Royal Ontario Museum Annual Report 2007/2008

Message froM tHe cHair of tHe Board of trustees
and tHe director and ceo
The Royal Ontario Museum had much to celebrate in fiscal
year 2007/2008. The much-anticipated Michael Lee-Chin Crystal
was completed after four years of construction activity. Given the
architectural challenges of such an ambitious project, this in itself was
a satisfying victory. However, it has been the overwhelmingly positive
reception of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal by the public that has been
so gratifying.
Blessed with wonderful weather, favourable media attention and the
support of all our donors and members, the June 2007 Architectural
Opening was an overwhelming moment in the story of Renaissance
ROM. That weekend alone, after 40,000 people celebrated the
inauguration with the Governor General of Canada, 25,000 entered
the distinctive new galleries and public spaces, with the Museum
staying open all night. The Michael Lee-Chin Crystal emerged as the
new architectural symbol of Toronto and the city’s cultural rebirth. The
public was suddenly engaged with architecture as a civic art.
Inside the Museum, our attention turned immediately from the
building to its contents. The intent of Renaissance ROM was always
to liberate from the vaults our wonderful and sometimes previously
unseen collections. As each permanent gallery was completed, we
revealed more of our rich holdings in fulfillment of our unique double
mandate as a universal museum of world cultures and natural history.
By the end of the project in 2010, we will have twice as many objects
on public display than we had before.
A noticeable upward trend in attendance began with the June opening
of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal and continued with each new gallery
opening. The reappearance of dinosaurs sparked our most visited
holiday season ever, followed by our best March Break with the opening
of Darwin: The Evolution Revolution exhibition and special March Break
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programming. Visitors have come from every ethnic community
and demographic, particularly in family groups. Our position as an
important educational institution increased with added content that fits
into Ontario’s curriculum. Accordingly, school groups continue to be a
key category of Museum visitors. The increasing number of after-hours
private special events attests to the quality, service and prestige the
ROM offers. Maintaining this momentum in attendance and revenue
is crucial to meeting our Renaissance ROM goals.
There is much more to look forward to in the coming years. Our
continued revitalization will be supported by the opening of seven
more permanent galleries in the historic buildings, beginning with the
Teck Cominco Suite of Earth Sciences Galleries in December 2008
and the Schad Gallery of Biodiversity: Life in Crisis in January 2009.
We sincerely thank everyone who has shown their enthusiastic support
of the new ROM, and particularly all our staff and volunteers, whose
extraordinary professionalism and commitment helped make the
Museum a success. Thanks to the initial support by the Government of
Ontario and the Government of Canada, followed by the many donors
who saw greater potential within the ROM, the Museum is now firmly
established as an essential civic social gathering space, a provincial
cultural landmark and an international Museum of the first rank.
Salvatore M. Badali
Chair of the Board of Trustees
Royal Ontario Museum
William Thorsell
Director and CEO
Royal Ontario Museum