The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) announced it will lay off around 30 staff members as part of a significant reduction in its operating budget. The gallery aims to ensure long-term sustainability following a $23.4 million deficit in the last fiscal year. A spokesperson for the gallery stated, “Staff have been informed that reductions will take place across all areas of the gallery, including staffing.
These are hard decisions, but they are being made with care and a continued commitment to our public mission.”
Warren Williams, president of CUPE 15, the union representing VAG workers, expressed deep sadness over the decision. “Although the union has not yet completed its comprehensive evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to permit the employer to present voluntary severance package offers to individual employees,” Williams said. He mentioned that 29 or 30 unionized staff members, constituting about 20% of the gallery’s union workforce, will be affected.
The layoffs follow the resignation of the gallery’s director and chief executive, Anthony Kiendl, three months ago. They also come six months after the cancellation of a planned new C$600 million ($420 million) building designed by Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, as costs soared by 50%. The gallery has since been reviewing proposals for a more cost-effective design.
Vancouver Art Gallery budget cuts
The VAG’s financial situation has been challenging. For the fiscal year ending June 2024, the gallery reported a C$32.1 million ($23.4 million) shortfall in revenue over expenses, contrasting the C$35.9 million ($26.1 million) surplus in the previous year.
This was largely due to a significant cut in provincial funding, which fell from $27.5 million ($20 million) to $887,673 ($646,000). Meanwhile, revenue from admissions saw a slight increase of 2.6%, totaling $2.7 million (just under $2 million). The layoffs are occurring as the city of Vancouver, one of the gallery’s funders, announced financial cutbacks across multiple sectors.
Concurrently, the provincial government revealed that costs for hosting six matches during the upcoming Fifa World Cup have escalated to $454 million, exceeding the cost of the scrapped Herzog and de Meuron design for the new VAG building. Williams indicated that CUPE 15 continues to negotiate for better severance packages, ensuring financial incentives and protection of benefits for those affected. “Considering the financial status of the gallery and the new site being put on hold—they are in a bit of a pickle,” he said.
He also highlighted financial struggles faced by other cultural institutions in the city, such as the Museum of Vancouver and the Maritime Museum, which rely heavily on donations. The Vancouver Art Gallery has yet to announce further details about the planned new facility, and the timing of any future developments remains uncertain.
