Nanaimo Art Gallery continues the search for a new home

The feasibility study found that 60 per cent of community members consider the expansion of the art gallery a priority. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7FM.

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The Nanaimo Art Gallery is currently looking for a new place to call home. During a city council meeting on December 4th, the art gallery presented an update on the “Future Gallery” project’s next steps. 

The project directly follows a feasibility study completed with the gallery, Nordicity and Iredale Architecture in 2022.

Currently housed in an old bank building which was built in the 1960s, the gallery has faced problems such as a lack of indoor and outdoor space, tight quarters to load and unload artwork, accessibility standards not being met and insufficient climate control. 

Carolyn Holmes, executive director of the gallery spoke to CHLY after the presentation.

“We have one exhibition space, which means we can have four exhibitions a year, and every time we install and set up a new exhibition, we have no exhibition that's open to the public for three weeks,” Holmes said. “So that's 12 weeks a year where there's no exhibition for our locals and also for tourists to see.”

In the 2022 to 2023 fiscal year, the art gallery welcomed 21,889 people which was a 240 per cent increase from pre-pandemic numbers.  

“We've started tracking how many people are coming through during those times, and for the last three installation periods, we've turned away 1070 People that have no exhibition to see, so we want to fix that so there's always something great to see,” Holmes said. “We also have a small art lab studio space and our classes–75 per cent of our children's classes have waiting lists of all our summer programs have waiting lists. So we need a larger space to meet the needs of this growing community.”

The feasibility study found that 60 per cent of community members consider the expansion of the art gallery a priority. It also explored three routes the gallery could take to expand: Redevelop the existing space, build a new gallery on the existing space or build a new facility on an undeveloped greenfield site

The study concluded that a new building at their current location or on a greenfield site would be the most feasible. It is estimated the cost of the rebuild on the existing location would be $21 million while building a greenfield site would cost $19.5 million. 

The City of Nanaimo’s real estate team assisted the gallery in searching for new locations and compiled a list of nearly 40 potential locations in Nanaimo that fit its needs. After reviewing the comprehensive list, the City’s real estate team, Nanaimo Art Gallery and Nordicity selected 14 site options that were based within Nanaimo’s inner downtown.

Holmes said they also worked on finding how they can obtain more funds for the project.

“Over the last year, we have worked with the consultants, a really high-level strategy, for a capital campaign, because we know that an art gallery will cost some money,” Holmes said. “So the Art Gallery Society is figuring out how we can get private funding for that through a capital campaign.”

Holmes said a downtown space is important to help densify the downtown area and make it a focal point for the city. But she’s not the only one who thinks this. 

In a public survey done by the Nanaimo Art Gallery,  the downtown area was cited the most frequently as a preferred location.

“The Arts District is downtown when tourists come into Nanaimo, they come to the downtown, and we need to really increase the tourist infrastructure in the downtown,” Holmes said. “It just makes sense to have it in a place where both the community can reach it, and also people visiting our community.”

Holmes said she also sees a benefit to having an “iconic building” that speaks to the landscape and is an architectural anchor for the downtown area that draws people in and lets them know that Nanaimo values arts and culture. 

“So when we get to the stage of working with a design team, and architects–I think I use the word iconic but we're not looking for like a colonial iconic art gallery,” Holmes said. “We're looking to really rethink a gallery and how it could respond to the land, how it could be relevant to Nanaimo, and how it could be maybe permeable.”

The next step for the gallery is to develop a detailed business plan for the future Nanaimo Art Gallery. Holmes said the gallery already has the funding in place for the business plan and a support case but will need support from the city to help identify the top two or three sites.

City councillor Janice Perrino asked why the current location is not large enough. Holmes said that although the gallery makes use of every single inch of the space, it’s not enough.

“We are about a quarter of the size of most galleries with cities our size, and we're bursting at the seams,” Holmes said.

Councillor Erin Hemmens asked Holmes about showcasing local artists in the gallery.

Holmes said that the gallery does host local artists but has limited gallery space and that a new facility would double the size of the space. 

“I told you that through our exhibitions in the last three years, we've exhibited the work of 26 local artists. Last year, we worked with 150 artists, most of them local,” Holmes said. “They teach in our Artists in the Schools program in three districts, they teach in our programs and art labs, gallery workshops and classes, they're our staff, they are in our retail store.”

She also said the gallery would love to have a dedicated space for regional artists in a new gallery.

The council voted to direct city staff to help the gallery narrow down the location of a new space.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.