30 July 2007
Dear Professor Doctor Jutta Limbach,
Regarding the cancellation of the cultural facilities of the Goethe-Institut Toronto - in our view a short-sighted and unwise decision -- we have, as you know, written to you twice (on 29 June and 10 July 2007) and have yet to receive the courtesy of a reply.
You have received as well copies in both English and German of the
initial letter on this subject sent to key people in media and government
in both our countries, describing in detail the unhappy consequences of so
severely reducing the influence in Canada of this important institution.
We regret that, to date, you have chosen not to reply. From our combined
experience in the realm of international cultural production, exhibition, and
intellectual exchange, we cannot help but perceive your silence as an unfortunate and unprecedented discourtesy. This is quite disappointing, especially from a colleague whom we have, in the past, considered worthy of the highest honours.
It is not too late to respond and we hope you will do so as fully as possible, giving a clear account of the reasons for your negative decision regarding the Goethe-Institut's work in Canada, and prospects for a reversal of this decision. If your silence persists, however, you will understand that we will need to govern ourselves accordingly.
Sincere regards,
Scott Miller Berry, M.A.
Executive Director
Northern Visions International Festival of Independent Film/Video, New Media, Installation and Performance
THE IMAGES FESTIVAL
448-401 Richmond Street West
Toronto, Ontario M5V 3A8 CANADA
+1 (416) 971 8405 telephone
+1 (416) 971 7412 facsimile
http://www.imagesfestival.com
Vera Frenkel, F.R.S.C.
Governor General's Award Laureate
documenta IX artist
Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Fine Arts, York University, Toronto
on behalf of the SAVE KINOWELT Committee
---------------------------
SENT 29 June + 10 July 2007:
Dear Professor Dr. Jutta Limbach,
I am writing at the suggestion of Mr. Alexander Farenholtz of the German Federal Cultural Foundation in Halle with whom my colleague Dr. Professor Vera Frenkel had the pleasure of meeting again in Kassel during Documenta 12.
We remember with appreciation and admiration your visit to Toronto in the fall of 2003 to receive your honorary Doctor of Laws degree from York University and on behalf of the Save Kinowelt Committee in Toronto, are reaching out to you in a spirit of colleageality & comradeship from your second home in Toronto.
From the attached documents, you will of course perceive our sincere disappointment at the Goethe-Institut's decision to close its excellent and much-needed cultural facilities in downtown Toronto. There is every evidence that this decision will have a serious negative impact on collaborations and partnerships with Germans, with Canadians and international cultural entities in this most cosmopolitan -- according to UNESCO -- city in the world.
To provide you with a more detailed entree into the current situation, I have attached copies (in both German and English) of the letter that was sent not long ago tothe German Ministers of Finance & Culture and to selected representatives of the German media in order to to share Canada's dismay at this decision.
We would be most grateful if you could convey this information to your colleagues in Munich and elsewhere, and indeed to anyone who might be helpful in restoring to pride of place the facilities and programmes we have lost or their equivalent. In addition, if there are those you would recommend we contact, we would be pleased to pursue this further with interested parties, whether through correspondence, or in person.
Professor Frenkel has just returned from Kassel, and assures me she would be more than willing to host a visit of any colleague of yours that you would assign, as a member of the Royal Society of Canada (Academies of the Arts, Sciences and Humanities). She is also in a position to facilitate introductions that might be helpful to such a visitor, and would be pleased to do so.
With profound hopes for a positive outcome and heartfelt thanks for your assistance in this urgent matter.
Warm regards from Toronto,
Scott Miller Berry, M.A., Executive Director
THE IMAGES FESTIVAL
Northern Visions International Festival of Film, Video, New Media and Installation
448-401 Richmond Street West, Toronto, Ontario M5V 3A8 CANADA
+1 (416) 971 8405 telephone
+1 (416) 971 7412 facsimile
www.imagesfestival.com
on behalf of the SAVE KINOWELT Committee
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