Provincial support critical for new art gallery, says former head of Museum of Vancouver – Vancouver Sun

The former head of the Museum of Vancouver said getting provincial support in Nova Scotia has been critical in raising federal money toward building a new art gallery in Halifax.

Nancy Noble, now director and chief executive officer of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (AGNS), acknowledged that before she arrived on the East Coast, a lot of work had been done in Nova Scotia to build community support for a new gallery.

“You have to have provincial government support. That’s the big thing. Provinces apply for infrastructure funding and they prioritize it,” she said. “So the fact that the province prioritized the art gallery meant that they prioritized accessing federal funds as well.”

Noble started at the AGNS in September 2016. Previously, she was the CDO at the Museum of Vancouver for 11 years.

In 3½ years in Halifax, she raised $80 million from the province ($70 million for the building and $10 million for the site) and $30 million from the federal government. A capital campaign has a target of $30 million.

Earlier this month, the AGNS announced an international design competition for the building. Noble said the goal is to start construction in 2021.

In B.C., the Vancouver Art Gallery still hasn’t received federal funds. The VAG is looking for another $50 million from Victoria and $100 million from Ottawa.

The provincial government maintains that the VAG’s request is too much from a program known as the Community, Culture and Recreation fund of a federal-provincial infrastructure deal. Instead, it has requested federal funds for the VAG from another source.

Lisa Beare, B.C. minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, said in a statement Tuesday that her government has “requested support from the federal government and look(s) forward to receiving their response so we can proceed with this important project in B.C.”

It’s been about 16 years since the VAG started looking to relocate. Twelve years ago the provincial government gave the gallery $50 million for a new building downtown.

Noble’s experience working in cultural institutions on both coasts gives her a unique perspective on differences in how the arts are treated in B.C. and Nova Scotia. She acknowledged many major differences between Vancouver and Halifax such as the size of the two building projects, the demographics of the cities and their respective art scenes.

Noble cited considerable public and financial support for groups such as Arts Umbrella as one example of B.C.’s support for the arts.

“I also think raising money for the arts in British Columbia is probably more difficult than it is in Nova Scotia,” she said. “I don’t really know why that is.”

Noble pointed out major political differences between the two provinces that could play a role in how the arts are funded. In Nova Scotia, Premier Stephen McNeil has a comfortable majority government compared with Premier John Horgan’s shakier minority government.

Federally, the Liberals took every seat in Atlantic Canada in the 2015 election. In the 2019 federal election, the Liberals lost six seats but still held on to 26. In Nova Scotia, the Liberals have 10 of 11 seats.

In B.C., out of 42 federal ridings, the Liberals have 11, tied with the NDP. Conservatives represent 17 ridings, two are held by the Greens and one is Independent.

“We have a premier who is very committed to the arts and to a new gallery and has been in power for a while and has a fairly stable government,” Noble said by phone from Toronto en route to a conference. “Until the last federal election, all of Atlantic Canada was held by the Liberals. Sometimes things just align.”

Still, Noble said she knows that the VAG has a great collection and that there’s “so much fabulous contemporary art on the West Coast.” She said she thinks it’s a “puzzlement to many people” why Vancouver hasn’t been able to raise the money for a new gallery.

“I think politicians really do care about what their constituents want,” she said. “If you can get the constituents to support you, that’s really going to help.”

The new art gallery in Halifax will have 35,000 square feet of exhibition space in a 142,000-sq.-ft. building. It will be part of an arts district on a waterfront site donated by the province.

The VAG already has a design for a 300,000-sq.-ft. building by Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron. The site on West Georgia and Cambie streets across from the Queen Elizabeth Theatre has been donated by the City of Vancouver. Total cost is about $350 million.

The VAG has raised $135 million: $85 million in private-sector funding, which includes a $40-million donation last January from the Chan family, and $50 million from the B.C. government.

“We’re all cheering from afar,” Noble said. “I really think Vancouver deserves it. I hope they can find some new leadership that can find a way forward.”

kevingriffin@postmedia.com