The VIA Project
PRESERVING CULTURE
Since the advent of analogue photography more than 150 years ago, the photograph has been the principal documentary record of civilization; A passport to our collective memory and history. However, without proper care, these fragile objects may be damaged over time or lost entirely through neglect.
There is a vital need to safeguard the enduring legacy found in the vintage photographic record. A number of leading Canadian educational institutions possess the desire, ability and capacity to house and preserve these unique cultural and artistic resources, and to make them available for all to cherish. Yet, none of these institutions have the financial resources necessary to purchase these photographs for their public collections.
The Vintage Iconic Archives (VIA) Project makes it possible for individual Canadians to play a vital role. As collectors first, and thereafter as donors, we can ensure the preservation of these captivating and intensely valuable artifacts, while receiving significant personal tax benefits in the process.
POLITICAL FIGURES
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A bespectacled Mohandas Gandhi, the Mahatma, who eventually led India to its independence, laughs with the man who was to be the nation’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violent resistance, including civil disobedience and fasts, drove India to independence in 1947 after nearly 200 years of British rule. |
Cuban leader Fidel Castro, left, and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev hug at the United Nations. |
UNDER CANADIAN LAW, A NUMBER OF PROVISIONS EXIST which are intended to encourage Canadians to assist our cultural organizations, museums, galleries and institutions, in acquiring culturally significant assets by donating them as “GIFTS IN KIND” under either the Income Tax Act (ITA) of Canada, or as “CULTURAL PROPERTY” under the CULTURAL PROPERTY EXPORT AND IMPORT ACT (CPEIA) of Canada.
Part of the process is the CANADIAN CULTURAL PROPERTY EXPORT REVIEW BOARD (CCPERB) which exists to determine whether properties donated qualify as cultural property under the CPEIA and to determine the value of these properties where they have been donated to an eligible public institution under the Act.
In recent years, a number of leading Canadian universities along with cultural organizations and galleries, have expressed their interest in receiving donations of substantial collections of vintage photographic images with the intention of preserving them and making them available as an invaluable resource. As the custodian of such collections, a university, gallery or institution is able to strengthen its profile and pedigree in the Canadian and international academic communities.
VIA Project participants are encouraged to collect and donate vintage photographic collections to educational, cultural or charitable institutions at fair market value as determined by expert appraisers and business valuators and as may be further determined by CCPERB.
VIA Project participants will be entitled to receive valuable personal tax benefits while enjoying the genuine satisfaction of playing a pivotal role in contributing to the acquisition and preservation of diverse cultural and fine art resources in Canada. As a result of these donations, generations of students, faculty and fine arts professionals will gain access to these collections for perpetuity.
Participants in the VIA Project will realize tax benefits as contemplated and intended by law. These benefits result from cumulative tax credits which may be in excess of the participant’s adjusted cost base for the property and may be further enhanced by the tax-free capital gains treatment which results from the donation of gifts that qualify as cultural property.
The Enduring Value of Vintage Photographs:
In many cases, international press and news agencies have vintage photographic archives of original photographs which literally chronicle the evolution of our society over the past 150 years. The vintage photographs themselves are unique artifacts of unquestionable historic importance. As awareness of their iconic qualities grows in the marketplace, photos from these collections are virtually assured to become more scarce and will increase in rarity and value over time.
The VIA Project serves as the first line of defense in preserving in Canada objects of “OUTSTANDING SIGNIFICANCE AND NATIONAL IMPORTANCE,” while involving individual Canadians in the important role of preserving the nation’s heritage.
