Saturday was an important day for ‘The City of the Arts’. After two years of planning, fund-raising and construction the new space is now completed and ready to be used!
Briefly, the ‘Centennial Appleyard’ house used to sit on Clarke street, was moved to allow for development, was used as a pizza restaurant and most recently was moved to an empty city lot next to the Arts Centre to make room for the now under construction Evergreen Skytrain line. With this free Heritage house having been given to the City, various plans were considered for its use. I, for one, enthusiastically supported the idea of using it as space to be added to the Arts Centre. I think that Bruce Campbell, the Arts Centre director and/or Ann Kitching, Arts Centre Society president, are largely responsible for the brilliant idea of moving the old house yet again to a space right next to the current Arts Centre. This would solve the problem of duplicating administration and security and take away the danger of having children cross the road for their art lessons.
A further clever idea was to maximize the connection between the two buildings by making it into an airy functional atrium. Now, with various Federal, City and Industry funding opportunities and much fund-raising, the cost of the construction has almost been secured.
So the official opening was on Saturday, on a perfect, almost too warm, early September morning. A good crowd gathered to listen to congratulatory speeches from our local Federal, Provincial and Municipal politicians before joining tours of the new facility. There were tents set up nearby to feature the work of artists who use the Arts Centre, as well as members of the Blackberry Gift Shop Society who will now have a larger space for the shop in what was an administration office. The renovated Heritage house features a generous working studio on the basement level and an elegant main floor event space (the whole floor is open so will be good for wedding receptions, lectures, performances etc.). The small rooms upstairs will be staff offices.
The main floor of the two-level atrium will be the new entrance, with a wheelchair accessible walkway over from the parking lot. It will hold the registration desk and double as a serving area for special events. The 20′ wide area below is currently set up as a technology workshop, with access between the Clay Studios below the original Arts Centre and the new studios below the ‘Centennial Appleyard’ house.
Proceeding into the original Arts Centre we saw that the central area, with office furniture removed, will be a much bigger main art gallery, and the two smaller adjacent rooms will still be used as galleries as well . The gift shop area will now become a music practice room (I assume there’ll be soundproofing as soon as the funds for that and a new piano are raised).
As a final note in this little explanation of the grand opening events, I should mention that the TriCity Potters are very happy to be members of the Arts Centre Society and as such, will be holding our monthly meetings there. Finally there is a room, in the new/old addition, to accommodate the pottery enthusiasts who come to listen to a lecture, critique our work or watch a demonstration. fyi, the meetings are held on the third Wednesday of the months September to June at 7pm. Everybody is welcome.
To offer assistance in the fund-raising for this smart new addition to the Arts Centre the TriCity Potters have been busy making a great assortment of dinner plates. These will be donated by our members and will be used at a Gala Dinner to be held in November – in the new extension. Watch out for news.
