President’s Message

I hope everyone has had a wonderful summer.

September has now been designated Membership Month. All those members
who do not usually renew their membership in September will be receiving a
noticing to pay the pro-rated difference between their regular renewal date and
September 2008. During budget preparation, we discovered that membership
revenues were falling short of what we predicted, and yet our membership
numbers remained fairly stable. After some investigation we figure out that
this was caused by the late payment of dues by our members. Now that the
membership year will be from September to the end August for everyone, we
will have a more accurate view of our financial situation.

The Gallery has made up for the Guild’s shortfall over the past couple of
years but, with the large increase in rent, we cannot continue that practice.
The Guild must carry its own costs. To help make up for this yeat’s shortfall
we ate holding a “Too Good for the Shard Sale” fundraiser. It will take place
in the Lougheed Mall on Nov. 3 and 4. Please consider donating a few pieces

or one shift of a few hours to make this a successful event. Thanks.
Jinny Whitehead

Granville Island Rent
and Service Increases

For the past year Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), which
operates Granville Island, has been undergoing changes to its management
and reviewing its vision for the future. While CMHC wants to maintain the
current flavour of Granville Island, it’s also losing money and has had to
review all of its rents. There are rumours that the finances of the Island may
be beefed up by new residential or condo developments. In short, CMHC’s
efforts to develop new sources of revenue could come to override and
overshadow cultural and artistic creativity on the Island.

The BC Potters Guild has been on Granville Island for 22 years; we have
contributed to the growth of the Island and supported its many imuitiatives
to make tt a unique cultural destination. Over the years, many volunteers
and donors have contributed to the renovations and improvements of the
building we occupy.

The new rent and common area management recovery fees (similar to
strata fees) have increased our costs by over 100%. Through negotiations,
we have worked energetically to keep costs from being even higher, and to
mitigate their impact by phasing rent increases in over 2006, 2007 and 2008,
but it 1s still a huge and ongoing struggle for us to meet those new rates.
Furthermore, our new lease does not allow for renewable terms, so in the
near future we may well find ourselves priced right out of the home we have
occupied for 22 years. A comparable dilemma 1s faced by other artists, and
other non profit groups representing a broad range of fine arts and crafts.

This difficult situation affects how we plan for the future and our ability
to continue to offer programs and services to our members and the public.
Ultimately, if a viable solution is not achieved, the unique qualities that have
made Granville Island Vancouver’s number one tourist attraction and a vital,
creative nursery for the Provinces’ arts will be at risk. We propose to work with
other artists and cultural organizations to see if we can group our efforts to find
a solution to resolve that uncertamty and keep future rents viable. At the same

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Too Good for
the Shard Sale

The Guild fundraiser will occur Saturday
Nov. 3 and Sunday Nov. 4, 2007 at Lougheed
Town Centre.

Please contact me at vwhitehead@shaw.ca
and volunteer a few hours of your time to
make this event successful. Indicate day —
Saturday or Sunday, and time — morning or
afternoon shift.

Donations of seconds. Drop off at the
Gallery of BC Ceramics during regular
open hours or contact any of the following
members:

Vancouver: = Jinny Whitehead:
vwhitehead@shaw.ca
Coquitlam: Linda Lebrun:
linda_lebrun@telus.net
Burnaby: Keith and Celia Rice-Jones:
keith@wildricestudio.com
Richmond: Jenny Ross:

jeniross@shaw.ca @
Jinny Whitehead

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POTTERS

GUILD
i BRITISH
COREMBIA