More public art galleries across Western Canada – including the largest, the Vancouver Art Gallery – are reopening after a temporary closure of almost three months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Art can help us to heal and provide opportunities for reflection, laughter and joy, something we can all use after this lengthy period of isolation,” said Daina Augaitis, the interim director of the Vancouver Art Gallery, which reopens June 15.
"With plenty of room for physical distancing, the gallery offers a safe space for visitors to revisit their favourite artworks or discover new ones.”
The Contemporary Art Gallery, also in Vancouver, is set to open June 9.
Meanwhile, the Kamloops Art Gallery has said it will reopen in June once it finishes installing shows by Donald Lawrence and Anyssa Fortie.
As well, the Audain Art Museum in Whistler, B.C., has announced its reopening as of June 26.
In Alberta, the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton is to reopen June 11 and the Southern Alberta Art Gallery in Lethbridge will follow on June 17. The Art Gallery of Grande Prairie opened its doors June 2. The Musée Héritage Museum and Art Gallery of St. Albert is reopening, effective June 9.
The Winnipeg Art Gallery was the first major public gallery to reopen in Western Canada, followed by the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Also open are the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba in Brandon, Gallery@501 in Sherwood Park, Alta., the Kelowna Art Gallery in the B.C. Interior and The Reach Gallery in Abbotsford, B.C.
The Vancouver Art Gallery is phasing in its opening. June 15 is designated for members, artists and donors and the morning of June 16 for frontline workers and their families. The gallery is open to the public on June 16 from noon to 8 p.m., with admissions after 5 p.m by donation. The gallery is open to the public on June 17 and June 18 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with another frontline workers' morning on June 19 from 10 a.m. to noon before opening to the public from noon to 8 p.m.
Source: Gallery communications