At the regular meeting of Council held on Tuesday, May 23, Humboldt City Council received a recommendation to approve donations from the Hamon-Fafard Family Donation as an eligible project for the issuance of Official Donation Receipts for Income Tax Purposes.

Joe Fafard was an internationally acclaimed artist from Saskatchewan and during his lifetime became a full-time artist and sculptor. 

Joe Fafard and his wife Alyce Hamon were avid art collectors, and when Fafard passed away in 2019, Hamon wanted to continue to support the arts and keep Fafard’s legacy alive. With that, she is looking to distribute their collection across the province to various institutions, such as the Humboldt & District Gallery, to share and enjoy the art collection. 

The artists represented in the collection may include Ernest Lindner, David Thauberger, Jeff Nachtigall, Christin Sowiak, Dmytro Stryjek, and Ann Harbruz.

Hamon has proposed a donation of 20 - 50 works to the City of Humboldt to be held in the permanent collection.  

“The Artist Review committee for the Gallery has reviewed it, as well as the board of directors who have looked at several parameters for this collection, and we are really excited to present this to council and request the Hamon-Fafard Family Donation as an eligible project and become a part of this large legacy in Saskatchewan,” said Director of Cultural Services, Jennifer Fitzpatrick. 

Council passed the recommendation, with Mayor Michael Behiel saying, “We recognize the importance of cultural relevance, especially provincial cultural relevance in our city and this would just allow us to gain a few more pieces of quality representation.”

With the Gallery acquiring the collection, it has increased the gallery’s annual insurance fees by $200 for an additional $100,000 in coverage for fine art. 

“It is anticipated that the City of Humboldt’s share of any appraisal fees will be approximately $1,250-$1,750 according to some comparative data provided by SkArts. This cost will be expensed to the Gallery operations,” says the City Report.