Arts & Culture
Cultural Success, Squared ART GALLERY OF ALBERTA BECOMES THIRD ANCHOR IN DOWNTOWN ARTS DISTRICT
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dmonton’s Sir Winston Churchill Square will solidify its place as a local, regional and national arts hub with the opening of the new Art Gallery of Alberta in January 2010. The gallery will join two existing, highprofile destinations there: the Citadel Theatre and the Francis Winspear Centre for Music. By adding visual art to the theatrical and musical offerings
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on the square, the area becomes more complete, says Allan Scott, chairman of Art Gallery of Alberta’s board of directors. “We’re right there with the other cultural flagships that surround the square and that have been tremendous assets for years,” Scott says. “They are phenomenal venues, and we’re ready to take our rightful place there with them.”
It’s been a long road to the new site, beginning in 1924 when the Edmonton Museum of the Arts was established. A permanent home in the Edmonton Public Library followed a few years later, and then a series of five moves took place over the ensuing decades. The new facility, designed by architect Randall Stout, will have 85,000 square feet of gallery space for national and international exhibitions, as well as a restaurant, event space that will be available for public rental, and a gallery shop that Scott says will become a destination in its own right. And with the opening – and the near-complete building – looming, people are beginning to take notice. “The citizens are suddenly realizing that they have an iconic piece of architecture growing before their very eyes,” Scott says. “It’s starting to take its final shape as opposed to being just a construction project that’s hard to interpret.” The arts community from around the corner and around the world is also on alert, adds Oksana Gowin, marketing and communications manager. “The art community is beginning to see how incredible this structure is going to be and what Randall Stout has done,” Gowin says. “People are also seeing just how much a part of our community it’s going to be.” In the world of real estate, not to mention tourism, location is everything. The gallery’s prime spot is a key reason for its success. And in more general terms, artistically speaking, having all three major institutions literally within a block for each other will only further galvanize what is already a thriving downtown arts district, Scott predicts. “We hope that we can be that last catalyst for some urban renewal in the area,” he says. “The city has plans for the area directly east of us, which has residential space as well as retail and restaurants. In areas like that, art galleries have led the way.” – Joe Morris E D M O NTO N