Submitted by Kootenay Gallery of Art
The Kootenay Gallery staff and board are very excited to announce that they have a new location for the gallery.
“We have been searching for a home downtown for a number of years. When the proposal for a combination of a gallery and affordable housing at 310 Columbia and 1224 3rd St came up, we jumped at the opportunity,” said gallery director Val Field.
The City of Castlegar and Columbia Basin Trust partnered to purchase the property.
“The gallery thanks the City of Castlegar council and staff and Columbia Basin Trust for their tremendous support. In addition, past landowners Basil and Susan McLaren deserve thanks for believing in the vision,” added Field.
The gallery will be working with the city and consultants from a group called CitySpaces to determine how to move forward, for example looking at things like keeping the foundation of the current building or building from scratch.
The gallery will be writing grants to public and private funders to secure the bulk of the financing to either reconstruct or build the new gallery. They will also be approaching the community of Castlegar and district for assistance.
“It will be a few years yet before we open the doors to the community but the board and staff hold a vision for a welcoming, engaging and accessible contemporary art gallery within a vibrant downtown centre,” said Field.
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