Owen Sound Committee - Tom Thomson Art Gallery Advisory Meeting Transcript — September 2, 2026

00:00:53 Speaker 01: I'm calling to order the September 2nd, 2026 meeting of the Tom Thomson Art Gallery Advisory Committee.

00:01:02 Speaker 01: First question: Do we have quorum?

00:01:05 Speaker 01: Okay, good.

00:01:05 Speaker 01: First one, check and see.

00:01:06 Speaker 01: Okay.

00:01:09 Speaker 01: Any additional business that we've been given?

00:01:14 Speaker 01: No. Okay.

00:01:19 Speaker 01: Declarations of interest registered.

00:01:23 Speaker 01: Everyone's looking bigs, I guess.

00:01:24 Speaker 01: Okay, we continue.

00:01:26 Speaker 01: Thank you.

00:01:26 Speaker 01: Has everybody had a chance to go through the minutes of May 6th?

00:01:33 Speaker 01: It seems like such a long time ago.

00:01:34 Speaker 01: Are there any questions about that?

00:01:40 Speaker 01: Objections, alterations, or whatever to them?

00:01:43 Speaker 01: Everyone's happy with them.

00:01:44 Speaker 01: You have a motion to approve the minutes.

00:01:46 Speaker 01: Great, we'll do that.

00:01:48 Speaker 01: Thank you.

00:01:49 Speaker 01: All those in favour?

00:01:50 Speaker 01: Thank you.

00:01:54 Speaker 01: We notice here that Kelsey is absent.

00:01:56 Speaker 01: Do we mark in the minutes anybody who's sent regrets?

00:02:00 Speaker 01: So Kelsey is one who's sent regrets.

00:02:03 Speaker 01: Okay, thank you.

00:02:06 Speaker 01: Deputations and presentations, and I think there are none.

00:02:11 Speaker 01: It says, and a public forum.

00:02:15 Speaker 01: No correspondence received for which direction is required.

00:02:21 Speaker 01: No correspondence.

00:02:24 Speaker 01: We do now have a report from city staff.

00:02:31 Speaker 01: Great, thank you.

00:02:32 Speaker 02: And through Chair Tovell, I'm pleased to bring forward my staff update report, and the recommendation is respecting this September update report that the advisory committee recommends that council receive it for information purposes.

00:02:47 Speaker 02: So I'm just going to say at the start, we've had a really great summer.

00:02:50 Speaker 02: Attendance is up.

00:02:51 Speaker 02: Attendances up.

00:02:52 Speaker 02: Our art camp was sold out.

00:02:54 Speaker 02: It was so amazing to see the energy throughout the summer with the kids making every day.

00:03:00 Speaker 02: We had such a positive experience with three art camp instructors.

00:03:03 Speaker 02: They were wonderful, professional.

00:03:05 Speaker 02: They're going on in their field towards becoming teachers, so we gave them valuable experience as well.

00:03:11 Speaker 02: And I just feel so positive at this moment in time about everything the gallery has accomplished so far this year, and everything seems to be trending in the right direction.

00:03:19 Speaker 02: So I'm just going to give you a few highlights from my report, and I trust everyone's had the opportunity to read it.

00:03:26 Speaker 02: But we'll start with a little bit about the attendance summary update.

00:03:31 Speaker 02: You'll see there that we had visitors counted manually and engaged with gallery staff at just over five thousand,

00:03:37 Speaker 02: and these are people that were able to count because they've come and they've interacted with someone at the front desk.

00:03:43 Speaker 02: Sometimes we get very busy.

00:03:45 Speaker 02: We have lots of tours coming in or groups and things like that.

00:03:49 Speaker 02: So some people do get missed, which is why we have the laser door counters as another way of looking at some of those metrics as well.

00:03:56 Speaker 02: So the exhibition doors have their own counters, and they have counted over seven thousand people entering the exhibition space.

00:04:04 Speaker 02: Our total facility visitors via the laser door counters are just over ten thousand.

00:04:09 Speaker 02: And so I'm just going to give you a little bit of perspective because I looked back on previous years' numbers.

00:04:15 Speaker 02: So the facility visitors that are counted manually by the staff, the people that are coming and engaging with staff, this year is just over five thousand four hundred sixty-eight,

00:04:25 Speaker 02: and that's more than the year previous, which was just over five thousand three hundred.

00:04:30 Speaker 02: The year prior, in 2023, we have two thousand nine hundred and forty.

00:04:36 Speaker 02: So we're just seeing like coming out of COVID at that time period.

00:04:39 Speaker 02: So it's nice to see that these numbers seem to be climbing, especially during a summer when we've heard that tourism has had more of a challenge in certain areas across Ontario,

00:04:52 Speaker 02: so we also see that our exhibition visitors counted by those laser counters this year is just over seven thousand three hundred.

00:05:00 Speaker 02: The year prior, we're just over five thousand, so another nice increase there as well.

00:05:05 Speaker 02: And total facility visitors by those laser counters over ten thousand five hundred this year and last year at the same time eight thousand three hundred.

00:05:13 Speaker 02: So those are some really good metrics.

00:05:15 Speaker 02: Just to say that people are coming to the gallery, they continue to see us as an important tourist destination, and I do also wonder whether people that are looking to do something more, you know,

00:05:26 Speaker 02: less economically challenged, see the gallery as an opportunity to spend, you know, a morning or an afternoon because they can pay by donation.

00:05:35 Speaker 02: Some interesting sort of demographic information is included in the report as well.

00:05:40 Speaker 02: You'll see that eight percent did show their open card when they came in.

00:05:44 Speaker 02: Eighteen percent were first-time visitors.

00:05:46 Speaker 02: Thirty-five percent were from Owen Sound, thirty-seven from Grey-Bruce and Simcoe, ten percent from the GTA, and then we have another little list of small pockets of people from Hamilton, London, Kitchener,

00:05:58 Speaker 02: and four percent were outside of the province.

00:06:00 Speaker 02: Three percent were actually outside of the country.

00:06:02 Speaker 02: So people are coming, you know, that are international travellers, and they've heard about Tom Thomson generally, and they want to come and see the gallery.

00:06:12 Speaker 02: So I would like to say overall, you know, we show growth in terms of our attendance, our total tours, our school tours, Gallery Night at the Movies,

00:06:22 Speaker 02: and our engagement outreach numbers also reflect strong growth over previous years.

00:06:28 Speaker 02: And so I think you know we're really trying to create programmemememes that engage people, make people want to come to the gallery.

00:06:36 Speaker 02: Our art camps have been such a great example of that, and some of the artists were...

00:06:39 Speaker 02: And some of the artist workshops that you'll hear about, and later in my report as well, we did experience a particularly active period of community participation.

00:06:49 Speaker 02: Highlights that we'd like to include include the celebration of Upcycle Tom with children and families, the Magic of Children's Art display,

00:06:58 Speaker 02: and the artist talk by Liz Zetlin that was connected to her exhibition More Than Human: A Year in My Garden.

00:07:05 Speaker 02: We also participated in the One World Festival and Camp Tom.

00:07:09 Speaker 02: Of course, we did Doors Open.

00:07:11 Speaker 02: We had good attendance to our summer exhibition opening as well.

00:07:16 Speaker 02: A couple of highlights I've included in the report as well.

00:07:20 Speaker 02: Just some actual numbers from some of our programmemememes there.

00:07:23 Speaker 02: So you'll see the Upcycle Tom project had 174 children and families attended. 207 for the Magic of Children's Art display that was in the studio. 50 for Liz Zetlin's talk.

00:07:36 Speaker 02: There was standing room only for that talk. 539 students, families, and educators visited the gallery for the One World Festival.

00:07:44 Speaker 02: Very busy day for us.

00:07:46 Speaker 02: Heather Travis was doing a collabourative art project in the studio, so it was really exciting to see that evolve,

00:07:54 Speaker 02: and it was later displayed in the atrium. 68 children participated in the first four weeks of Camp Tom in July.

00:08:00 Speaker 02: I'll have the final numbers shortly for that.

00:08:03 Speaker 02: And 58 patrons visited the gallery for the opening of the summer exhibitions.

00:08:07 Speaker 02: Two hundred and sixty-four for Doors Open, Open Sound, and so I'll just... unless there are any questions, maybe I'll stop at this point and see if there are any questions.

00:08:17 Speaker 02: First of all, I want to thank you.

00:08:18 Speaker 02: And those numbers are great to have.

00:08:19 Speaker 02: I'm really glad to see those numbers.

00:08:20 Speaker 01: Now we have some background information, some real data, which is really important.

00:08:25 Speaker 01: Just going back through... maybe I'm just running ahead here.

00:08:29 Speaker 01: On back to the previous minutes, can I ask you some questions for the previous minutes?

00:08:33 Speaker 01: Yeah.

00:08:34 Speaker 01: One of which was that looking at a group of volunteers to select the films for Gallery Night at the Movies.

00:08:43 Speaker 01: Did anything come out of that?

00:08:47 Speaker 02: Thank you.

00:08:47 Speaker 02: And through the Chair...

00:08:48 Speaker 02: So I have made a note here.

00:08:50 Speaker 02: The Gallery Night at the Movies programmemememe is currently selected through a staff-led process, with the operations coordinator overseeing the film selections,

00:09:00 Speaker 02: and we do have a group of experienced volunteers that do provide input and feedback to us, and this approach we've been using successfully for many years.

00:09:09 Speaker 02: Film selection is a curatorial and programmemememing responsibility, a lot like exhibition selection, and it requires a strong understanding of the film industry, but also availability and licensing.

00:09:20 Speaker 02: We have to understand audience interests, thematic relevance, scheduling, costs, and the overall programmemememing mandate of the gallery.

00:09:28 Speaker 02: And I really do feel that our operations coordinator has that experience.

00:09:32 Speaker 02: She's very knowledgeable in this area and has demonstrated a strong track record with these films.

00:09:37 Speaker 02: And this programmemememe has been extremely successful for us in raising money for the gallery.

00:09:43 Speaker 02: And so, just to say that this process really doesn't happen in isolation.

00:09:47 Speaker 02: We do gather volunteer input, both you know, in a more formal way and an anecdotal way.

00:09:53 Speaker 02: And we do have some chip voting at the end of the films to just see like which films were very successful and people liked, what people may not like so much,

00:10:02 Speaker 02: and that helps to guide our process in selecting those films moving forward.

00:10:07 Speaker 02: And having said that, as well, working through the Toronto International Film Festival, we only have a certain selection of films that we can look to bring here.

00:10:15 Speaker 02: And sometimes there's incentive because we're able to get a director to come along with the film.

00:10:20 Speaker 02: I'm proud to say that we will have that this fall, so that's really fantastic.

00:10:23 Speaker 02: And we get those opportunities, we like to seize them.

00:10:27 Speaker 02: So ultimately, our goal is really to have a process that's open to community input, informed by audience interests, and professionally led by staff.

00:10:35 Speaker 02: And we really do believe that the current model achieves that.

00:10:40 Speaker 01: Thank you.

00:10:41 Speaker 01: Just another question again, too, as we talked about maybe options for online donations.

00:10:46 Speaker 01: Is there any events on that or any news on that idea?

00:10:52 Speaker 02: Thank you.

00:10:52 Speaker 02: And through the Chair...

00:10:53 Speaker 02: I believe we've been exploring that, but I'd have to defer the status of that.

00:10:59 Speaker 02: Unfortunately, our operations coordinator Kim Skee can't be here today, but I can certainly provide an update to the committee on where we're at with online donations.

00:11:09 Speaker 02: That'd be great.

00:11:10 Speaker 01: Thank you.

00:11:11 Speaker 01: I do have one more.

00:11:11 Speaker 01: I'm fumbling with paper here.

00:11:13 Speaker 01: Please excuse me.

00:11:18 Speaker 01: Do the movies come under fundraising?

00:11:19 Speaker 02: They are a fundraising initiative for the gallery.

00:11:27 Speaker 01: So jumping ahead, it has not been approved, but there's no structure of the committees, teams, committees.

00:11:34 Speaker 01: But can we?

00:11:34 Speaker 01: Would they be rolled into that group?

00:11:40 Speaker 01: Could it be formed?

00:11:42 Speaker 01: Could a group be formed within that other select committee?

00:11:47 Speaker 01: I've got the wrong phrase.

00:11:48 Speaker 01: I know.

00:11:50 Speaker 01: The working group.

00:11:51 Speaker 01: We can get to that next report.

00:11:57 Speaker 02: Thank you, and through the chair.

00:11:58 Speaker 02: So currently, the fundraising team, as it exists currently, is largely dedicated to two projects.

00:12:04 Speaker 02: One of them is the calendar, the annual fundraising calendar, and the second one is Palette to Palette.

00:12:12 Speaker 02: It's primarily staff-led; that event at the gallery, but they do provide some additional support.

00:12:19 Speaker 02: You also have to think about like the size of the team.

00:12:21 Speaker 02: Currently, it's pretty small, so the amount of tasks they can take on is somewhat limited.

00:12:26 Speaker 02: I would say so.

00:12:27 Speaker 02: With the evolution of the working group and the team moving into the working group, I think we can look at all of our fundraising assets.

00:12:36 Speaker 02: If people want to, I do have a report about that.

00:12:38 Speaker 02: But if people do want to apply with a fundraising interest, I believe it then goes to council, and then they would be selected by council to sit on that working group.

00:12:46 Speaker 02: And so that is maybe to be determined at this point.

00:12:49 Speaker 02: Thank you.

00:12:52 Speaker 02: Does anybody else have any questions on the report?

00:12:58 Speaker 02: Finish the report, or do you want to just take more questions?

00:13:00 Speaker 02: If there are, let's finish the report.

00:13:04 Speaker 02: Thank you, through the chair.

00:13:05 Speaker 02: So that's just sort of the first section of my report here.

00:13:08 Speaker 02: I think we stopped at some of the attendance and the highlights of numbers there.

00:13:12 Speaker 02: So I'll just go over a few other things that are in there.

00:13:14 Speaker 02: Some highlights.

00:13:15 Speaker 02: Right now we have Robert Markel.

00:13:17 Speaker 02: Content is just a glimpse on that.

00:13:20 Speaker 02: Exhibition is being presented simultaneously with the Durham Art Gallery.

00:13:24 Speaker 02: It really is a two-part exhibition about exploring the life, work, and the creative circle of this Indigenous artist.

00:13:32 Speaker 02: He was a Canadian painter, sculptor, writer, and musician and educator, and he really came to define a really important artistic presence in post-war Canada.

00:13:43 Speaker 02: Michelle Peraza's exhibition shows new work by the second generation Latin American-Canadian of Cuban and Costa Rican descent, and she recently just did a workshop, which is detailed later in my report as well.

00:13:58 Speaker 02: She did one with the art camp and then one with the community, and I attended the community one, and it was absolutely wonderful.

00:14:04 Speaker 02: It was such a compelling and memorable experience.

00:14:07 Speaker 02: We all shared like one handmade paper where we drew Indigenous plants of our choosing on there,

00:14:14 Speaker 02: and we had sort of an ongoing conversation for a couple of hours as we moved the paper around the circle and kept sort of, you know, rotating it.

00:14:23 Speaker 02: And on the other side, the students the day before had been doing the very same thing.

00:14:28 Speaker 02: And the cool thing is, it's now on display in the gallery's atrium and right now facing out is the student side.

00:14:34 Speaker 02: So, in another week or so, I believe we're switching over to the community side.

00:14:40 Speaker 02: So it's been an honour to have her and to work with her.

00:14:44 Speaker 02: On that project as well, the third exhibition we have is Forecast: June to January.

00:14:50 Speaker 02: It's really the second half of this two-part exhibition.

00:14:53 Speaker 02: The first part was January to May, and it continues to build on this Tom Thomson's devotion to the seasons and how they make us feel.

00:15:02 Speaker 02: Essentially, so the works are chosen from our collection to look at the seasons as they exist from June to January.

00:15:10 Speaker 02: So people are coming in right now and probably spending a lot of time looking at those leaves changing colour, as we head into the fall.

00:15:18 Speaker 02: A couple of things about our education and youth programmemememing initiatives.

00:15:22 Speaker 02: We were over at Canada Day.

00:15:24 Speaker 02: This was really fantastic for us.

00:15:26 Speaker 02: It was a great opportunity to promote our art camps and upcoming programmemememes.

00:15:30 Speaker 02: We had a pop-up tent that had creative activities for families and children visitors.

00:15:36 Speaker 02: We had a very successful summer opening exhibition reception for those three exhibitions, as I mentioned, and our final camp numbers.

00:15:44 Speaker 02: We were sold out: 116 registrations.

00:15:49 Speaker 02: What a what a summer it's been!

00:15:51 Speaker 02: And each week featured its own theme, inspired by nature and the artists that we have at the gallery.

00:15:58 Speaker 02: They were able to experiment in the studio with a variety of materials.

00:16:03 Speaker 02: We had clay, and we were painting.

00:16:07 Speaker 02: They were painting rocks and doing sketches at Harrison Park.

00:16:10 Speaker 02: They did 3D sculptures, print making.

00:16:13 Speaker 02: It was just so...

00:16:14 Speaker 02: Every day I go down there, and I'm like, "This is why we do what we do here."

00:16:18 Speaker 02: And in fact, one of the parents came up to me at the exhibition that they would have on the Friday once they're done their week, and she said to me,

00:16:27 Speaker 02: "You can't believe how this has changed my daughter's life."

00:16:31 Speaker 02: She said, "She used to be so shy and not outgoing and afraid, and she has loved this camp.

00:16:37 Speaker 02: Art has given her this expression that she never had before," and I think she attended many of our weeks because she enjoyed it so much.

00:16:47 Speaker 02: And that's what we found throughout the summer was that we had a lot of repeat attendees, which tells us they were really having fun and learning a lot.

00:16:57 Speaker 02: And for the most part, everything went pretty smoothly overall.

00:17:02 Speaker 02: We are sending out a survey to all of the parents to gather feedback so that we can improve the programmemememe next year.

00:17:09 Speaker 02: Feedback certainly from our art instructors as well.

00:17:13 Speaker 02: So we're meeting with them to gain any insight into the things that we can do better next time.

00:17:18 Speaker 02: One thing that we noted as staff last year: we had two instructors, and they weren't...

00:17:23 Speaker 02: They were pressed to take breaks.

00:17:25 Speaker 02: It was very difficult for them to take breaks because one person had to be left with the kids, and the other person could take a break.

00:17:32 Speaker 02: Having three of them allowed them to really take their breaks—one hour get-away, reset, and come back because it is very intense working with the kids, and so we felt that was very positive.

00:17:44 Speaker 02: Those positions were subsidized through Young Canada Works.

00:17:51 Speaker 03: Just a question regarding the camp.

00:17:54 Speaker 03: I know the Queen's Bannister gazebo wasn't used this year because it was occupied.

00:18:00 Speaker 03: Can you tell me how this has affected the camp or... how it was conducted?

00:18:06 Speaker 03: Was it good, bad, whatever?

00:18:09 Speaker 02: Through the chair, thank you for that question.

00:18:12 Speaker 02: It's very apt.

00:18:14 Speaker 02: Before camp started, we did reach out to police services to ask if they could assist us with ensuring that the bandstand was vacated.

00:18:28 Speaker 02: We didn't end up using it this year.

00:18:31 Speaker 02: There was a lot of occupancy throughout the summer, so that was a challenge.

00:18:36 Speaker 02: We had to be strategic sometimes, based on the level of activity around the gallery, as to where we could take the kids for breaks.

00:18:45 Speaker 02: So Ryerson Park and Harrison Park were the two best options for us on a regular basis.

00:18:52 Speaker 03: So accommodation was indoors, and how did you manage that?

00:19:00 Speaker 02: If I understand your question correctly:

00:19:02 Speaker 02: so the studio—most of the studio work took place inside in the gallery's basement studio—but we like to take the kids out to give them time outside for sketching and so on as well,

00:19:12 Speaker 02: and so we would just take it sort of day by day to see sort of what was happening in the areas around us.

00:19:19 Speaker 02: We did have an incident last year where one child I think was bitten by a dog that was not on a leash in that vicinity, so... we've dealt with that.

00:19:31 Speaker 02: We're just trying to be, you know, mindful and take them to spaces where there's lots of room.

00:19:45 Speaker 04: Thank you.

00:19:46 Speaker 04: I'm wondering: So, to get them to Harrison Park, did you have access to a bus?

00:19:50 Speaker 04: Is that how you got them down there?

00:19:52 Speaker 04: Thank you.

00:19:53 Speaker 02: Through the chair.

00:19:54 Speaker 02: Thanks for that question.

00:19:55 Speaker 02: No, they would walk.

00:19:55 Speaker 02: Kind of old-fashioned, but they... kind of old-fashioned, but they would walk.

00:20:08 Speaker 02: You mentioned that you had subsidies for the staffing.

00:20:11 Speaker 02: Is there potential to increase the staffing with more subsidies from three to four, so that you could potentially have more campers next summer?

00:20:19 Speaker 02: Thank you, through the chair.

00:20:20 Speaker 02: That would be probably a budgetary consideration, just because although they cover like up to 75% of the cost, there still is a cost to those positions on top of that.

00:20:33 Speaker 02: But we are seeing like at this point in time, the camp grew from last year.

00:20:37 Speaker 02: We added a week.

00:20:39 Speaker 02: We were full this year, so we have additional revenue.

00:20:43 Speaker 02: We also ran two PD day camps, so we're looking at expanding.

00:20:46 Speaker 02: And so maybe if there's a case to be made for that, it would be through expanding the camp so that we cover any additional costs.

00:20:55 Speaker 02: We did find, though, that it worked very well with three instructors.

00:20:59 Speaker 02: That seemed to be a sweet spot for us.

00:21:04 Speaker 02: Great question.

00:21:04 Speaker 02: Was there any media coverage on the camp?

00:21:09 Speaker 02: Through the chair, to the chair, I should say.

00:21:12 Speaker 02: Not that I'm aware of.

00:21:13 Speaker 02: I don't know that it was covered in like the Sun Times, to my knowledge.

00:21:23 Speaker 05: I just... know as a parent, there is a need for camps, so I'm just wondering if there is a potential to have more than just the 117 kids attend.

00:21:32 Speaker 05: That's all I was wondering.

00:21:34 Speaker 02: Through the chair, that's a great point and something we can certainly look at in the future.

00:21:38 Speaker 02: I think you know, given the numbers we've had this year, and as you say, there seems to be a need.

00:21:43 Speaker 02: Can we make the case for expanding the offerings that we have to accommodate the need?

00:21:51 Speaker 02: I think she's not finished.

00:22:01 Speaker 02: Thank you, through the chair.

00:22:02 Speaker 02: Yes, my report is fairly fulsome.

00:22:06 Speaker 02: Okay, good, excellent.

00:22:07 Speaker 02: So, just a couple of other things that are coming up.

00:22:13 Speaker 02: September 18th, we will once again be hosting the Cawob Beach Concours d'Elegance welcome reception.

00:22:19 Speaker 02: It's the third year we're doing that.

00:22:20 Speaker 02: We're going to be welcoming Concours guests, the vehicle participants, judges, and City of Owen Sound staff to the gallery.

00:22:28 Speaker 02: It's always a great evening.

00:22:29 Speaker 02: You meet people from all over, and it really is amazing for them.

00:22:35 Speaker 02: They come here and they say, "Oh my gosh, this is incredible.

00:22:38 Speaker 02: These are these Thomsons—they're just totally impressed by our gallery when they come here."

00:22:44 Speaker 02: So I think it's just a great opportunity to showcase what we have here in Owen Sound.

00:22:49 Speaker 02: we're also preparing for a busy fall.

00:22:52 Speaker 02: We've got new exhibitions coming, education programmemememes, community partnerships, tours, workshops, lots of things looking ahead.

00:23:02 Speaker 02: We also—and you'll see a little bit later in my report—I talk about the planning for 2027.

00:23:07 Speaker 02: And this is incredibly important because it's a big year.

00:23:11 Speaker 02: It's 150 years since Tom Thomson was born, and it's the gallery's 60th anniversary.

00:23:16 Speaker 02: And so we're working with all...

00:23:17 Speaker 02: And so we're working with Algonquin Outfitters.

00:23:19 Speaker 02: I gave you an update last time, and Ontario Parks.

00:23:22 Speaker 02: We're a little bit further down that partnership path right now, where we are aiming to have a call for muralists go out in the fall.

00:23:31 Speaker 02: They're going to propose a series of murals that would recognize the theme of 150 years of Tom Thomson, and they would be installed on site at Canoe Lake Algonquin Outfitters in the spring.

00:23:45 Speaker 02: So this is moving forward.

00:23:47 Speaker 02: They're contributing money towards this, which is fantastic for us, and it'll be a way for us to promote the gallery out there at Canoe Lake, ironically where Thomson died.

00:23:58 Speaker 02: And they're also going to be launching a series of merchandise that will be Thomson-inspired, using works from our collection.

00:24:08 Speaker 02: And we have also the image of Thomson on the dock, on the dock with the dog.

00:24:13 Speaker 02: That's a really great graphic image that they can probably use for a tee, and I think they're going to try and look into making some buffs, which are those sort of neck bands or headbands.

00:24:26 Speaker 02: They're very popular, and we've given them some high-res images of works from our collection, including Canoe Lake, to be made into these buffs.

00:24:36 Speaker 02: So we're really quite excited about all those things.

00:24:39 Speaker 02: And Shannon's also planning a show around Thomson's relationship with J.E.H. McDonald, who was one of the key people in influencing his career.

00:24:49 Speaker 02: We've had an artifact donated to the gallery, which is supposedly originally Thomson's tool case, but J.E.H. McDonald and then Thurlow McDonald used it in subsequent years, so it was sort of remodeled.

00:25:04 Speaker 02: And it's a really quite interesting piece, and it's what caused us to think about those relationships in a curatorial way.

00:25:10 Speaker 02: So that should be a lot of fun.

00:25:12 Speaker 02: I also want to highlight that Gallery Night at the Movies is kicking off its 29th season on Monday, September 14th, and the film is The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,

00:25:20 Speaker 02: starring none other than Ian McKellen, and who doesn't love him?

00:25:23 Speaker 02: So, passes are on sale right now.

00:25:29 Speaker 02: They're $150 each, or $135 for Supporter Circle members, and that you can purchase them online or at the gallery.

00:25:36 Speaker 02: This is always a really popular series for us, as I've mentioned; the dates are in my report for the upcoming screenings,

00:25:45 Speaker 02: and then we'll have four more in the winter and spring time slot as well.

00:25:50 Speaker 02: In terms of collections stewardship and conservation progress, we're completing work on Vault Five.

00:25:56 Speaker 02: It's being reconfigured as a more dedicated collection resource space, so it will have all of our reference literature, accession files, archival materials—all those things will be in that room, creating greater efficiency.

00:26:10 Speaker 02: If people want to research, they can come.

00:26:12 Speaker 02: We can set them up with a desk, and they'll be able to access all this information.

00:26:17 Speaker 02: And I want to say a shout-out to Shannon Binghamman and Ian Dickey, who really led that project.

00:26:21 Speaker 02: They led the whole reorganisation of the collection back into the Vault project, which was enormous.

00:26:26 Speaker 02: Did such a great job of it and found efficiencies along the way.

00:26:30 Speaker 02: And I have to say, when I go into that room now, you know, I pick up some of the archival materials we have, and they're like old photo albums and things like that,

00:26:38 Speaker 02: and it's so cool.

00:26:39 Speaker 02: And I've asked Ian to start sharing them on Throwback Thursday because it's such a... like you forget about all the things we've done over the years, and like looking back through the '60s and '70s,

00:26:51 Speaker 02: it's just incredible.

00:26:52 Speaker 02: So it's a great way to bring that history back and make it live on.

00:26:56 Speaker 02: The framing of the gallery's recently acquired Tom Thomson paintings is complete.

00:27:01 Speaker 02: I hope everyone comes to see them.

00:27:02 Speaker 02: They're beautiful.

00:27:04 Speaker 02: They're very... they're in a white frame, but it really allows the pieces to stand out, and you can actually see the boards.

00:27:13 Speaker 02: Like rather than the old-fashioned frames that make them sort of look flush, you can see them as objects, and they're really incredible.

00:27:22 Speaker 02: So our goal in the long term is to be able to reframe all our Thomsons.

00:27:26 Speaker 02: We thought next year might be a great year to start fundraising towards that cause, because it would be so great if we could move towards having them all framed the same way, and then yeah,

00:27:37 Speaker 02: I mentioned that already.

00:27:38 Speaker 02: Okay, so finally we get to fundraising and revenue development.

00:27:42 Speaker 02: And attached to your report, you will have an updated version of our fundraising and revenue, including the budgeted gross, the budgeted net, year-to-date gross, year-to-date expenses, and year-to-date net revenues.

00:27:57 Speaker 02: It just gives you a full picture.

00:27:59 Speaker 02: I found that if you only show the net expenses, you lose some of the story.

00:28:03 Speaker 02: For instance, with the exhibition donation and sponsorship revenue, which is the bottom line, you'll see there we have $6,000 in there.

00:28:15 Speaker 02: That is actually a donation from Algonquin Outfitters through the Paddle Art Contest.

00:28:21 Speaker 02: And in terms of the education section, which is just a couple above that, there you'll see that although it says like the year-to-date net revenue is just over $400.

00:28:35 Speaker 02: The thing is that we receive money to spend on a programmemememe.

00:28:39 Speaker 02: So this is a community foundation grant that basically supported our Upcycling Tom project going into the River District and being distributed throughout the community.

00:28:51 Speaker 02: So we got money to do that, and we spent money on doing that.

00:28:55 Speaker 02: And so that is a really great thing for us.

00:28:59 Speaker 02: Other things I wanted to note about this.

00:29:02 Speaker 02: So things like the movies, our special events, fundraising, and membership—those things all those revenues really come in the fall.

00:29:13 Speaker 02: So just now, movie passes have gone on sale, and our special fundraising event, Palette to Palette, is in November, and our membership drive is also towards Christmas.

00:29:25 Speaker 02: So all of those revenues we expect to climb in the fall, and they're a matter of timing.

00:29:31 Speaker 02: We have received a little bit more through our endowment fund this year, which is fantastic.

00:29:39 Speaker 02: Everything else remains on track.

00:29:40 Speaker 02: Studio classes August has yet to be posted, so what you're just seeing there is what we had until July 31st.

00:29:47 Speaker 02: In fact, for all of these revenues, you're seeing up to July 31st.

00:29:52 Speaker 02: So at this point in time, looking at this, our donations are year-to-date growth.

00:29:56 Speaker 02: Year-to-date gross almost $15,000, which is half of what we've expected, and you know, given that it's July and we have till the end of the year, that seems on track.

00:30:06 Speaker 02: Sales desk again—we tend to move more product towards Christmas, so it just gives you a capture of where we're at overall.

00:30:23 Speaker 05: One thing I'd like to...

00:30:24 Speaker 05: Oh, sorry, we have questions.

00:30:25 Speaker 05: I'd like to...

00:30:25 Speaker 05: Oh, sorry, we have a question.

00:30:26 Speaker 05: I just have a question in regards to the movie nights.

00:30:29 Speaker 05: You say there are passes.

00:30:30 Speaker 05: Is there an opportunity if someone wanted to just go to one movie, then be able to buy a pass for that?

00:30:35 Speaker 02: Sorry, I'm new.

00:30:36 Speaker 02: Yes, absolutely.

00:30:37 Speaker 02: They go on sale three weeks before the film.

00:30:45 Speaker 02: Okay, great.

00:30:46 Speaker 02: Thank you.

00:30:46 Speaker 02: So, just to finish off my report, I have some really great news.

00:30:49 Speaker 02: We have historically always received funding from the Ontario Arts Council, but this year was a little bit different.

00:30:58 Speaker 02: And the results of our application came out, and we have managed to maintain our current level of funding.

00:31:05 Speaker 02: And that might not sound like a lot, but it is significant because it followed their major overhaul of their operating grant programmemememes.

00:31:14 Speaker 02: So they consolidated their previous discipline-specific operating grants into one single operating fund with a standardized application.

00:31:21 Speaker 02: With a standardized application and assessment framework, and this is for all arts organisations across the province.

00:31:28 Speaker 02: So previously, I would apply to the Public Art Galleries Operating Grant.

00:31:33 Speaker 02: Now it was like everything was in the mix, all the arts organisations together, and so these hundreds of arts organisations across Ontario were assessed through a single unified operating programmemememe for the first time,

00:31:45 Speaker 02: rather than within these discipline streams, and those structural changes alone underscore the increased competitiveness of maintaining funding.

00:31:54 Speaker 02: Applicants were required to demonstrate organisational strength, artistic impact, community engagement, financial sustainability, accessibility, and equity through a more comprehensive and competitive review process.

00:32:06 Speaker 02: And so, maintaining our funding through this new province-wide process reflects continued confidence in the gallery's artistic leadership, public impact, and organisational capacity.

00:32:18 Speaker 02: And it also helps us to maintain that stable source of provincial operating support for our future programmemememing.

00:32:25 Speaker 02: And on August 20th, MPP Paul Vickers visited the gallery to officially deliver this news and to tour our exhibitions.

00:32:33 Speaker 02: And I just want to again thank the staff for their input.

00:32:37 Speaker 02: I mean, it doesn't—it's a grant, but there's a ton of work that goes into these operating grants.

00:32:43 Speaker 02: They take weeks and weeks of work and a lot of detail.

00:32:47 Speaker 02: So, I'm just really proud of this result.

00:32:50 Speaker 02: Ahead of getting this, we had been informed by the Ontario Arts Council that less than 50 per cent would be maintaining their funding.

00:32:58 Speaker 02: So, I think that's a testament to all the great work we're doing at the gallery.

00:33:04 Speaker 02: As previously noted, we are in our four-year cycle operating grant with the Canada Council for the Arts.

00:33:10 Speaker 02: We receive $4,000 from Community Foundation Grey Bruce to expand Upcycle Tom, and we were successful in receiving funding for three summer students for a total just under $19,000,

00:33:23 Speaker 02: and they were dedicated to planning Camp Tom.

00:33:27 Speaker 02: We're planning for pallet to pallet currently, and our fundraising coordinator is working on sponsorship packages to support that event.

00:33:34 Speaker 02: So far, we have six confirmed corporate sponsors for that event, and this year we've launched the 2026 Art Box Project, and it's a remix essentially because we did this project back in 1986,

00:33:48 Speaker 02: believe it or not, and it was a partnership between the Durham Art Gallery and the Tom Thomson Art Gallery all those years ago.

00:33:55 Speaker 02: And we thought, how cool would it be to bring it back?

00:33:57 Speaker 02: And so we have, and we invited artists to design these boxes, and boy, some of them are so cool.

00:34:03 Speaker 02: And so they're going to be silent auctioned off at the Durham Art Gallery until September 12th.

00:34:09 Speaker 02: I hope that if you want or are interested in one of these boxes, go over there and check them out.

00:34:14 Speaker 02: They are, as I said, pretty amazing.

00:34:17 Speaker 02: So that really brings me towards the end of this report.

00:34:21 Speaker 02: As I've noted, to summarise to date, I feel we've been extremely successful with our programmemememing.

00:34:26 Speaker 02: We're seeing attendance growth in all the different ways that we're tracking it.

00:34:31 Speaker 02: Our revenue is on track.

00:34:33 Speaker 02: We know we have work to do in the fall, but we're working on it right now.

00:34:37 Speaker 02: So I'd be happy to take any further questions.

00:34:40 Speaker 01: Comment.

00:34:40 Speaker 01: Congratulations on the grants received.

00:34:43 Speaker 01: That's good work.

00:34:44 Speaker 01: It's a good reflection on the time.

00:34:45 Speaker 01: I think too, if there was that much competition, I'm feeling really good.

00:34:49 Speaker 01: And congratulations to everybody in the team.

00:34:52 Speaker 01: Other small question was that the Art Box Project—the ones we've done—is it possible to view some of these things online so you know we had a time whether to put to bid on?

00:35:04 Speaker 02: Through the chair, thank you for that question.

00:35:05 Speaker 02: My understanding is it's not available online right now, but I can certainly forward that suggestion over to the Durham Art Gallery director/curator and see if she'd be willing to be able to put it online.

00:35:19 Speaker 02: Have questions for Aidan.

00:35:41 Speaker 06: Keep forgetting.

00:35:42 Speaker 06: It's also wonderful.

00:35:43 Speaker 06: I just congratulate.

00:35:45 Speaker 06: I'm just wondering what we can do.

00:35:47 Speaker 06: I mean, you must have a role for us.

00:35:49 Speaker 06: So why don't you tell us what would help you most?

00:35:59 Speaker 02: Thank you, through the chair.

00:36:01 Speaker 02: I know one of the ways this committee can help us the most really is being ambassadors out in the community for the Art Gallery.

00:36:07 Speaker 02: If you can talk about the great things we're doing, tell them about our art camps, our programmemememes, our exhibitions, help us spread the word.

00:36:15 Speaker 02: We always need help with fundraising, so anyone interested in particular serving on the new fundraising working group, we welcome that.

00:36:23 Speaker 02: We also will have the Art Gallery Collection Working Group as well.

00:36:28 Speaker 02: So those are real ways in which committee members—we do need committee members to sit on those working groups.

00:36:35 Speaker 02: So those are other real ways that you can assist us moving forward.

00:36:40 Speaker 02: And as I said, I think a lot of it is just being an ambassador for the gallery out in the world when you're not here.

00:36:47 Speaker 02: But also, you know, I do welcome anybody's ideas.

00:36:50 Speaker 02: Like we're planning this 150th anniversary as staff, but if this committee has ideas about things that we can do, we'd love to hear from any of you about those ideas.

00:37:01 Speaker 02: It's going to be a big year.

00:37:02 Speaker 02: I think there are a number of different anniversaries, and I know as a city team we're going to get together and talk about all of them because I know the Y has a big one,

00:37:12 Speaker 02: and I'm looking to Pam.

00:37:14 Speaker 02: The city has yes, is 170.

00:37:18 Speaker 02: Yeah, it's a big year for us.

00:37:20 Speaker 02: So if we look at all these anniversaries and see what we can do to celebrate them, but again, ideas are great.

00:37:28 Speaker 02: Thank you.

00:37:29 Speaker 02: Any other questions for Aidan?

00:37:33 Speaker 06: Kathy, I was just thinking that with this big Tom anniversary coming up, is it possible for the city to put banners up along Second Avenue East or something like that, reproducing works in the collection?

00:37:56 Speaker 07: Yeah, through the chair, Tom Thomson is featured on the banners downtown, not the only one.

00:38:04 Speaker 07: We could certainly look at that, and one of the things we're going to start this fall is looking at how do we pull everything together next year for the 150 years of Tom Thomson,

00:38:16 Speaker 07: 60 for the Gallery Canada, 160 in Owen Sound, 170.

00:38:21 Speaker 07: So, looking, I understand there is some grants for those special anniversaries potentially available through the province and federal government.

00:38:29 Speaker 07: So we're just getting a little staff group together to look at that.

00:38:33 Speaker 07: So that's an interesting idea, or perhaps in front of the gallery, or you know, so great, great idea.

00:38:42 Speaker 07: And I know Aidan and her team are working on some other ideas, which we'll have more developed for the next meeting of the advisory committee.

00:38:56 Speaker 06: Sorry, I'll get this.

00:38:57 Speaker 06: In terms of other organisations, the Leith Summer Festival will be taking place next summer, as it always does,

00:39:05 Speaker 06: and it would seem to me that we could perhaps do something to highlight Tom Thomson's anniversary at Leith.

00:39:16 Speaker 06: Should pass the information on to Jeremy Bell, who's the artistic director.

00:39:31 Speaker 01: I was just thinking another way that maybe that we can help you, Aidan, is if you can let us know if it's important for us to be at certain exhibition openings, who to talk to,

00:39:45 Speaker 01: and when to turn up.

00:39:48 Speaker 01: As we are going to be ambassadors, nice to know then what's going on and get those invitations saying, "Be there," be helpful to us do this because here's the people need to talk to.

00:40:01 Speaker 02: Thank you, through the chair.

00:40:02 Speaker 02: I appreciate all these comments.

00:40:04 Speaker 02: I think they're great, and absolutely, I'd be happy to facilitate those when you're at openings and so on.

00:40:10 Speaker 02: That's very valuable to us as well, and we'll ensure that you're invited to all the different things that we do.

00:40:18 Speaker 02: I think the Concord Welcome Reception would be a great opportunity if you—I can send around that invite as well.

00:40:25 Speaker 02: And thinking about banners too, there is the Art Banner Project, where they do an invitation to artists to submit their art for banners along the harbour wall.

00:40:37 Speaker 02: And I started thinking as you were talking, perhaps there's an opportunity for them to do a theme, like inspired by Tom Thomson, next year.

00:40:46 Speaker 02: So I could probably reach out and see if there's any appetite for that.

00:40:55 Speaker 02: Thank you.

00:40:56 Speaker 02: Do we want to go on now to what?

00:40:59 Speaker 02: I'll just read the motion for you.

00:41:01 Speaker 02: Good, Scott.

00:41:03 Speaker 08: I'll just move the motion that City Council receive the report for information purposes.

00:41:11 Speaker 08: Thank you.

00:41:12 Speaker 08: All those in favour?

00:41:24 Speaker 08: Thank you.

00:41:31 Speaker 02: Through the chair, my second report has a couple of items or a couple of recommendations for City Council.

00:41:39 Speaker 02: One is to direct staff to include in the 2027 Board and Committee Bylaw the inclusion of a Tom Thomson Art Gallery fundraising working group, as outlined in the report, and to number two,

00:41:50 Speaker 02: direct staff to include in the 2027 Board and Committee Bylaw the inclusion of a Tom Thomson Art Gallery Art Collection Working Group as outlined in the report.

00:41:59 Speaker 02: So those are the two currently serving volunteer teams that we have.

00:42:04 Speaker 02: So I'll just go over this report so that you have a little bit of background on it.

00:42:10 Speaker 02: At the March meeting of City Council, City Council requested that staff include the Board and Committee Bylaw mechanism to permit the establishment of working groups,

00:42:21 Speaker 02: being a less formal group of council and public members who can be appointed quickly to undertake work on a particular issue or initiative.

00:42:30 Speaker 02: Prior to that—or sorry, following that—at the April Council meeting, Council directed staff to bring forward the Board and Committee Bylaw, which outlines the definitions of a working group and working group roster.

00:42:42 Speaker 02: And working groups will be comprised of public members who are selected by Council from the working group roster, and the working group roster will be an open application on the city's website.

00:42:52 Speaker 02: Applications will be kept on file for the term of council.

00:42:55 Speaker 02: Working groups are created throughout the term.

00:42:58 Speaker 02: Council will then select individuals from that roster based on their interest and experience.

00:43:03 Speaker 02: And public member applications to the working group roster for the upcoming term of council begin on October 19th of this year.

00:43:11 Speaker 02: And so the current fundraising and art collection teams will transition into the working groups to align with this new Board and Committee Bylaw,

00:43:19 Speaker 02: and the terms of reference for the fundraising and art collection teams have been used to create the membership, general purpose membership, and staff resources required for the establishment of the working group.

00:43:32 Speaker 02: Current team members that would like to continue will need to apply by that October 19th deadline,

00:43:38 Speaker 02: and then there's a table there that outlines the information required for the creation of both of the working groups.

00:43:46 Speaker 02: They are for the term of council.

00:43:48 Speaker 02: They do require one member of the Art Gallery Advisory Committee for the fundraising working group.

00:43:57 Speaker 02: We're saying four to seven public members, and there are listed staff resources there as well.

00:44:04 Speaker 02: Similar for the art collection working group: one member of the advisory committee and a little bit smaller, three to five members selected by Council to work on that in that group.

00:44:18 Speaker 02: If there are any questions about this, I'd be happy to try and answer them.

00:44:22 Speaker 02: I did have a great deal of support from the Clerk's Office in the development of this report.

00:44:28 Speaker 01: One question is in terms of the membership at both of those working groups: is that a fixed number, or can there be some flexibility?

00:44:34 Speaker 01: Let's say, is one an issue or a topic that one group wants to take on and then wants to drop out and kind of move around?

00:44:39 Speaker 02: Thank you, through the chair.

00:44:40 Speaker 02: I might have to defer this question to our Christina, who can probably answer that.

00:44:54 Speaker 09: So we put a range from four to seven, kind of based on how many people are currently on the team and how many people we get interested to apply to the working group.

00:45:04 Speaker 09: So obviously, hopefully, we get lots and we can have seven, but it all kind of depends on how many people we get.

00:45:09 Speaker 09: That's why we kind of put a range.

00:45:13 Speaker 07: Just for clarity, Christina, could you comment on whether working groups are required to have quorum?

00:45:19 Speaker 07: I think that might be sort of what maybe the chair is getting at.

00:45:25 Speaker 07: No, they are not.

00:45:32 Speaker 03: Thank you.

00:45:33 Speaker 03: My question is the application form.

00:45:36 Speaker 03: Is it going to be more customized to fit within the mandate of that working group, so that people can answer particularly their experience and interest with the gallery,

00:45:49 Speaker 03: as opposed to the template that is already for applications?

00:45:57 Speaker 09: So the application form for the working group isn't live yet, but there'll be one application to the working group roster, and it'll ask for all of your interests.

00:46:07 Speaker 09: So, say your interests are arts and culture, the art gallery.

00:46:11 Speaker 09: You could select fundraising.

00:46:13 Speaker 09: You could select the harbour front, and then all those applications would be kept on file.

00:46:18 Speaker 09: It'll ask for your experience, your resume, anything else that you want to kind of provide.

00:46:23 Speaker 09: As working groups are committed throughout the term, we can look at that roster that people can apply to over the entire term, and we can grab people from there if that makes sense.

00:46:36 Speaker 09: Any other questions?

00:46:38 Speaker 09: I think so.

00:46:41 Speaker 09: Now we need a motion to recommend this, Marian.

00:46:47 Speaker 03: I'll move that we receive this information and direct staff to include the 2027 Board and Committee Bylaw inclusion of the Gallery Fundraising Working Group, as outlined in the report,

00:47:02 Speaker 03: and also the inclusion of the Tom Thomson Art Gallery Collection Working Group is outlined in the report.

00:47:10 Speaker 03: Thank you.

00:47:10 Speaker 03: All those in favour?

00:47:13 Speaker 03: Any abstentions?

00:47:14 Speaker 03: None.

00:47:15 Speaker 03: Good.

00:47:15 Speaker 03: Carried.

00:47:15 Speaker 03: Thank you.

00:47:25 Speaker 01: As Kelsey's not here, I will read out her report.

00:47:28 Speaker 01: Fundraising report.

00:47:30 Speaker 01: Can we do that?

00:47:32 Speaker 01: So, excuse my reading of someone else's report.

00:47:35 Speaker 01: The two thousand and twenty-seven fundraising calendar summer brochure campaign has officially launched with more than thirty retail and community locations across Grey, Bruce, Simcoe, and Huntsville area.

00:47:46 Speaker 01: Now carrying the special edition, the two thousand and twenty-seven calendar marks an especially significant year for the gallery,

00:47:52 Speaker 01: celebrating one hundred years since the birth of Tom Thomson and the sixtieth anniversary of the Thompson Archive.

00:47:59 Speaker 01: This milestone edition provides an important opportunity to bring Thomson's work beyond the gallery and into communities throughout the region, while supporting the gallery's ongoing programmemememing and operations.

00:48:08 Speaker 01: The calendar features works by Tom Thomson from the gallery's permanent collection, including three recently acquired and refurbished works that have undergone conservation.

00:48:20 Speaker 01: The inclusion of these works provides the public with an opportunity to see them in print and learn more about the gallery's collection and life.

00:48:26 Speaker 01: And to insert a comment here, when I was one of those in fundraising, and delivering those calendars.

00:48:30 Speaker 01: I kept pointing out to people, "Vendors, this is these are the ones we got."

00:48:34 Speaker 01: Oh, that's good.

00:48:35 Speaker 01: The calendar, therefore, served both as a successful fundraising initiative and as an important tool for collection awareness, interpretation, and promotion of the gallery's holdings.

00:48:45 Speaker 01: The fundraising team and the gallery staff have also strengthened the fund calendar's regional distribution through new partnerships with Owen Sound Transportation Company, the Chichimean, Brightshores Health System, Owen Sound, and the Algonquin Outfitters in Huntsville.

00:49:00 Speaker 01: These partnerships expand the gallery's reach to visitors, residents, tourists, and regional audiences, while creating new opportunities to connect the gallery's fundraising activities with the broader tourism and community networks that support the region.

00:49:13 Speaker 01: Building on the success of previous campaigns, the 2027 strategy places greater emphasis on expanding retail distribution, developing bulk sales opportunities, establishing wholesale relationships.

00:49:25 Speaker 01: I wanted to make a comment here in terms of we have now, of course, we have a fundraising coordinator, which is very helpful for the whole team,

00:49:34 Speaker 01: and has really changed our focus and gives encouragement, and new venues to follow, avenues to follow.

00:49:41 Speaker 01: The team is actively pursuing additional retail and tourism locations throughout the region, with a particular focus on high traffic destinations and businesses that align with the gallery's audience and the Thomson legacy.

00:49:52 Speaker 01: The campaign also provides an opportunity to leverage the significance of the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of Thomson's birth and the gallery's sixtieth anniversary to generate increased awareness and demand for the calendar.

00:50:03 Speaker 01: Staff and volunteers will continue to promote the calendar through gallery communications, community outreach, partner networks, and direct engagement with potential retail and bulk purchasers.

00:50:13 Speaker 01: With its strong regional distribution network, significant collection content, new commercial and community partnerships, and expanded sales strategy, the 2027 calendar campaign represents an important opportunity to increase fundraising revenue,

00:50:26 Speaker 01: while extending the gallery's visibility and strengthening the connections with communities and visitors across the region.

00:50:33 Speaker 01: There is the report.

00:50:34 Speaker 01: We'd have a motion to receive that report.

00:50:38 Speaker 01: Seconder for the receipt of the report.

00:50:41 Speaker 01: Done.

00:50:41 Speaker 01: Okay.

00:50:41 Speaker 01: Thank you.

00:50:42 Speaker 01: All those in favour?

00:50:45 Speaker 01: Thank you.

00:50:45 Speaker 01: So, I see where Kirsteen, where are we?

00:50:55 Speaker 09: That was nine A. So, if you look ahead to numbers ten and eleven, there's.

00:51:20 Speaker 09: So I just wanted to take a moment to highlight that, in addition to the working group roster that we talked about earlier this meeting,

00:51:27 Speaker 09: our regular committee vacancies will be opening up for applications on October nineteenth to November twentieth.

00:51:35 Speaker 09: Being an election year, there's a few extra openings on local boards and committees, and you can get more information at owsound.ca/committeevacancies.

00:51:42 Speaker 09: This committee will have two vacancies coming up.

00:51:51 Speaker 09: Scott.

00:51:54 Speaker 08: Well, I just would like to acknowledge the contributions of the two members that are reaching the end of their current limit,

00:52:03 Speaker 08: and I say current because I hope and the one young individual is not attending the meeting today.

00:52:11 Speaker 08: But if she's watching, the advocacy for the gallery and the work contributed to supporting the gallery from both of these members is tremendous and a significant enhancement to our community.

00:52:27 Speaker 08: So I certainly hope that both of those members will consider reapplying and contributing again in the future, because it's been a tremendous benefit to I think to staff.

00:52:43 Speaker 08: I see them nodding to council to have your contributions.

00:52:47 Speaker 08: So thank you very much.

00:52:50 Speaker 01: Thank you, sir, and it's actually the end of my term as well.

00:52:52 Speaker 01: And I want to thank committee members for their contributions over the year, and hope again that yes, they will also be applied.

00:53:00 Speaker 01: I don't know if I can.

00:53:01 Speaker 01: Well, I don't know yet.

00:53:06 Speaker 01: Who are the people that are ending their terms?

00:53:26 Speaker 07: Through the chair, those with terms that are expiring, and as we noted, and the deputy mayor is encouraging you to reapply.

00:53:37 Speaker 07: But those are Chair Tovell, Member Kelsey Starr, and then we also are.

00:53:43 Speaker 07: This is the last meeting for Councillor Marion Koepke, and certainly thank her for her support over the last term on the Art Gallery Advisory Committee.

00:53:51 Speaker 07: Thank you.

00:53:51 Speaker 07: Thank you, thank you, Marion.

00:53:58 Speaker 07: Good.

00:54:08 Speaker 07: Was the motion determined?

00:54:09 Speaker 07: Adjourned.

00:54:11 Speaker 07: Motion to adjourn.

00:54:14 Speaker 01: Okay, I can then declare the meeting of the Tom Thomson Advisory Committee on September two adjourned.

00:54:19 Speaker 01: Thank you.