Glenbow Lays Off Most Staff

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Glenbow Museum

Calgary's Glenbow Museum is temporarily laying off 80 per cent of its staff, effective Friday.

The Glenbow, which has been closed to the public since March 13 due to the corona virus crisis, announced the move in a media release sent out late Wednesday. 

The museum said "essential staff" will be retained to maintain the institution.

A spokesman said the museum has 100 employees, and those affected include full-time, part-time, casual staff and management.

The Glenbow said the unprecedented health and economic crisis "puts intense pressure on the museum’s finances."

"Glenbow is dependent on earned revenue," it said. "Over 60 per cent of the museum’s operating budget is funded by museum admissions from daily visitors, school programs, event rentals, shop sales and donations."

It predicted the "destabilizing effects of continued uncertainty" will have a long-term impact on the museum.

"We are unsure when we will be able to welcome visitors back to Glenbow. A cancelled school year and declines in international and domestic tourism all mean that we must radically rethink how to move into the future successfully."

Nicholas Bell, the Glenbow’s president, expressed his appreciation for all the museum's staff. 

"Museums are human-centred spaces that depend on our people to activate art and objects and share their relevance with the community," he said. "This is a temporary measure to combat the impact of the current crisis and we fervently hope that our team will be able to regroup on the other side." 

"Museums and cultural spaces are community nexus points, and part of our role is addressing and interpreting the experience during times of crisis, like the one we are currently experiencing. The arts are more important than ever; they bring us together and teach us resilience and creativity in the face of enormous challenges.”

Source: Glenbow Museum