Museum of Vancouver Launches 'Austerity Tours' Exposing Funding Crisis
From September 24 to October 17, the Museum of Vancouver is presenting the "Austerity Tours" exhibition, aligning with the civic elections on October 17 and a provincial election later in the month. The museum, housed in a building designed by Gerald Hamilton in 1968, is experiencing infrastructure issues due to stagnant funding. The tour showcases problems such as a leaking lobby light fixture, staff reductions, an aging HVAC system that is harming artifacts in c̓əsnaʔəm: The City before the City, and a malfunctioning HVAC in the rental space. Last year, the original freezer, which has been in use since 1968, lost city maintenance support. CEO Ryan Hunt cautions about severe risks to the collection, which is primarily funded by the city, followed by provincial and federal sources.
Key facts
- Austerity Tours run 24 September to 17 October at the Museum of Vancouver
- Timed to coincide with Vancouver civic elections on 17 October and a provincial election later that month
- Museum's 1968 building designed by architect Gerald Hamilton requires repairs
- Lobby light fixture leaks hydraulic fluid and cannot be fully illuminated
- HVAC system deterioration has damaged stone, shell, and bone fragments in c̓əsnaʔəm: The City before the City exhibition
- Original freezer running since 1968 lost city maintenance funding last year
- Taxidermy storage contains arsenic, mercury, and other toxic preservation chemicals
- CEO Ryan Hunt cites C$29 return on every dollar of arts funding
Entities
Artists
- Gerald Hamilton
- Ryan Hunt
Institutions
- Museum of Vancouver
- City of Vancouver Archives
- The Art Newspaper
- Fifa World Cup
Locations
- Vancouver
- Canada
- British Columbia
- Pacific coastline