Photography Collection

A group of Canadian photographers is objecting to the way a consultation on the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography (CMCP) is being conducted.The consultation process is neither open nor public, they say, and leaves out too many of the stakeholders who care about the future of the Ottawa museum, which exhibits the best of Canadian photography.The museum closed three years ago because leaks were discovered in the building on Rideau Street where the museum is housed. Since then, its collection has been stored and exhibited by the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) in Ottawa.In April, the NGC announced it would consult with the photography community across Canada on the long-term future of the photo museum. But it turns out the consultation process only involves photographers who have exhibited there in the last five years. A group of 53 photographers and visual artists have signed an open letter to NGC chair Michael Audain and the board of trustees requesting a public consultation."We believe that a public consultation has to involve more than the artists/photographers whose work has been exhibited at the gallery over the past five years," the group said in its letter. "A national consultation of the photographic community also has to include other professionals in the field: curators, collectors, dealers, researchers, educators, critics and the large public that has an interest in the CMCP."Artists such as Benoit Aquin, William Eakin, Susan McEachern and Vera Frenkel have signed the letter. The concern is that a decision will be made behind closed doors without the wider community having a chance to comment, says former CMCP curator Martha Langford. She believes the National Gallery plans to absorb the photography collection and use it as an excuse to lobby for an expansion.

The consultation is already underway, with National Gallery staff contacting about 80 photographers who have exhibited over the last five years, whether in group or solo shows, according to NGC spokeswoman Josée-Britanie Mallet.They have been invited to respond by phone or email, she told CBC News. Mallet said the discussion is open-ended, with photographers invited to weigh in in any manner they want.The ideas that come out of the consultation will be put in a report and given to the NGC bard of trustees, she said."Our mandate of consultation is to consult with the photographers who have exhibited with the National Gallery and Photography Gallery. They are our primary clients. What happens after that, I don't know," she said.She said it would be up to the board to determine whether the results of the consultation or any decisions that come out of it would be made public,Asked why the NGC did not appeal to the wider community of photographers, Mallet said, "Because we have to eventually make a selection, and we selected those who have worked with us."Some of the artists who signed the letter were invited to participate in the consultation, but they say they will boycott the process. The CMCP, with a collection of more than 17,700 photographic works and 144,000 negatives and transparencies, has been in existence since 1992.