Eduard Wiiralt. Eesti neiu. Akvatinta. From EAC art collection in 2005
According to a press release by the Estonian Arts Centre (EAC), a new board of directors has been appointed by the single shareholder of the EAC, the Estonian House in Toronto Ltd. The directors appointed by the Estonian House are:
Kaili Colford Suzanne Harrison Liisa Käärid Lea Kõiv Mihkel Kütti Veiko Parming Eric Sehr Urve Tamberg Peeter Viitre
The Estonian Arts Centre is a 45 year old registered charity that has in the past organized art exhibitions, conferences, seminars, organized art competitions, promoted artistic skills development like printmaking, metalwork, and ceramics, and commissioned works of art. Over time, the EAC amassed a considerable collection of Estonian art.
In recent decades, the EAC had been largely dormant. This changed suddenly on Nov 12, 2019 when a special shareholder meeting was called. A special shareholder meeting had been held on Oct 24 but this had been nullified as insufficient notice had been given for that meeting.
As reported in an article by Eda Sepp on Jan 24, 2020, there had been little activity since the previous Annual General Meeting in 2016. At some point between the 2016 AGM and this special shareholder meeting, 15 new members had been accepted into EAC. One of them was Estonian House in Toronto Ltd. The names of the other new members were not disclosed to the members in attendance. Their proxies were held by existing board members present.
Sepp stated that several decisions were made at the Nov 12 meeting. First, all of the art that the EAC had collected was transferred to the Estonian Studies Centre (ESC). Part of this arrangement was that the EAC would provide financial assets to “inventory, store, and support other necessary requirements”. As well, a new set of by-laws were passed that “terminated all current EAC members and specified that only corporations could be members of EAC.” As a result of the passing of this new bylaw, Estonian House in Toronto Ltd became the sole shareholder of EAC. The underlying reason for these changes was not explained to those present despite numerous questions from members.
As well, the original bylaws required a quorum of five trustees to be present at this meeting to affect changes to the bylaws. Though three trustees were present, it remained unclear whether a quorum of trustees had been reached. Many of the long-time members who were present at this meeting voted against the new bylaws.
The financial statement reported a balance of $168,618 at that time, with $75,760 cash on hand. Unfortunately, the financial statement was not accompanied by an auditor’s report.
The press release stated that the plan for the EAC is to integrate its activities fully with the International Estonian Centre (IEC), to be built on Madison Ave behind Tartu College.
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Thanks to all05 Feb 2021 12:25
It's wonderful that Estonians who may have been estranged from our community are reengaged and that people who have a connection to the Estonian community through family have found a place. We are grateful for the contribution of older leaders. May they continue doing the work that they are good at. New project, new people, new ideas.
An Observer02 Feb 2021 18:18
Factually, the Estonian Arts Centre was an inactive charity. There had been no activity for the past number of years. You could count the dues paying members on the fingers of one hand, and perhaps add a few fingers of the second hand. It's good that it has a new useful life. Estonians are a practical people, and the "take over" is a manifestation of this.
No Charity Status=No Donors02 Feb 2021 16:49
Spin it anyway you like but, something is amiss with the International Estonian Centre. It started with a huge PROBLEM. The IEC needed and applied for OFFICIAL CHARITY STATUS in order to be able to provide charitable tax receipts to potential donors. Despite their endless updates touting everything being so wonderful, the IEC conveniently failed to notify the shareholders/community that the government denied their charitable application. Thus, the IEC steering committee began the hunt for an esto organization with charity status that they could easily take over. They targeted the Estonian Arts Centre, pushing aside protocol at a hastily called EAC meeting and manipulated a hostile takeover of the Estonian Arts Centre. They eliminated all memberships and made the Estonian House the sole member of EAC. Now they've APPOINTED all new board members for the EAC. Unethical and dishonest but TRUE.