The Arts: A system in which taxpayers help rich people hang pictures for their friends
The revelation this spring that [Remai Modern] final cost tops $111 million, more than twice the original estimate from when it was first proposed, will resonate for most taxpayers, as will the $6 million a year in city funding.
But the art gallery’s worth should be measured beyond its price tag — its value to Saskatoon is more relevant.
Five years ago the gallery earned Saskatoon a spot in the New York Times’ top tourist destinations in the world. USA Today followed suit the following year by recommending its readers visit the Paris of the Prairies chiefly because of the gallery.
So you can argue all day that the money spent on building the art gallery will never be worth it, but you cannot reasonably claim that no value was derived from it in terms of recognition for the city.
The “cannot reasonably claim” value: two American travel writer mentions at the low, low entry price of $55,500,000.00 apiece.
And then, there’s the nepotism. And the fact that it’s ugly. And the millions to maintain it ain’t ever going away…
Get the hell out of Saskatoon while you still can, my friends.
From the comments: I guess nothing quite “says” Saskatoon like a good stack of double-wides.
How are the roads looking?
In Calgary, they’ve turned to garbage, but we have urban art, and permanent bike lanes.
We were thru Saskatoon last month….We go thru every month…….so the roads are always BAD….not sure what they do with all the TAX $$$ but it isn’t spent on fixing pot holes……..it’s just embarrassing ……..and teeth rattling as well…….BUT I think MELFORT has to have the worst roads I have ever driven on…….It’s like that everywhere in Melfort….Side streets are like a maze, trying to DODGE HUGE HOLES…………
$500,000 per month operating costs?? The totality of the job consists of periodically hanging paintings on walls.
I did business out there for a number of years. Sure is good to see they have gotten on the cultural bandwagon. Nothing says we are elite like blowing millions on a gallery that basically, no one will attend or ever pay to see.
I am planning to visit Saskatoon soon. If I am able to fit it in, I will visit the gallery. I think the arts are an important part of any city, and, yes, they are supported by taxpayers. Culture is not a “bandwagon”. It contributes greatly to people living rewarding lives . Unless the gallery costs are way out of line with what similar galleries cost, I think it is a worthwhile expenditure. If not for public galleries, great art would only be viewable by the rich.
Yes, the fine art at the Remai will certainly help the junkies strung out along 20th Street West, just a few blocks away. Be sure to drop in on them too, after your sojourn at the gallery.
Not interested in viewing the junkies. Did you mean to suggest that not funding the arts will somehow help the junkies?
Funding the arts doesn’t seem to be helping them, so let’s try not funding the arts and see what happens.
@lickamuffin — That’s a red herring . . . as I am sure you are aware. My main point is that arts are important and should be funded at some level. Fine arts, drama, books, music and other cultural events add to the quality of life in a city. Cities will always have problems. In Canada the problems are getting worse because of drugs and homelessness. But abandoning funding for the arts is not likely to help address those problems, and many people value the civility and creativity that arts can contribute. I don’t think I want to live in a society where enjoying artistic works is a privilege reserved for the elites. We may be headed there anyway, but let’s avoid that while we can.
Most art I have seen in my life has been garbage. Someone’s mysterious creations waiting to be commented on. Fragile egos at stake.
None of it is saleable.
There’s a lot of very bad music nowadays as well.
Most art that you see is on product packaging. Or on signs outside businesses. Or in video games.
On a bus trip about 15 years ago I got to talking with a young guy, about 16 or so. He wanted to be an artist but was complaining that his parents didn’t think there was any way to make a career out of it. I said, “you see that sign over there, what’s it say?” “McDonald’s” “Really? You can see the name from here? Or are you seeing a stylized capital M?” And I showed him how surrounded we are by artwork. Someone got paid to develop the font used on street signs. Someone got paid to make the art on a container of milk. Someone got paid (35 bucks!) to create the Nike swoosh.
There’s lots of commercial artwork that artists get paid for by customers.
Linda,
Always like your comments, a good voice.
When “arts” are funded and I agree they should be it should be when the real stuff is fully funded and there is money left in the kitty. Some would argue taxes should be cut but you know that….
Building monuments that require millions a year that will only go up is a disservice to the public.
Case in point the Canadian Human Rights Museum. in Winnipeg. Millions to run and maintain every year. Why go twice. It should have been always billed as the Museum of Human Accomplishment with Human Rights being one. Special Interests and Politics decided where the funding was coming from and so dictated the path.
All BS.
Guilty white liberals will never admit they are the racists.
Great art. Where the hell will you find that? Not Saskatoon.
I am sure Margaret Attwood will visit the next time she is in Saskatoon.
I went there once. Completely underwhelmed. There are some nice pieces, but it’s not worth the price tag. Most of the “art” I could recreate in my garage with little effort. The most fascinating items at the time were historical photos. I have no desire to return.
Of course, this is a city council that voted to pursue a 13 billion dollar climate change plan so I guess we’re lucky this gallery is only 111 million dollars.
I LIKE the design!
It looks like the aftermath of a tornado run amok through a fancy trailer park … with double-wides and single-wides all piled upon one another in an ungodly, unnatural, violent stack of rectangular aluminum siding. I guess nothing quite “says” Saskatoon like a good stack of double-wides. I can only imagine the belly laughs had by the Architectural design team in NYC.
Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museaum impaled the airborne double wide into a regular building.
Shouldn’t that be Toronto’s Royal Ontario Nausium?
Heh, heh … heh … you said impaled …
In my Beavis voice, or was that Butthead?
A system in which taxpayers help rich people hang pictures for their friends
Perfect!!
Just perfect headline.
Nice architecture. Is that some kind of tribute to Lego?
I spent the three coldest weeks of my life in Saskatoon. Did the writers mention that? It will be a cold day in hell when the art pays for itself at those prices.
Can Americans pronounce Saskatchewan?
Or find it on a map?
Of course they can. Tom and Jerry cartoons used the phrase “goon from Saskatoon” when Tom showed up at his girlfriend’s house in outlandish “Zoot Suit ” attire.
“its value to Saskatoon is more relevant” (had to add Saskatoon to this computers dictionary…)
Well, the homeless have to warm up and relieve themselves somewhere….
Still the worst city in Canada to have to drive through to get somewhere.
Ah! So THAT’s how they boost the “visitor” numbers …
But a good place to drive out of to get to somewhere else. (And like any city, it has the virtue of soaking up so many people who otherwise could be cluttering up rural areas or wilderness.
5 years ago, the NYT mentioned it, 4 years ago USA Today mentioned it, both were in the time before COVID… has there been any mention of it since?
“After a $10-million donation from the Frank and Ellen Remai Foundation, the $12 adult entry fee has been eliminated in favour of admission by donation for the next 20 years.”
At $12 per visit, you’d have to have 500,000 visits a year to cover the subsidy, which begs the question, what is the actual cost to operate the museum, given that the donation only covers 41,667 visits per year
L – Most Americans used to simply view Canada as the source of the
cold weather, snow and butt freezing winds. Recently, they’ve been
learning that Canada is the “North Korea” of the Americas governed
by the petulant dictator Justin Trudeau. Under whose governance
Canada turned into a Communist state(no longer a nation-state)with:
endless lockdowns, police invading church services, arresting Pastors,
placing them in solitary confinement(past 2 weeks is defined as
torture, a crime against humanity, by international law), police on horseback trampling seniors protesting the Trudeau regime, the
endless persecution of Pastor Arthur Pawloski, which now includes
his son for (the crime against the state) of mischief. In reality, his
crime was speaking to the European Parliament about the political
dictatorship in Canada. Canada’s #1 political prisoner, Tamara Lich
interviewed by Prof. Jordan Peterson has gone viral. The Freedom
Convoy is the only spark of Liberty, Americans have heard of from
the north. Well, that and the Trudeau regime arbitrarily freezing
bank accounts, resulting in 100 Billion of foreign(U.S. mostly)
investment being pulled out of Canada within 48 hours.
So what is a New York Times note on an art gallery in a city, that
it is so dangerous. It shut closed it’s downtown public library for
months; because it became too dangerous for library staff!
Only slowly are we realizing the push and public money for bike
lanes in downtown areas is due to a longer term plan to outlaw/
make unaffordable private automobiles for the most people.
“Equality will be achieved on a bicycle” motto of Mao’s China.
The Cov-19 Lockdowns/vaxx mandates was a test of the
violation of Cdn’s Charter Rights and a revocation of the
Magna Carta by an axis of Trudeau’s regime and all the
provincial governments. So far, they’ve all gotten away with it.
Talented and/or monied Canadians now view U.S. Red States
the way black slaves viewed Canada. Only now the underground
railroad goes south.
If the Saskatoon Art Gallery wants to hang contemporary Canadian
art; that would be a bleak, winter scene, riot police advancing on
peaceful Canadian protesters; entitled “Hold the Line”.
the political persecution of Tamara Lich
Sorry everybody, but I disagree with all this negativity. I think the Saskatoon Art Gallery should be a place to hange contempary artists. 🙂
Hero’s spending other peoples money.
My wife and I are waiting to see what the property price increase will be and are considering early retirement, selling our house and get the hell out of this place. It was always our intention to stay in Saskatoon but we don’t see any change on the debt load and perpetual tax increases that are coming.
Gallery , new rink, carbon action plan , city employees pension costs, electric buses, green blue and black garbage/recycling/composting cans ugly up all the streets where they are stored in the front yard. The removal of the loitering bylaws and the bums sleeping on the side of the 7/11 Idylwyld that I drive past everyday. The poor people in Fairhaven who have lost God knows how many $$ on their property when the Lighthouse was closed and the replacement shelter placed next to their home.
Bums and leaches sleeping on the streets and working at city hall. Typical left wing / NDP supporting losers.
Hopefully they make our decision easy with a double digit tax increase. Bye Saskatoon
I hope you find something but there no urban areas left in Canada that aren’t on the same trajectory. Most cities I know of have so many hidden liabilities, and some obvious ones that are going to eat their lunch. Infrastructure has become too expensive to maintain so they rely on more bureaucracy and regulations to give the illusion of being well run. They stifle any type of initiative and over-tax the small businesses that are essential to innovation and growth while building their own little empires full of more gate-keepers. This won’t end well without some drastic changes that most voters aren’t willing to accept. The media shields them from the brutal truths of life with no regard to the outcome
I have a home for sale about an hour outside of Saskatoon. Ideal for a couple looking to retire.
Why, its Prado on the Prairies!!!
https://vimeo.com/371389388
Sister Wendy likes painting on black velvet … I expect an Art museum in Saskatoon would have quite a collection of black velvet paintings …
https://youtu.be/EGB21Srm5-I?t=20
Why? Do you think people in Sask are a bunch of yokels?
To be fair they did get suckered into paying $100 million bucks for a building that looks like a pile of shipping containers. Yokel is as yokel does. It’s not a cultural treasure, it is nest-feathering by local kleptocrats. Like an NFT of a banana stuck to a wall with duct tape, the scam is deep.
On the other hand the sophisticates of Toronto have been suckered exactly the same way countless times in the last 50 years.
Possibly Canadians are stupid no matter where they live. They keep falling for this grift every time.
I was making a comment more about the fancy boy art commissioners in Saskatoon than the residents …
And I already know that Kate and her followers here at SDA are no yokels. Not even close
Didn’t Superman have a ploughman cousin named Yoke-El?
These artsy types and their lefty political pals- i remember when they were hyping whatever they call that monstrosity in downtown Deadmonton, saying “spend $88 million and we’ll attract tourists!!!” Listen, halfwits, put down the bong, you can spend as much as you want but that ain’t The Louvre and Edmonton is not Paris, nobody is coming here to see your (expletive left out) POS gallery.
I won’t even go into London and it has lots of Art Galleries.
In the 1970’s, the city had electric buses that served the core areas. They also had a long range development plan to keep boundaries within circle drive, then a ‘green belt’ surrounding the city with corridors connecting to outer bedroom communities. This made sense.
What happened?
Developers didn’t make enough $ that way?
The field house was built on a swamp, with costly repairs/rework required (over budget).
The Shaw centre was built with inadequate ventilation that required repairs/rework (over budget)
The arena was built in a good location for traffic flow/control, then planners allowed development around it to turn it into a nightmare.
The gallery is over budget and an annual drain on city resources. It was built with the promise of local jobs, then all the important positions were given to outsiders. This includes the terribly overpriced restaurant, run by a Toronto based co.
And, we can’t forget that the kitchen had an poorly designed exhaust system that had to be upgraded (sound familiar?).
I attended the grand opening of the gallery and have not been back since. It was very disappointing. From the pile of rotten boards ‘installation’ to the ‘performance artist’ rolling around on the floor in slow motion (“all the way from New York!”) to the anatomically correct picture of genitalia purposely placed at kids eye level, most of it was laughable or disturbing or both.
The building could have been designed to blend with the natural beauty of the area. Instead it looks like rusted boxes dumped there. All the best views of the river area from inside blocked by ridiculous metal cladding like a cheese grater. All, of course, except the management offices, which sit on top of the gallery with some of the nicest unobstructed views in the downtown. You would think that floor would make a great public gallery, with the natural light and views of the riverbank area. Sorry, management only!
“A system in which taxpayers help rich people hang pictures for their friends” is the perfect description!
I can’t wait to see how the plans for the new downtown arena turn out.
All I know for sure is that some developers, real estate agents, lawyers and contractors will directly benefit and everyone else will pay.
According the the gallery’s annual report for 2022, it received just over $10 million in revenue.
More than $6 million of that came from the City of Saskatoon while another $1 million came from grants provided by the federal and provincial governments as well as crown corporations like SaskTel.
Just $1.4 million of the more than $10 million came from ticket sales and other self-generated revenue.
Saskatoon can always set aside space for a Value Village storefront in the foyer. That way, items can be easily moved between the storefront and the gallery.
A journalist named “Phil Tank”? Is there a guy pumping gas in Saskatoon named “Phil Column”, and did they switch jobs as a joke?