.

St. Catharines is bisected by the Welland Canal – the route that let ships pass from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie. William Hamilton Merritt (1793-1862) built the first Welland Canal. The accomplishments of the various members of the Merritt family are so significant to St. Catharine’s that the city declared November 27th a “Merritt Day.” which marks the anniversary of the first passage of a vessel through the Welland canal.

Rodman Hall became Rodman Hall Arts Centre on September 17, 1960

From 1960 through to 1975 the Hall grew adding to its collection and to the size of the property. It was seen as one of the best preservation efforts in the province.

New facilities provided by the 1975 expansion qualified Rodman Hall as a “National Exhibition Centre” with the principal function of providing exhibitions of fine art which may be seen by the people of St. Catharines and Niagara Region. Being designated a National Exhibition Centres was significant; it meant that quality work could be displayed from the most important galleries in Canada including the National Museums of Canada International Exhibition Programme.

culture-day-installation-at-rodman

An installation at Rodman Hall

From 1975 until the end of 1981, 125 exhibitions have been presented. Attendance has increased 50 per cent in the last ten years. By the end of 1981 the collection numbered 375 works valued at $550,000.
Rodman Hall flourished.

By the end of the 1990s however accessing public funds was becoming increasingly difficult for the Rodman administration

Brock University stepped in and bought the place in 2003 when they were flush. Rodman Hall continued to operate as a public entity distinct from the university.

Brock’s financial contributions toward running the facility and maintaining the building and property rose considerably over the past decade. The university calls the costs for ongoing operations and needed capital upgrades “a growing concern.”

A recent Rodman Hall budget of $840,000 Brock kicked in $576,000.

Brock needed a way to cut its contribution in half, and asked Rodman Hall’s citizen advisory committee to offer suggestions by early summer on how to achieve that goal.

When Brock University bought Rodman Hall for two bucks, the sales agreement stipulated Brock couldn’t sell off any property or assets for at least 20 years.

The flush days of 2003 had clearly come to an end.

kids-day-at-rodman

Rodman Hall Art Centre – outdoor art classes.

All other facets of the university’s operation have been recently scrutinized, said Brock’s top finance official Brian Hutchings, and Rodman Hall is no exception.

Many thought Rodman should be self-sufficient. Those of us who look at the cost of running the art Gallery of Burlington and the Performing Arts centre know better.

This is where van Zon enters the picture. He has a $50,000 contract from the university to hold discussions with the St. Catharines community. He reports to the Brock University board of trustees.

The meetings van Zon held didn’t go very well – in fact they went rather badly.

The buzz in St. Catharines is that Rodman will be “given” to a “newly formed non-profit” in the summer of 2016, whose mandate will be to then sell the parkland and building. This money will then be the base of a larger fundraising campaign to build a new public gallery in downtown St. Catharines.

Interkom Smart Marketing was said to be “re-evaluating Brock’s relationship to Rodman Hall Arts Centre”. This was not going down very well with the St. Catharines arts community. van Zon was getting a very rough ride.
van Zon appears to have come up with a solution – make a deal with the Art Gallery of Burlington that has them taking on the Rodman collection with perhaps some of the funding coming along with it.

BAC aerial

Did Brock University want to convince the Art Gallery to take their collection.

What a feather that would be in the Mayor’s cap – nice wave to ride an election win on.

The Rodman collection has a far superior reputation than the Art Gallery of Burlington collection.

Would it be less than logical to conclude that Martin Van Zon believes he can deliver a big one for the Mayor by having the Art Gallery of Burlington accept the Rodman collection? Are we certain? No – for the most part this is speculation. But if you look at the record and all that has taken place, it is not too far from a logical conclusion.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for a statement from the Office of the Mayor

 

What got this story started?

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5 comments to More on what it is that Brock University wanted to see happen at the Art Gallery of Burlington

  • I do not see your connection clearly. The minute that the mayor finds out that this collection has no means of proper storage with climate control he loses. How much will it cost to create a climate controlled storage is about a million (my guess I could be wrong). It will cause a major shift in AGB mission and may impact future arts council funding. The Rickli sculpture is an albatross around the AGB neck. I suspect it was accepted to get the $100, 000 donation. Rodman had such “elite” gifts over the years.

    What is more likely, is that the AGB becomes part of a city owned high rise with one or two floors set aside for AGB. There is a need for a major overhaul in the relationship between the amateur guilds and the AGB. Kick the guilds out or make them function on a more professional level. Apparently, collectively their use seems to be as fund raiser. It is not aesthetics.

    You are correct that Burlington does not have people with fortitude as citizens to stop this transfer of art. (the amateurs will love it) St. Catharines is a much tighter, professional arts community and they will stop it. Brock will be stopped or more appropriately this Van guy…lol

  • tenni

    Bart Gazzola,
    Thank you for your input. I’ve been reading your six reports at https://thesoundstc.com/2016/11/what-about-rodman-hall-part-6-final-entry-planning-the-future-the-barlow-report/

    Decades ago I was in the Rodman storage Vault when I found Peter Harris with the doors open. I had forgotten the group of seven artists in the Rodman collection. Wonderful. Ceramic works by artists like Joe Fafard may not be on the same monetary value but both collections are intended for their community to treasure. The more that I read of Von Zon’s involvement with Brock and Rodman, makes me wonder if citizen’s of Burlington should be wary. Some in Gazzola’s reports like Peter Partridge have a long term involvement with Rodman and it is not surprising to find him still interested in Rodman’s collection.

  • E J Hayden

    Very interesting regarding the unseen connections and influences at work in Burlington.
    I would draw your attention to a very important factor that has been overlooked in your story; the so-called Barlow Report.

    This was commissioned by Brock University, paid for by the Ontario government and completed by Janis Barlow, Arts Consultant in September of 2015. In contrast to Interkom Marketings’ “consultations”, The Barlow report was thorough, professional and open. Accepted by the Board of Trustees of the University, it provided a way forward for the Rodman Hall Art Centre to continue to thrive with reduced funding from the university.

    Many In our community are wondering why the Barlow Report has apparently been dumped and Interkom Marketing brought in. This of course has led to speculation about the not-so-transparent motives of parties here in St. Catharines also.

    Cheers

  • Bart Gazzola

    Just a quick response to the question regarding value of the collections: a recent exhibition at Rodman which sampled the collection had several works by Group of Seven members. Casson, Harris and Jackson were all represented, and sometimes by multiple works. Even before this week’s banner sale of the Harris work, these are all pieces that are of significant value. I can’t speak to the AGB collection, as I’m unfamiliar with it, but the works that were on display in that single Rodman exhibition would be a major acquisition for any public gallery.

  • tenni

    I would agree with some of your reporting up to a thorny point. It is very debatable as to whether the St. Catharines Rodman Hall art collection has a higher value than AGB ceramic collection.

    Decades ago Rodman had a second addition added in part to have a climate controlled environment to protect the permanent collection of paintings, etchings etc. As reported, this also raised the qualifications of Rodman as a national level exhibition environment for touring exhibitions with art needing this climate controlled feature. I suspect that the AGB has a climate controlled exhibition venue in the Lee-Chin Family Gallery but not a storage climate controlled environment for any art collection. Ceramics does not seem to need this factor.

    The AGB in part focused on collecting a ceramics collection due to a lack of climate controlled storage facility. The AGB’s collection is the most nationally historical respected ceramic collection in Canada. The AGB ceramic collection is probably of greater national art historical value than Rodman’s collection of paintings, prints, sculptures etc. Rodman’s collection is of value for local art historical reasons. Burlington does not have a locally significant valued art collection (paintings, prints in particular) due in part to the lack of climate controlled storage facility. AGB Programming seems to be moving in the direction of nationally significant ceramic and craft symposiums and exhibitions.

    Why Burlington would be interested in owning a St. Catharines specific collect is a mystery? The people of St. Catharines will probably not permit such an action and why would the people of Burlington want such a collection? Some internationally significant works are in the Rodman collection but not enough for the Gazette’s suppositions.

    Back to the drawing board. Find out the insurance value of the AGB ceramic collection and the Rodman collection.