Mendelog

Randy Burton
The StarPhoenix

Thursday, March 01, 2007
Welcome to the 21st century at Saskatoon city council.

The future is here, and if the deep thinkers on council have their way, that means no free rides and everyone must pay to attend the Mendel Art Gallery.

The reformers have arrived at this conclusion because the kids in Kinsmen Park have to pay for their train rides. If they can pay admission to get on the choochoo, then art gallery patrons can cough up to look at the paintings, dad gum it.

Somehow, the big battle we were promised over the Mendel’s future at city council the other night took a major detour through the land of user-pay philosophy.

Rather than a showdown over operating expenses and whose auditors can’t tell shellac from Shinola, we were treated to a debate over whether the Mendel should start charging at the gate.

As for the Mendel expansion, go back to sleep. It’s still on. Council approved going ahead with the expansion almost as an afterthought after they sidelined the seemingly more contentious issue of admission fees.

So the question of how the Mendel is supposed to raise several hundred thousand dollars to demonstrate support for the expansion will have to wait for another day. So will the disparity between what the gallery believes it will cost to run a bigger facility as compared to what the city’s auditors estimate.

But as symbols go, free admission encapsulates what several councillors seem to believe is wrong with the gallery.

To hear some councillors tell it, the Mendel is run by a spendthrift gang bent on surrounding themselves with luxuries common folk can only dream of. What’s more, they can’t even draft a consistent business plan.

Coun. Maurice Neault huffs and puffs about the idea of expanding the gallery to include a potential kitchen and a place to sit and eat overlooking the river, saying he doesn’t want to build “a playhouse.” He’s not wild about presiding over the valuable permanent collection the Mendel already owns and he certainly doesn’t want the gallery to buy any pieces of art internationally. All he wants is “a little gallery by the river” that will show more quilts and “western lifestyles” artists.

Neault is the most colourful of the bunch calling for admission fees, but he’s far from alone. Coun. Myles Heidt compares it to any other city-owned facility that charges admission for events, such as TCU Place or the swimming pools.

Mayor Don Atchison likes the Kinsmen kiddie train analogy, while Coun. Bev Dubois sees admission fees as a test of modernity. After all, “this is the 21st century and we have to get in there,” she says.

This is all very confusing, given that it’s happening at the same time the province is declaring the 21st century belongs to those who can supply free Internet downtown. The idea behind that initiative is that young people are more likely to stay in Saskatchewan if they have easy access to the web.

If that theory holds water, then it’s also true that creative people of all kinds would be more likely to make the city their home if they have easy access to art and culture.

What the conservatives on council fail to recognize is that an art gallery is not like a swimming pool or an arena. Simply because people pay to see monster trucks at Credit Union Centre, it does not necessarily follow that they should be expected to do the same to see an installation piece at the Mendel.

It seems ridiculous to have to say so, but a gallery is a place that doesn’t just entertain; it asks questions, sometimes diffi cult ones. It’s also a place of learning and a bridge to other cultures, most notably the city’s growing aboriginal population.

Of course, most galleries do charge admission. If you look across the country, many major institutions charge at the door. That doesn’t necessarily make it a good thing.

In its 40-year history, the Mendel has never charged, and it remains open more days with longer hours than almost any comparable gallery in the country. This is not a sign of a backward community that has yet to come to grips with the 21st century. It’s a recognition that not everyone in the community can afford to pay.

It’s no coincidence that on a per-capita basis, the Mendel is one of the most visited galleries in the country. In fact, you could argue that the Mendel is actually ahead of its time, given that major museums in Europe and the U.S. are trying to get rid of admission fees.

Last year, museums in Baltimore and Indianapolis abolished admission, following the lead of government-supported institutions in Britain, where attendance jumped as soon as the fees came off several years ago.

This is not as simple as some of our two-fisted councillors would have us believe. It’s also a timely reminder as to why Canadian arts and cultural institutions are run at arms length from government.

It’s to prevent politicians and their hobby horses from running roughshod over public institutions.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007