GAC to Facilitate Community Arts Centre Meeting

 

Are you among those Guelph residents and/or groups who would like to see a visual arts community centre established in this city? If so, Guelph Arts Council warmly invites you to come to an Open Meeting at Delhi Recreation Centre on January 29, 2001, at 7:30 p.m.

Over the past 20 years, Guelph has seen the development of several facilities that benefit the #rts community. A major achievementzhas been the River Run Centre, Guelph’s splendid civic/ performing arts facility. The performing arts are also served by the Guelph Little Theatre building, and before too much longer, the Guelph Youth Music Centre.

On the visual arts/heritage scene, we have Guelph Civic Museum as well as Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph’s public art gallery, and Ed Video Media Arts Centre, a community-based video access centre.

But we do not have a Community centre that is dedicated to the visual arts. Such a facility was part of the original plans for a Guelph civic centre, but cost and space requirements caused that concept to be jettisoned in the early stages of those plans. The Art Jam project based at Torrance School recently fulfilled some community centre needs, but unfortunately that undertaking was nipped in the bud by the sale of the school.

During the past few months, Guelph Arts Council has been working with a few artists and representatives of local arts groups who are interested in pursuing the idea of a Guelph visual arts community centre. But before going any further, this ad hoc committee determined that an Open Meeting was important to gain more information and to include as many people as possible in the planning process.

The January 29 meeting will hear from representatives of centresûin one or two other communities. They will describe the services and programs their centres have, who uses the facilities and how they are administered. They will also be willing to answer questions from the audience. In addition, the ad hoc committe will be circulating a questionnaire aimed at solicitingOideas for – and help in – establishing a Guelph visual arts community centre.

It is GAC’s hope that all individuals and groups who might be interested in using such a centre!for studio space, teaching, meetings, offices, galleries or whatever will come to the Open Meeting on January 29, 2001. For more information, contact Guelph Arts Council at (519) 836-3280.

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