By Cecilia Nasmith/Northumberland 89.7 FM/Today’s Northumberland
In spite of Councillor Brian Darling’s misgivings over an 80% budget increase, Cobourg council voted at its recent budget meeting to accept the request from the Art Gallery of Northumberland and refer it to their Nov. 26 budget meeting.
Figures aside, councillors expressed enthusiastic support of the gallery, whose presentation led off with a word from board chair Astrid Richardson.
Richardson referred to it as “a sanctuary for creativity and inspiration. It allows me to connect with diverse perspectives and emotions through the power of visual art, and fosters a deeper understanding of myself and the world around me.”
Executive Director Olinda Casimiro listed all that the gallery does for the community – cultural enrichment and accessibility, educational opportunities, social engagement, community building, youth engagement, economic and tourism impact, and preservation of history and heritage.
It is the repository of more than 1,400 works of art, Casimiro added.
“We do that so that the community and beyond have access,” she stated.
She was excited to receive a generous Federal grant that allowed their exhibit A Collection Built on Relationships that spotlights Inuit art from this collection.
The $250,000 request for the 2025 budget is up significantly over their $150,000 request in previous years. As the gallery bears the name Northumberland, Darling asked, why not approach other municipalities.
Casimiro outlined plans to ask Northumberland County for $25,000 to support educational programming, saying that the name was changed from the Cobourg Art Gallery in the 1980s on the belief that a more regional gallery would have better luck securing Federal and provincial grants.
“I know the art gallery does a wonderful job, and it’s very hard to say, but it becomes a case of needs and wants,” Darling said.
“It’s hard to cut out policing, it’s hard to cut out snowplowing and thinks like that. But when an increase is asked of 80%, I am just not comfortable.”
“Art and culture is as important – it makes better doctors, it makes better citizens,” Councillor Miriam Mutton insisted.
“I think it’s important that the work the gallery does needs to be appreciated for the incredible leveraged value provided to the community.”
