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Quote:THEMUSEUM in downtown Kitchener has plans to expand, doubling in size, and would like your input. The following survey is important for their planning as they want to know what you would like to have in a new critical mass of arts & culture along King Street at Queen, and how it can best reflect our unique community's DNA.
Survey Link
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And full expansion details, including details for an information session this coming Wednesday: https://themuseum.ca/join-support/expansion/
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Quote:Two years. That's how long TheMuseum CEO David Marskell says his organization has unless big changes occur in the local arts and culture sector.
"Status quo, we will bleed out in two years and we will be gone," Marskell said during a stakeholder meeting with the local arts community held at TheMuseum on Wednesday evening. "That's not meant to alarm, that is our reality and we don't want that to happen."
Quote:The organization has three options — maintain the status quo and disappear, scale back operations or expand into the adjoining bank property and create a community space that attracts artists from across the region.
The first two options aren't acceptable, the CEO said, and it was the third option he wanted to explore during the public meeting this week, held in the main floor atrium of TheMuseum. It was attended by nearly 150 people from the local arts community and a few local politicians.
A proposed museum expansion into the adjoining BMO bank building was first announced in May. The bank will donate $1 million to TheMuseum and enter a sole purchaser agreement to give the organization enough time to raise the additional $2 million needed to buy the building.
According to a fundraising feasibility report completed for TheMuseum, it could cost as much as $15 million to build a new space in the area occupied by the bank. The hope is to secure as much as 73 per cent of that cost — $10.95 million — from the federal and provincial government.
All told, the total project could cost in excess of $25 million to buy the bank, rebuild it, furnish it and establish a $5-million endowment fund.
Scary to think that TheMuseum could shut down.
I think a bit part of it is the public and leaders deciding what the overall vision is for both the arts community and the city as a whole and then acting accordingly.
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I would be interested to know more about what changes he thinks that we need in the arts and culture sector. If the big change is, "finding more corporate and individual patrons to support us while also boosting attendance", then he should give the other arts and culture organizations in the area a call to see how they do it.
Expanding the space is a good first step, but I'm not sure the "If we don't do this, we'll die" message is the best way to start a fundraising campaign. The Museum has done a good job of pivoting through various mandate and management changes. I wish them well.
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(11-16-2018, 10:55 AM)Spokes Wrote: Quote:Two years. That's how long TheMuseum CEO David Marskell says his organization has unless big changes occur in the local arts and culture sector.
"Status quo, we will bleed out in two years and we will be gone," Marskell said during a stakeholder meeting with the local arts community held at TheMuseum on Wednesday evening. "That's not meant to alarm, that is our reality and we don't want that to happen."
Quote:The organization has three options — maintain the status quo and disappear, scale back operations or expand into the adjoining bank property and create a community space that attracts artists from across the region.
The first two options aren't acceptable, the CEO said, and it was the third option he wanted to explore during the public meeting this week, held in the main floor atrium of TheMuseum. It was attended by nearly 150 people from the local arts community and a few local politicians.
A proposed museum expansion into the adjoining BMO bank building was first announced in May. The bank will donate $1 million to TheMuseum and enter a sole purchaser agreement to give the organization enough time to raise the additional $2 million needed to buy the building.
According to a fundraising feasibility report completed for TheMuseum, it could cost as much as $15 million to build a new space in the area occupied by the bank. The hope is to secure as much as 73 per cent of that cost — $10.95 million — from the federal and provincial government.
All told, the total project could cost in excess of $25 million to buy the bank, rebuild it, furnish it and establish a $5-million endowment fund.
Scary to think that TheMuseum could shut down.
I think a bit part of it is the public and leaders deciding what the overall vision is for both the arts community and the city as a whole and then acting accordingly.
Scary time to be looking to the Province for millions of dollars as well. I hope they succeed.
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TheMuseum is hosting pub nights to discuss the future of Waterloo Region’s art scene
Quote:Local arts and culture advocates are planning a series of informal pub nights in downtown Kitchener to spark discussion about the future of the sector in Waterloo Region.
The pub nights will be a continuation of a meeting hosted by David Marskell and TheMuseum in mid-November where he outlined the museum's multimillion dollar plan to expand their city-owned building to create a cultural hub for artists and performers.
Marskell has partnered with Terre Chartrand, the artistic director of Pins and Needles Fabric Company, for the pub night, called the Urban Art Lab. They have three events planned so far — Jan. 30, Feb. 27 and March 27, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at TheMuseum, 10 King St. W.
"I hope there will be a building of trust and synergy that will come from this," said Marskell.
Chartrand said the pub nights are an effort to break down barriers between different arts groups and get them all together for a playful evening of discussion, music and drinks.
"Theatre people tend to gather with theatre people at theatre events," she said. "This way we get to have engaged civic talks and lively discussions with peers we might not normally meet."
Marskell said there's been a sense of distrust among the diverse arts and cultural groups in the region after the failure of the Creative Enterprise Initiative, which folded at the end of 2016, and the pub night would be a great way to re-establish those relationships.
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If anyone is able to attend any of these pub nights, it would be interesting to hear more about the ideas being floated for the expansion, as well as any insights as to how the fundraising is going.
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THEMUSEUM UNVEILS MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR DOWNTOWN VISION
Monday 1 April 2019
https://themuseum.ca/themuseum-unveils-m...wn-vision/
Quote:Digging begins today beneath King Street to launch “TUNNELVISION,” THEMUSEUM’s grand, multi-million-dollar re-imagining of downtown Kitchener.
TUNNELVISION calls for dozens, and eventually hundreds of pedestrian tunnels beneath downtown streets. Phase 1 will connect theatres, museums, concert halls, and art galleries, with Phase 2 connecting to restaurants, hotels, and the Region of Waterloo International Airport, providing pedestrians and cyclists with fast, safe, weather-protected travel throughout the area.
In a ceremony scheduled for 4:01 this afternoon, THEMUSEUM’s CEO David Marskell will take a ceremonial pick-axe to the floor of THEMUSEUM’s Underground Studio MakerSpace, starting a tunnel expected to connect with “the Walper Hotel, or somewhere really close to it” by the May 24th holiday.
“For years everyone at THEMUSEUM dreamed of ways to connect downtown Kitchener to its arts and culture, and all the while the answer was right under our bums,” Marskell said.
Marskell says the plan was inspired by ‘Plus-15’ walkways in Calgary, weather-protected pedestrian pathways 15 feet above the street. “TUNNELVISION,” he says, will be a network of ‘Minus-15’s.”
“The beauty is that our tunnelling won’t disrupt roads or businesses in any way” he said, adding “we may ask busses and some SUV’s to avoid some of the tender spots along King Street.”
Funding will be offset by the THEMUSEUM’s sale of promotional ‘UNDER-WEAR’, t-shirts, boxers and briefs, and by auctioning remnants of any corduroy roads discovered during the dig.
“TUNNELVISION merchandise is already causing buzz” says Marskell. “Even before our launch, we got dozens of pre-orders for ‘Bite me, Moose Jaw’ hoodies.”
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This is an April Fool's joke, for anyone who didn't catch on right away, like me
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Thank goodness - I was wondering whether Marskell had lost it!
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(04-01-2019, 02:55 PM)panamaniac Wrote: Thank goodness - I was wondering whether Marskell had lost it!
FWIW the only reason I see not to do this is the enormous expense. Being able to get places indoors during the winter would be a huge plus, especially for anybody with any sort of mobility issues.
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On a more important note: For baseball fans and those that admired the radio work of Blue Jays host Jerry Howarth, he'll be in town April 9.
http://event-tickets.themuseum.ca/SPECIA...y-Howarth/
I want to go but I have plans already that night, but a great opportunity for those of us who remember the glory days of Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth.
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Wow. Took me a second there. I knew they had plans, but this? haha.
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08-04-2020, 06:15 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-04-2020, 06:16 PM by panamaniac.)
A bit of a coup for THEMUSEUM - the only Canadian venue for the large-scale travelling Rolling Stones exhibit Unzipped, from Nov. 2, 2021 to Jan. 30, 2022. THEMUSEUM CEO David Marskell says that he expects the exhibit to draw 65,000 visitors.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/mus...s-exhibit/
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Can we hope that it will be in the new space at the corner of King & Queen?
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