Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Act

Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Act. R.S., c. 22, s. 1.

Interpretation

2 In this Act,

(a) "Board" means the Board of Governors of the Gallery;

(b) "Gallery" means the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia;

(c) "governor" means a member of the Board;

(d) "membership" means members of the Gallery in good standing;

(e) "Minister" means the Minister of Tourism and Culture. R.S., c. 22, s. 2.

Supervision of Act

3 The Minister shall have the general supervision and management of this Act. R.S., c. 22, s. 3.

Art Gallery of Nova Scotia

4 There is hereby created and constituted the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia which shall be a body corporate and which, subject to this Act, shall have the capacity and all the powers of a society incorporated under the Societies Act and which shall be an agency of the Province for the acquisition, preservation and exhibition of works of art. R.S., c. 22, s. 4.

Board of Governors

5 (1) The affairs of the Gallery are under the direction and control of the Board of Governors.

Composition

(2) The Board is composed of

(a) eleven persons appointed by the Governor in Council;

(b) seven persons appointed by the Governor in Council from persons recommended by the membership of the Gallery;

(c) one person appointed by the Governor in Council from persons recommended by a visual arts organization recognized by the Board;

(d) honorary governors appointed pursuant to this Act; and

(e) the Director ex officio.

Term

(3) A governor shall be appointed by the Governor in Council for such term not exceeding three years as the Governor in Council determines except the governor recommended by a visual arts organization recognized by the Board who holds office for one year from the date of appointment.

Vacancy

(4) In the event of a vacancy occurring for any reason among the governors, the Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Board, shall appoint a person to hold office for the unexpired term of office.

Re-appointment

(5) A governor whose term has expired is eligible for re-appointment for an additional term but shall not be eligible for further re-appointment upon the expiry of said additional term until at least one year has elapsed between terms. R.S., c. 22, s. 5.

Remuneration and allowance

6 (1) Subject to subsection (2), no governor shall receive any payment or remuneration for his services as a governor, but shall be entitled to actual or reasonable travelling and living allowances while attending meetings or travelling in the interests of the Board.

Professional services of Governor

(2) The Board may engage and pay for the professional services of a governor to carry out specific tasks on behalf of the Gallery. R.S., c. 22, s. 6.

Director of Gallery

7 (1) The Board may, in accordance with the Civil Service Act, appoint a person to be Director of the Gallery.

Ex officio Governor

(2) The Director is ex officio a governor but he may not vote in the deliberations of the Board. R.S., c. 22, s. 7.

Employees

8 (1) All employees of the Gallery shall be appointed in accordance with, and shall be subject to, the Civil Service Act and the regulations made under it, but all employees shall be responsible to the Board for the proper conduct of the affairs of the Gallery.

Public Service Superannuation Act

(2) For the purposes of the Public Service Superannuation Act, every full-time employee of the Gallery, whether heretofore or hereafter appointed, shall be and be deemed to have been a person employed in the public service of the Province, and any full-time employee, heretofore or hereafter, in the service of the Gallery shall be deemed to be and to have been employed in the public service of the Province. R.S., c. 22, s. 8.

Chairman and other officers

9 (1) The Board shall elect annually from the governors a Chairman and such other officers as the Board considers advisable.

Executive Committee

(2) There shall be an Executive Committee of at least five governors consisting of the Chairman, the Vice-chairman and such additional governors as the Board from time to time appoints.

Officers and committees

(3) The Board may appoint such other officers and standing and special committees as the Board considers advisable and the persons who are members of any committee need not be governors.

Honorary governors

(4) The Board, with the approval of the Governor in Council, may appoint, from time to time, persons to be honorary governors to hold office for such period as the Board may determine and the honorary governors shall be non-voting members of the Board. R.S., c. 22, s. 9.

By-laws

10 With the approval of the Governor in Council, the Board may make by-laws for the conduct of its business and for the control and direction of the work of the Gallery and, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, the Board may make by-laws

(a) to regulate the use of the Gallery premises, buildings and contents;

(b) to provide for the time for holding the annual and other meetings of the Gallery, and rules and governing the conduct thereof;

(c) to provide holding and conduct of meetings of the Board and the quorum to be present;

(d) to protect the Gallery premises, buildings, fittings, furniture and contents thereof from theft, injury, destruction or mischief;

(e) to enable the officers and employees of the Gallery to exclude from the said building persons violating any of the by-laws;

(f) to determine the duties of the executive committee and, where appropriate, delegate powers to it;

(g) to establish membership in the Gallery including qualifications for membership, procedures for becoming a member, classification of membership, fees to be paid by members and all other matters respecting membership;

(h) to determine the procedure to be used by the membership to recommend to the Governor in Council persons to be governors;

(i) respecting the execution of documents by the Gallery. R.S., c. 22, s. 10.

Powers of Board

11 The Board, with the approval of the Governor in Council, may

(a) operate such galleries, art museums, branches or other institutions for the preservation and exhibition of works of art;

(b) collect, classify, preserve and display objects relevant to its purposes;

(c) carry on the operation of a shop and buy and accept on consignment articles for sale;

(d) administer programs and projects for art galleries, museums or organizations for promoting the purpose of this Act;

(e) engage in activities to advance the general knowledge of the visual arts and for this purpose to recommend to the Minister to enter into agreements with any persons, organizations, corporations or governments;

(f) publish or cause to be published such information relating to the Gallery as the Board considers advisable;

(g) hold competitions to increase the knowledge and capabilities of persons interested in the visual arts;

(h) acquire by purchase, donation, deed, devise, bequest, lease, gift, grant or otherwise, real and personal property of any and every description and sell, exchange, lease, mortgage, hypothecate or invest the same;

(i) borrow money for the purposes of the Gallery and secure the repayment of the same by any form of debenture, bond, mortgage, hypothecation, promissory note or other security;

(j) make, execute, issue and endorse bills of exchange, cheques, promissory notes, hypothecation forms and such other instruments as may be necessary or convenient. R.S., c. 22, s. 11.

Grant or gift to Museum or Gallery

12 (1) Any grant, gift, devise, bequest or trust to or for the benefit of the Nova Scotia Museum of Fine Arts or the Board of Directors of the Nova Scotia Museum of Fine Arts or the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia or the Board of Directors of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia shall, subject to its provisions, enure to the benefit of the Gallery and shall be held and applied for the purpose of this Act and no grant, gift, deed or devise shall lapse or fail by reason of any defect in the designation of the Museum or the Gallery.

Tax exemption

(2) Any grant, gift, devise, bequest or trust coming within subsection (1) shall be and shall be deemed to be a grant, gift, devise, bequest or trust to Her Majesty in right of the Province and shall be exempt from tax under any Act of the Legislature. R.S., c. 22, s. 12.

Property subject to trust or condition

13 The Gallery shall hold, upon any trusts, terms or conditions, any real or personal property which is subject to any trusts, terms or conditions imposed in the acquisition thereof. R.S., c. 22, s. 13.

Vesting of Museum property

14 All property of every kind whether owned by or held in trust in any manner for or on behalf of the Nova Scotia Museum of Fine Arts, incorporated by Chapter 108 of the Acts of 1968, shall be vested in the Gallery. R.S., c. 22, s. 14.

Further tax exemption

15 All real and personal property of the Gallery shall be exempt from taxation. R.S., c. 22, s. 15.

Report

16 The Board shall make an annual report and such other reports as the Minister directs. R.S., c. 22, s. 16.

Regulations Act

17 The exercise by the Board of the authority contained in Section 10 shall be regulations within the meaning of the Regulations Act. R.S., c. 22, s. 17.