So said Jamie Fobert, the Canadian architect who designed the incredibly popular renovation of London’s National Portrait Gallery.
asserted
who → say → Gallery
And he ought to know.
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he → know → ?
Fobert was one of three panellists speaking recently to a packed house at Toronto’s Public Reference Library where I was moderating a discussion on “Why Canada Needs a National Portrait Gallery Now.”
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Canada → speak → Gallery
Beside him sat Tim Johnson, the former Head of Exhibitions at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, and Toronto artist, writer and activist Sarah Lazarovic, who got so tired of waiting for a National Portrait Gallery that she started one in her backyard.
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she → sit → backyard
Johnson shared a personal story of turning a corner at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and coming face-to-face with a portrait of Joseph Brant by Gilbert Stuart.
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Johnson → share → Stuart
The encounter hit close to home — Tim is a direct descendant of Brant.
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Tim → hit → Brant
He threw his arms wide and called out.
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He → throw → arms
“Come here kids, we’d better get a photo with him!
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we → come → him
I have worked on hundreds of museums around the world — including the National Portrait Gallery in London — and visited many more and come to the conclusion that Canadians are among the most interesting and underappreciated people in the world.
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Canadians → work → world
That’s why I was thrilled when in 2019 my museum planning firm had the opportunity to develop a master plan for a Canadian National Portrait Gallery.
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firm → ’ → Gallery
But like other attempts, it did not happen.
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it → happen → attempts
Our very survival as a nation is under threat and knowing ourselves has never mattered more.
A National Portrait Gallery is about people.
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Gallery → know → people
Canada cannot afford to let this project fail again.
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project → afford → ?
A portrait gallery is a rather curious hybrid of an art gallery and a museum — it is fundamentally a “gallery of people,” Fobert told the audience of library users and museum enthusiasts.
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Fobert → tell → users
This gallery is not only a celebration, it is also a dedicated space for examining difficult and contested histories, while actively supporting new works of Canadian artists in contemporary portraiture in all media, the panel concluded.
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panel → examine → media
In a unanimous vote at the end of the evening, the audience agreed that yes, Canada needs a National Portrait Gallery now.
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Canada → agree → Gallery
And support is growing.
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support → grow → ?
This week, the Portrait Gallery of Canada — an independent charitable organization — launched its campaign to build a portrait gallery as “an investment in memory, dialogue, creativity and belonging.”
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Gallery → launch → memory
It’s led by Malea Richardson, of Calgary, who has a profound belief in the power of portraits “to bring people together.
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who → lead → people
And the Kingston Portrait Prize, established 20 years ago to celebrate Canadian portraiture, both by Canadians and of Canadians, will be announcing the 2026 finalists and the award winner.
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Prize → establish → finalists
Both events are happening during “Art Toronto” (Oct. 29 to Nov. 1) Canada’s biggest art fair and I expect the need for a portrait gallery will be a hot topic of conversation among the thousands of attendees
But, being Canadians, supporters have concerns too.
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supporters → happen → concerns
Can we afford it?
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we → afford → it
Where would it be located?
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it → locate → ?
Could it exist is some form across the country?
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form → exist → country
Would it need government support?
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it → need → support
And would it be free to tell true stories?
Building a new national museum is often seen as a prohibitive financial burden, but Canada’s path forward is uniquely pragmatic.
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path → tell → burden
It helps that the National Archives, which is federally funded, has already identified thousands of historical portraits that could form the basis of the portrait gallery’s collections.
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that → help → collections
That, along with existing portraits in provincial archives would significantly reduce startup costs.
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That → exist → costs
If all levels of government agreed to continue covering the ongoing preservation costs of these collections, this would help defray operating costs.
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this → agree → costs
Consequently, the acquisition of contemporary portraits and the building could be paid for by private fundraising.
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acquisition → pay → fundraising
A National Portrait Gallery is exactly the kind of nation-building project the federal government should be supporting right now.
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government → support → project
It is an investment in Canada that is both culturally essential and fiscally achievable — and would have meaning to every Canadian.
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that → have → Canadian
The Aporia
