Art Gallery’s future an incomplete picture
Posted December 26, 2012 1:24 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Funding remains the big question as the future of the Vancouver Art Gallery comes to a head in the New Year.
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson says the city is working with the Art Gallery’s board, which is pushing for a new building across from the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
But in a year end interview with News1130, the mayor also didn’t dismiss alternate proposals that would see the gallery’s collection spread over multi-sites.
“Whether we go all the way with a $300-million art gallery by the Queen Elizabeth Theatre or that there’s a more modest proposal in a number of smaller satellite sites and renovation of the current building, those are obviously two ideas. We’ve been working most closely with the Art Gallery board and looking at the big one down Georgia Street and seeing if that can work,” says Robertson.
He says the Art Gallery’s preference will depend on the whether the business plan is good and the fundraising is viable.
“The province has already committed $50-million on that plan. It’s not clear whether the federal government will match that, or whether they’ll both be able to put more in towards that overall goal of $300-million. That’s work the Art Gallery has to do on the fundraising front,” Robertson describes.
The issue is expected to go before council by February.
