NATIONAL DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
The real Canadian new year always seems to begIn at Labour Day after our summer . It is said that in England everything stops for tea. I sometimes feel that in Canada everything stops for the summer. And quite right too, in many ways, with our short season.
Even though many of our members may have been quiet, museums have been open to their biggest season of visitors. On vacation I visited the Peterborough Canoe Museum in Ontario, and was fascinated with their displays of canoes, kayaks and umiaks and the well- conceived historical explanations, so easily understood (my favourite was the comparison of a Hudson Bay trade canoe with a huge modern truck and the bill of lading for each, so similar despite the different methods of recording and transportation).
In this issue we are reproducing the report given by Sean Murphy, our Past President and retiring Vice President of WFFM for North America, to the WFFM Council meeting in Santiago, Chile, earlier this year. It outlines many of the problems we are facing at CFFM. We also give a brief history of CFFM since its inception almost 30 years ago. We will be celebrating our 30 years in Ottawa in 2007 with the CMA conference as they celebrate their 60 years. More about that later.
Jo Breyfogle
National Director
The International Council of Museums (ICOM) defines a museum as “an institution in the service of society and of its development.”
“It’s my Home away from Home”
That is how Adele Shami, long-term volunteer at the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art in Toronto, described her attitude to volunteering at that museum as reported on CBC Radio on July 27, 2006 in relation to the comment made by Judy Maddren (News Anchor) that Canadian museums, art galleries and historic sites would not be able to function these days if it were not for volunteers. New figures from Statistics Canada show that many not for profit institutions rely heavily on people who do their volunteer jobs just for the love of it.
CBC reporter, Marcia Leaderman went on to say that new data from Statistics Canada shows that volunteers make up more than 85% of the workforce at not for profit art galleries and museums. In an interview with Barb McIntyre, who runs Quaco Museum (a shipbuilding museum) in St Martins, New Brunswick on a volunteer basis, Ms McIntyre stated “I feel that if it were not for the volunteers, the love and the concern that is given to the preservation of our heritage would not be there because you care more if you are not being paid.”
Interesting observations.
CFFM
317 Dundas Street West
Toronto, Ontario M5T 1G4
cffm_fcam@ago.net
www.cffm-fcam.ca
It is CFFM’s policy to respect and protect personal information and an individual’s right to privacy in compliance with current legal requirements.
A SHORT HISTORY OF CFFM
Jo Breyfogle, CFFM National Director
Groups of museum friends go back a long way. According to the World Federation of Friends of Museums (WFFM) the first such association was the Vorarlberger Lanesmuseumsverein of Austria, set up in 1857. Subsequently the Ballart Fine Arts Public Gallery Association of Australia was created in 1884, and the Koninklijke Maatschappij Woorhet Museum voor Schoone Kunst van Gent in Belgium followed in 1897. There was a tendency for the early organizations to be elitist whose members were art collectors and wealthy benefactors who achieved prestige from their affiliation.
After World War II two trends emerged. The general attitude towards museums changed with greater opportunities in education and with the formation of ICOM (International Council of Museums) and UNESCO. There was also a marked social change because women had been empowered as a result of their war experience, where they had served in the armed forces and had replaced men (mostly temporarily) in many job situations. The time was ripe for the formation of autonomous volunteer groups to become actively involved with museums aided by forward thinking curators. The movement grew, initially in Europe and North America, and has gradually spread throughout the world.
In Canada many such groups were formed, one of the earliest being the Women’s Committee of the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1945. Many Canadian groups of friends/volunteers are celebrating their 40th, 50th and 60th anniversaries in this decade, a great story in how different groups of people from different backgrounds, but with a similar aim (can one say passion?), learned how to act together and change and adapt with the times.
As these groups of volunteer friends became more capable some of the more outward-looking members began thinking about the international museum community and they found a kindred spirit in the World Federation of Friends of Museums. Subsequent to the first congress in Barcelona in 1972, WFFM was formed, being legally constituted in 1975 as a non-profit, non-governmental organization to unite and support national associations and federations. The organization now has an association with the International Council of Museums (ICOM), and reports on its activities to the Executive Council. WFFM co-operates in many ways with UNESCO. Among other endeavours, WFFM provides a code of Ethics for Friends and Volunteers, help in starting up a new Friends’ Group and, most importantly, promotes the exchange of information amongst member associations. WFFM holds a business Council meeting each year, and hosts a triennial Conference located in a different country every time.
Two volunteers from the Art Gallery of Ontario led by Diana Goad attended the first WFFM congress in Barcelona and the Canadian Federation of Friends of Museums was subsequently formed in 1977 with Diana Goad elected as first President. To this day, the headquarters of CFFM remains in the AGO. CFFM maintains close ties with WFFM; the retiring Vice- President for North America, Dr Sean Murphy, is a Past President of CFFM and Danielle Lecours, a CFFM Board member, is the Associate Members’ Representative on the WFFM Council.
Since its formation CFFM has become a registered charity and has been under the patronage of four Governors General. CFFM exists on membership dues and donations, has agreed on a strategic alliance with the Canadian Museums Association, and holds its AGM wherever the CMA (founded 1947) annual conference is sited. CFFM has a double mandate of providing advocacy, particularly in conjunction with the CMA, on behalf of all museums and heritage sites and also providing support and advice to Friends groups. It is run by a volunteer board of advisors from across the country and communicates with its members through the quarterly newsletter, “Au Courant”. CFFM has also published the book, “Significant Treasures/Trésors Parlants” showcasing artifacts from member museums.
Over many years CFFM became, after Diana Goad had retired from the Presidency, synonymous with Carol Sprachman, who was President and subsequently National Director until her untimely death in 1999. Her drive and dedication were outstanding. Her name is remembered annually with the Carol Sprachman Lecture, sponsored by CFFM at the CMA Annual Conference.
The loss of her presence has been an over-riding factor in the recent development of the organization. The CFFM Board has recently completed a strategic planning exercise, and looks forward to strengthening CFFM’s role in the museum community in the future while taking the changes that have occurred in the relationships of Friends groups within their museums into account.
CFFM will celebrate its 30th birthday at our AGM in Ottawa, Friday March 30th, 2007. We hope that many of you will join us in celebrating this anniversary, CMA’s 60th and the continued growth and success of Canada’s museums and heritage sites.
UPCOMING CONFERENCES
ICCROM and the Canadian Conservation Institute
Reducing Risks to Collections
October 16 – 27, 2006
Ottawa,Ontario
http://www.iccrom.org/eng/01train_en/announce_en/2006_10risks_en.shtml
OMA – Ontario Museum Association
Engagement & Advocacy:
Connect, Communicate & Collaborate
October 19 – 20, 2006
Owen Sound, Ontario
www.museumsontario.com
Museum Computer Network (MCN)
Conference 2006
November 8 – 11, 2006
Pasadena, California
www.mcn.edu
CFFM REPORT FOR THE WFFM COUNCIL
Santiago, Chile, April 20-23, 2006
Sean Murphy, WFFM Vice-President, North America
The year since the last Council in Montreal has been one of consolidation and reflection for CFFM. The outcome was a Retreat in Toronto two weeks ago to examine in depth “where we are”, “where we wish to be” and “HOW” we are going to achieve these goals, the “how” being the most important element that needs solution.
It has been stated countless times that there is a need for an organization such as CFFM in the Canadian museum world and many reasons are given in support of this view. What has not been addressed is the way in which this need can be fulfilled. Canada is not a country that has many museum benefactors who can afford the luxury of supporting the arts to a large extent, and CFFM is not seen by these benefactors as having the same need as individual museums. Consequently our main problem is not one of ideas, but one of obtaining steady funding to facilitate the implementation of the ideas, while adhering to our policy of not obtaining any governmental support money.
CFFM’s current membership stands at 66 institutions and 103 individual supporters throughout the country. One can see there is room for us to improve when these numbers are compared with the statistics quoted below from “Muse”, the newsletter of the Canadian Museums Association, which represents the professional body of museum supporters. “Canada’s 2,500 museums receive over 59 million visitors a year, employ 24,000 people across the country and are supported by 55,000 volunteers and 300,000 friends. Museums, galleries and related institutions contribute CD$650 million in salaries and wages to the Canadian economy and contribute CD$17 billion annually to Canada’s GDP”.
As was mentioned in Montreal the changing demographics of the volunteering Canadian population and the internal organization of volunteers and Friends groups within museums has a great bearing on our membership. Volunteer groups are becoming less and less independent, and more woven into the total fabric of their museum’s organization, and it is often not the volunteer or Friends group that makes the membership decision re CFFM.
In general, unfortunately, staff are disinterested in our association with WFFM since budgeting f or world travel is totally outside their parameters, and they are too busy locally to consider the general good or the total museum world.
We are, as ever, extremely grateful to the Art Gallery of Ontario, which continues to give us office space gratis, evolving from our founding in 1977 by AGO volunteers. Without this gift we would have a major problem.
One CFFM project that has come to fruition this year is translating the booklet “How to Start a Friends Group” by Carol Serventy into French and republishing it in a tri-lingual version.
TRAVEL WITH FRIENDS
NATIONAL ART GALLERY OF CANADA
Art and Architecture in Buffalo
October 10 – 13, 2006
Executive Worldwide Travel
1 – 800 – 267 – 5552
Vienna – Enchanting City of Arts and Music
May1 – 11, 2007
Volunteers’ Circle, Travel Committee
www.national.gallery.ca
THE ART GALLERY OF WINDSOR
Virginia – historic Williamsburg, Jamestown
(celebrating 400 years) and other historic sites
April 2007…….more details to follow
Jackie King
www.agw.ca
THE WINNIPEG ART GALLERY
Classic China
April 1 – 13, 2007
Bill Owen, Continental Travel 1 – 204 – 989 – 8597
British Columbia Museums Association
50th Annual Conference
Conference 2006: Fit at 50- Grow Stronger, Live Longer
October 18 – 21, 2006
Prince George, British Columbia
www.museumsassn.bc.ca
VCAM – Volunteer Committees of Art
Museums of Canada and the United States
19th VCAM International Triennial Conference
Creating Connections
October 19 – 23, 2006
San Francisco, California
pathanson@earthlink.net or www.vcam.org
CMA Canadian Museum Association
60th Annual Conference ( CFFM 30th AGM)
March 28 – 31, 2007
Ottawa, Ontario
www.museums.ca or 416 – 236 – 5557
ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM
Mystical Burma (Myanmar)
November 30 – December 15, 2006
Worldwide Quest International Inc.
416 – 633 – 5666 or 1 – 800 – 387 – 1483
Marvels of North India
January 23 – February 5, 2007
Desert Adventure –Rajasthan extension
February 4 – 10, 2007
Worldwide Quest International Inc.
416 – 633 – 5666 or 1 – 800 – 387 – 1483
Tanzania: A Family Safari
March 10 – 22, 2007
Worldwide Quest International Inc.
416 – 633 – 5666 or 1 – 800 – 387 – 1483
Treasures of Libya ll
March 15 – 29, 2007
Rome extension
March 29 – April 1, 2007
Canadian Travel Abroad Ltd.
416 – 364 – 2738 or 1 – 800 – 387 – 1876
