Toronto Harbourfront Centre to cut 25% of staff as part of broad restructuring | Canada Voices

Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre, the sprawling multidisciplinary cultural complex on Lake Ontario, is undergoing a sweeping restructuring, including reducing staff by 25 per cent.

The organization announced last week that it would end its lease on the renowned Fleck Dance Theatre, leaving a major gap in dance spaces in Canada’s most populous city. But it’s also turning its scalpel to its other key arts partners – the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery and the Toronto International Festival of Authors – holding discussions with both about potentially removing some of its operational supports.

The Globe and Mail has learned that all of this is part of a broad review and restructuring of Harbourfront’s operations, from its arts offerings to its marina and parking services, under new chief executive officer Cathy Loblaw, who joined this summer after running Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada. Loblaw confirmed the restructuring and provided new details to The Globe.

Like many arts organizations, Harbourfront Centre is in a financial crunch. Its operational review was widely expected after the federal government issued a report in February that asked staff at the 10-acre complex to diversify its revenue. The authors warned that Harbourfront “does not yet have a sustainable operating foundation.” (The Fleck Dance Theatre, for instance, operated at losses of more than $300,000 annually each of the past 10 years.)

Though Loblaw cautioned that many of the restructuring details are not yet final, she said that her team had spoken with the leaders and boards of the Power Plant and the Festival of Authors – both internationally renowned organizations that have drawn thousands to Harbourfront – about how their relationship might change.

The two organizations rely on Harbourfront for space, funding and business supports. Both also use some of Harbourfront’s business teams, including finance and human resources. Loblaw acknowledged that Harbourfront may stop sharing those resources, adding that “everything’s on the table.”

Downloading those operations could add significant costs to the the writer’s festival and the small but well-known gallery.

The federal report, alongside the departure of former long-time CEO Marah Braye from Harbourfront, has already prompted concern from the Toronto arts community that the organization will move away from arts programming as it seeks ways to bring in more money.

Loblaw acknowledged those concerns, saying that the arts “continue to be at the heart of who we are,” alongside the numerous camps and school programming Harbourfront hosts. It will also soon be temporarily home to some programming from the shuttered Ontario Science Centre.

The conversations with the Power Plant and Festival of Authors will continue over the next four to six weeks, Loblaw said, adding that Harbourfront has not asked either to leave the premises and that she hopes they can remain. She said the discussions have included “what that looks like going forward.”

Roland Gulliver, the Festival of Authors’s director, said in an interview that the dialogue with Harbourfront has been “constructive, positive and collaborative.” He declined to say whether any proposed changes could affect the festival’s financial well-being, given that talks are at an early stage, but said that his team’s needs have changed over time – such as requiring more IT support during pandemic lockdowns.

“Like every arts organization, we’re all having to respond to financial challenges, but also respond to how audiences consume their culture,” Gulliver said. “Harbourfront are doing that. They’re responding and making their changes. And so we’re at the beginning of looking at how we then respond to that, and continue to become a successful festival organization.”

In an e-mail, Power Plant executive director Carolyn Vesely said: “The Power Plant continues to work co-operatively with Harbourfront Centre. The two organizations are both an important part of Toronto’s waterfront as well as arts and culture in this city.”

Numerous Harbourfront staff positions have been eliminated in recent weeks, amounting to about a quarter of the organization, Loblaw said. Some of the positions moved to the Festival of Authors from Harbourfront, according to an internal e-mail obtained by The Globe. It also showed that several departments were affected, including finance, human resources, IT, security, programming and production.

Harbourfront is also trying to find additional funding through individual and corporate fundraising – which has proven difficult for many arts organizations in recent years, but which Loblaw said could still be possible to achieve through new strategic approaches.