Canada's largest art magazine, Canadian Art, is laying off 12 staff members for three months and temporarily suspending publication as it ponders its future.
The magazine's board of directors, in an open letter today, said the magazine has been in a "critical" financial position since the start of the pandemic.
"After very difficult and thorough deliberations, the board has come to the decision to postpone the summer issue, to pause online publishing and to temporarily lay off 12 staff for a period up to three months," the letter said. "We want and need to be as transparent as possible – this decision comes as a very last resort."
The letter notes that the board has been considering various options, including winding down operations after 37 years of publishing. "No one wants this to happen," it noted.
The Toronto-based magazine's financial troubles relate to declining revenue streams from in-person fundraising events, advertising and corporate sponsorships. It was able to access emergency government funding last year, but says it cannot rely on the same level of support this year, even though it continues to face "substantially decreased" revenue.
In 2020, Canadian Art's summer issue was cancelled. As well, online publishing was reduced as staff moved to a four-day week.
At the same time, the magazine has been working to address structural racism and inequity in its organization.
"We undertook a facilitated co-design process intended to restructure the organization based on principles of equity and anti-oppression," the letter says. "This included implementing interim positions for senior leadership (publisher, editor-in-chief, deputy editor) to allow for change to the institutional structure such that it could be collectively reimagined."
"We have recognized how challenging it has been for Canadian Art’s staff, artists, writers, partners and readers as we have navigated these uncertain times," the letter says. "Despite the reduced capacity and internal changes, it has been impressive and encouraging to see how our team adjusted to changing schedules, projects and priorities and continued to produce work at a high level."
Source: Canadian Art
