Annual Report 2006-2007 Table of Contents
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ANNUAL REPORT 2006-2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS 03 Chair’s and President’s Message | 06 A New Direction for Glenbow 08 Mavericks | 10 Glenbow Reaching Out in a New Way | 12 Aritha van Herk | 14 Michale Lang 16 Mavericks: Following in their Footsteps | 18 Current and Upcoming Exhibitions 20 Feature Exhibitions & Program Highlights | 22 Facts and Figures | 24 Acknowledgements of Support 27 Financial Review | 48 Board of Governors This annual report reflects Glenbow Museum’s fiscal year April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007. GLENBOW MUSEUM ANNUAL REPORT 2006/07 Vision: Glenbow is the pre-eminent regional museum of the Canadian West, Chair’s and President’s Message for Annual Report: 2006/2007 celebrating its art, dialogue and history with diverse audiences. Glenbow’s exhibits span local, national and international themes, and include a Twelve more months in our 41 year history have history are now becoming a matter of permanent dynamic virtual presence beyond its walls. Rooted in our eclectic collections now sped by, and our restless spirit of innovation public record. Core to the innovative approaches and stewardship continues. On March 24, Mavericks: present in the exhibit is Aritha van Herk’s book of the and our entrepreneurial tradition, we set standards for museum practice An Incorrigible History of Alberta permanent gallery same title. Together book and exhibit demonstrate opened, on time and on budget as our contribution the synergy of the printed word and museology. to the celebration of Alberta’s first 100 years of The exhibit is further enhanced by superb design, and contribute to attracting and retaining the best citizens for Calgary.. provincehood. Simultaneously during the year we also community research, mavericks’ family support, and completed an extensive review regarding a potential strong new media applications. All told, Mavericks is Mission: The strength of Glenbow Museum lies in its eclectic collections, opportunity to relocate to a new facility. At the end a history feast, now served daily to Glenbow’s visitors. of the day we declined participation in the project, focusing specifically on Canadian and Asian Art, Cultural History, Military but we learned much in the process, and the search The year long negotiation for a potential relocation for a new “Enhanced Glenbow” will continue. The saw Glenbow’s Board, community representatives, major Glenbow Board decision of the year was the senior management team, staff and a small group of History, Ethnology and its Library and Archives of the West. In addition, embrace of Art, Dialogue and History as our new five consultants combine efforts to see if an innovative 03 year strategic roadmap focus. A new Board governance public/private partnership could be struck. We pioneered these collections are increasingly accessible in new media to a broad global system is now in place to ensure our success. Finally, research on the attributed value of cultural adjacency,2 Glenbow completed another strong year financially, traveled to London, England with Calgary Mayor Dave audience beyond our building. The Centre for Dialogue provides Glenbow with a surplus on operations of $14 thousand, and Bronconnier and Alderman Druh Farrell to meet with a March 31, 2007 Endowment Fund balance of Lord Foster’s architectural team, and crunched the $33 million. Looking back, fiscal 2006-07 was rich in numbers to evaluate the five year sustainability of with opportunities to conduct deep and respectful discussions with the achievement, experimentation and critical thought about Enhanced Glenbow in a new venue. At the end of the our operations. Collectively we grew as an institution, day Glenbow’s space and philanthropic sponsorship public on major contemporary issues. In combination, Art, Dialogue and and Mavericks became our new Calgary brand. needs were more than we felt the deal could permit. We learned, however, a great deal about the sustainability History drive the work of Glenbow to reveal the past, understand the Taking these achievements in order, the Mavericks of our operating model; we carefully thought through gallery involved a total of 175 Glenbow staff at its our design and programming needs; and we benefitted peak, represents a $12 million commitment on behalf from the insights of many community representatives present and forecast the future. of the Provincial and Federal governments, the private who participated in the study. While we were constructing sector, and individual philanthropists, and was four Mavericks and negotiating for a potential new venue, years in the making, from concept to opening. We we were also operating the existing Glenbow, with celebrate 48 women and men whose “mavericity”1 help from Egypt, Greece and Rome: Art of the Ancient is pronounced, and whose contributions to Alberta’s Mediterranean World which we booked from the 1 We believe Glenbow staff coined this word in December, 2006. 2 The dollar value added to commercial real estate by placing a cultural institution in a private development. GLENBOW MUSEUM ANNUAL REPORT 2006/07 Boston Museum of Fine Arts for a one year term. biblical story of creation. Women swooned, horses Thanks to the show’s strong popularity we were able reared in the streets, and fist fights ensued on the to avoid dark weeks (downtime between feature boulevard after the event, which ultimately ushered exhibitions), allow maximum staff focus on Mavericks in the Victorian era’s spirit of scientific rationality. construction and installation, and continue to serve Where better for this to have occurred than a museum? the needs of 148,848 visitors, of whom 48,129 Over the next 12 months Glenbow will also begin to were students at various levels of Museum School. develop a Centre for Dialogue in its theatre, a permanent In addition, Knowledge Management Director Kirstin art gallery space for its collection, and work to continue Evenden was appointed during the year to develop its already strong history focus. Altogether we will a broad reaching new media, publishing and rights create Art, Dialogue and History at Glenbow Museum. management portfolio for Glenbow. Ending the year with a small financial surplus, and keeping all the In 2006 we welcomed George Bezaire, Richard Cormack, doors open during total reconstruction of 24,000 Anne Crawford, Richard Shaw and Michael J. Robinson 04 square feet on the third floor was proof of our strong to the 18 member strong Board, and further new Board team spirit and management focus. We thank all the members will join us in September 2007 when Terry staff for such special extra efforts this year, when all Allen and Rod Green complete their terms of service. of Calgary was also caught up in a civic construction The constant process of reinvigoration is a signal and economic boom. component of our commitment to keeping Glenbow current and reflective of Calgary’s place in Canada. We embraced Art, Dialogue and History this year as our focus in becoming western Canada’s museum for Our efforts in 2007 will be directed at bringing the the 21st century. The Dialogue piece is still confusing same emphasis to art and dialogue as we do to history. to some, but will soon become crystal clear. Museums We look to you, our visitors and members, to add are places of public trust; dialogue is based on deep your eyes to this process, and to travel with us to and respectful listening and questioning convened a mutually desired future. in a safe locale; a Centre for Dialogue is therefore logically a museum. Significantly, the first museum dialogue in history occurred at the Oxford University May 14, 2007 Museum in July, 1860 when Thomas Huxley presented3 the Darwinian theory of evolution for the first time in a public setting, and was verbally challenged by Bishop “Soapy Sam” Wilberforce, who defended the 3 Charles Darwin, the intended speaker, was confined to bed with a bad cold. Michael P. Robinson, C.M., President and C.E.O. Ian Bourne, Board Chair GLENBOW MUSEUM ANNUAL REPORT 2006/07 GLENBOW MUSEUM ANNUAL REPORT 2006/07 Glenbow Museum: A New Gallery, A New Direction Mavericks: An Incorrigible History of Alberta It took four years, 175 people and $12 million to area, allows museum explorers to track David Thompson’s • A “film noir” docu-fiction presented in a custom- create, and on March 24, 2007, Glenbow Museum’s famous and arduous treks across the barren prairie, built theatre, exploring the legendary Picariello case new permanent gallery, Mavericks: An Incorrigible flowing rivers and rugged Rocky Mountains. Visitors History of Alberta opened to the public. Mavericks can even spot where he stopped along the way and the • A full-scale Curtiss JN-4 (Jenny) airplane is the largest and most extensive exhibit Glenbow has posts and forts he passed – all by touching a screen! unveiled since opening in 1976. Inspired by Aritha van Glenbow is embracing technology because we Herk’s book of the same title, this new gallery tells Museum-goers can also experience Alberta’s stories have learned visitors are no longer content to look the story of Alberta through the lives of 48 mavericks coming to life in the palm of their hand thanks to the at artifacts in silent cases. They want to learn by – colourful characters whose tenacious spirits and innovative new multimedia guide called the Mavericks doing as well as seeing, they want history to come enterprising mindsets shaped who we are today – Navigator. One of only two Canadian museums to alive and they want to be engaged in a dynamic, adventurous and hardworking people. utilize this technology in a permanent gallery, Glenbow’s hands-on experience. In Mavericks, they can achieve Mavericks Navigator guides visitors through 43 tour this desire. Mavericks delivers a multi-sensory experience Our new Mavericks gallery signals a new direction for stops as they weave their way through the gallery.