Vancouver Art Gallery confirms layoffs amid operating budget cuts
The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) has confirmed layoffs will be taking place, describing the decision as a “difficult but necessary process.”
In an emailed statement to Daily Hive, Jasmine Bradley, VAG senior director of communications, said the move was part of the gallery’s attempt to reduce its operating budget to “ensure long term sustainability.”
Vancouver Art Gallery at the former courthouse building. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
“Staff have been informed that reductions will take place across all areas of the Gallery, including staffing. These are hard decisions, but they are being made with care and a continued commitment to our public mission.”
VAG did not confirm how many of its staff would be impacted.
Vancouver Cupe Local 15 is the union that represents workers from a number of organizations and institutions in the city, including the VAG.
A June 23 memo to VAG staff from union president Warren Williams, states that the union is “deeply saddened by the Employer’s recent decision.”
“…Although the Union has not yet completed its comprehensive evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to permit the Employer to present voluntary severance package offers to individual employees,” reads the notice.
In a statement ot Daily Hive, Williams said the union does not have “clear numbers” of VAG staff who may be impacted by the cuts, “however it may be as many as 29-30 which would be [one-third] of our members at the gallery,” he said.
The Vancouver Art Gallery is constructing a new building at 181 West Georgia St., also known as Larwill Park.
In March, VAG began the process of reviewing several request for proposals (RFPs) for alternative gallery design concepts for the new building.
The selected design will replace the long-established design by Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron. In late 2024, VAG announced it had parted ways with Herzog & de Meuron and cancelled their design, with the project instead starting fresh with a new design team.
Construction work on the site of the future new Vancouver Art Gallery on March 13, 2024. (Kenneth Chan)
VAG had started construction on the new building in March 2024, but the previous design by Herzog & de Meuron racked up significant construction cost overruns — up by 50 per cent from $400 million to $600 million. The budget issues were first announced in August 2024, which also served to explain the long pause in construction activity.
There is currently no potential timeline for the revised building.
With files from Kenneth Chan
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