Soumise par le conseiller W. Lo :
[La version française suivra.]
The City of Ottawa’s Public Art Program was created at amalgamation by combining the art collections of the former Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton and 11 former municipalities. According to the city’s Public Art Policy, the program, among other things, fosters awareness of Ottawa’s visual art history, provides opportunities for artists across Ottawa’s full diversity, and promotes Ottawa’s artists.
The city’s collection includes various types of visual art acquired and trusted to the city through commission, purchase, and donation. The collection is held in trust for the city’s residents and is a major asset requiring professional stewardship, care, maintenance, and conservation. The Public Art Program also operates display spaces at some municipal facilities and throughout public realm, including commissions through major capital projects, and much of their collection is also displayed in municipal facilities and offices, including at City Hall.
On the other hand, the Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG) exhibits and promotes regional art within various contexts and includes programming to reach participants of all ages, backgrounds, and experiences. In fact, the OAG was created by a grassroots group of artists who “fought to have a gallery that presented and collected the art of our region, so that our artists could represent the City of Ottawa to the nation and to the world.” Further, the OAG states visitors can expect to experience “a shared sense of pride in the cultural contributions of artists from the Ottawa-Gatineau region.”
Although art is a positive contributor in every respect and is stronger with diversity, the local arts scene is often challenged by existing in the shadow of the national arts scene. Interestingly, Arts Network Ottawa and the Ottawa Arts Council announced their merger in October 2023, expected to launch as a new arts service organisation in 2025, with a primary stated goal to “create a new, unified organization advancing the arts in Ottawa. Together, [the new organisation] will bring a stronger voice to our arts community.”
Given the similarities between the missions of the City of Ottawa’s Public Art Program and the Ottawa Art Gallery, to celebrate and preserve local and regional art, there may exist an opportunity for the two organizations to combine into a single strong and unified entity to continue advancing their goals. An argument can be made for the former to be merged into the latter to shrink the municipal portfolio while allowing the Public Art Program to operate in a purely arts-focused environment.
Given the above, staff are requested to provide responses to the following:
- What are the differences between the respective mandates and missions of the City of Ottawa’s Public Art Program and the Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG)?
- What is the operating expense of the Public Art Program and the monetary value of the public art collection?
- Have there ever been discussions about or attempts at combining the Public Art Program into the OAG? If so, what was the reason behind the decision ultimately taken?
- What benefits, risks, and other considerations would there be administratively, operationally, and financially for the city if such a decision were to be considered?
- If the city's Public Art Program was merged with the OAG, what collective bargaining implications might there be?
- How would a merger of the Public Art Program into the OAG affect the strength and unity of the voice for local and regional art in Ottawa?
- Provide responses to questions 3 to 6 in the reverse scenario—acquiring/absorbing the OAG into the city’s Public Art Program.