Nanaimo Art Gallery investigates whether current space meets community needs – Nanaimo News Bulletin

The Nanaimo Art Gallery is seeking public input as it conducts a feasibility study to determine if its current space is adequately serving the community or if an expansion or new building is needed.

On February 18, the NAG is hosting an open house where members of the public can share their thoughts on the types of exhibitions, programs and events they would like to see at the gallery and what the gallery should look like at the gallery. ‘to come up. There will also be live music, refreshments, an interactive art activity and visitors will be able to view the current exhibit, bomb head.

“Right now, the big question is: what do we need from a gallery for a community of our size and how can we meet those community needs?” asked NAG executive director Carolyn Holmes.

Holmes said the NAG is “extremely small” compared to galleries in cities similar in size to Nanaimo. She said these galleries are typically about five times larger with multiple exhibition halls and expanded programming space.

“When the community [responds] and we’ve done interviews and we’ve looked at other galleries across the province and trends in galleries across the country, we can say, “What do we really need and what does 150 Commercial St. do, where is the Nanaimo Art Gallery now, can it meet those needs? “said Holmes. “Is there a way to expand at the current location or should we consider building a new facility?”

The open house is part of the first phase of a study NAG is conducting with consultants Nordicity and Iredale Architecture with funding from the Nanaimo Hospitality Association and the City of Nanaimo. Holmes said she hopes the consultants will have completed their report by the end of March, but that won’t be the end of the process.

“We just learned a few weeks ago that we had successfully applied for funding from Canadian Heritage for a second phase of a feasibility study,” Holmes said. “So we understand that this is a long-term project and we just want, throughout, to have opportunities for people to give feedback and share ideas.”

WHAT’S THIS… Nanaimo Art Gallery Open House at the Nanaimo Art Gallery, 150 Commercial St., Feb. 18, 3-7 p.m.

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