Paintings are wrapped in plastic and tucked away in the cool, dark storeroom, out of sight and out of the public’s mind.
Down the road, heaps upon heaps of artifacts depicting area history are scattered in various backroom piles stacked to the ceiling waiting to make it into the light of day.
That’s the current situation for the Vernon Public Art Gallery and Greater Vernon Museum and Archives. And it’s illustrative of why both organizations are adamant about the need of a Greater Vernon Cultural Centre, for which residents will cast their votes in tandem with the municipal election Oct. 20.
“With the cultural facility referendum coming up, we thought it was important to let everybody know some of the challenges that both the art gallery and the museum deal with on a day-to-day basis,” Dauna Kennedy, Vernon Public Art Gallery executive director, said as she stood with Greater Vernon Museum and Archives interim executive director Roger Lamoureux between two substantial ‘Vote Yes for Culture’ signs in the Gallery Wednesday, Oct. 3.
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The cultural facility referendum asks voters to decide whether or not they support the borrowing of up to $25 million of the $40-million project, the remainder of which will be generated through other grants and fundraising opportunities.
If the money is borrowed, Kennedy said the resulting impact on an average family is estimated at $12 per year.
“It will really be something that’s special for our downtown community and something for years to come that we can look forward to,” she said.
Votes will be tallied for Greater Vernon as a whole. Should more residents vote yes, the project will then proceed to securing the additional funding of about $15 million within a five-year time frame. If more than $15 million is raised, it will mitigate the amount borrowed. Once the money is secured, the project would proceed.
While members of the public have questioned whether the project should outweigh other needs the region is facing, Kennedy said that these projects aren’t mutually exclusive.
“In terms of the homeless situation, we’ve been working with social planning council and they’ve been working with different levels of government. In terms of the municipal level, there’s very little they can do without partnering with the provincial and federal levels. There is a lot of work that’s being done,” she said. “This project really won’t have an impact on that at all. It’s a very different pot of money. There is some great work being done on that so we’re really confident that that is being addressed in the community.”
One of the primary concerns for both organizations that they say would be solved by building the Greater Vernon Cultural Centre is a lack of available space for further displays and events.
“We have no real classroom space, so it means we have to set up within our exhibitions, which can be challenging. It really limits the types of workshops we’re able to conduct,” Kennedy said, adding that education is a core principle to the Gallery’s mandate.
Related: Vernon Public Art Gallery’s Art After Dark ignites referendum dialogue
That lack of space has further resulted in difficulty in protecting the artwork in their private collection.
“It’s part of our responsibility to look after it, but in the facilities we have currently, we do the best we can. It’s certainly not up to standards for protecting the art that we have and the collection that we have,” she said.
“This location has always been a challenge, not having any classroom space, not having proper storage space. We’re just not able to function as a public art gallery is supposed to function given our mandate. We do the best that we can, but this new facility will just open it up and the opportunities will be immense as to what we’re able to do.”
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The museum is facing a similar barrier, Lamoureux said.
“We’ve outgrown this space. The building itself has got some issues, everything from the temperature control,” he said.
According to Lamoureux, climate control is critical to a museum. Certain artifacts, whether they’re made of leather or paper, require consistent temperatures to avoid damage and eventual loss.
“We protect the artifacts and the archives for this community. That is why we have to do a good job: for the people of this great community,” he said.
A new, up-to-date facility could potentially promote intrigue outside the community.
“If you have the proper facilities, we can bring the world here,” Lamoureux said. “There are a lot of people who have a fixed income. They can’t get on a plane and travel to Europe, travel to the United States, travel to Ottawa to see some of the national exhibits that they have.”
One way to bring the world to those people, Lamoureux said, is through travelling exhibits.
“We can do that with a proper facility and the security. I mean, these are very very expensive exhibits that are travelling around the world. We’ll never get a chance to see those unless we have the proper facility to be able to do that.”
Kennedy has been a partisan for the project since the original and failed 2005 Civic Complex Plan, which sought to expand and renovate the civic complex for the Okanagan Regional Library and includes space for VPAG. Lamoureux, while relatively new to the area, is equally ardent.
“We have issues with this building and it’s time to look at trying to get into the proper facility that will grow with the community (for) the next 50 years,” Lamoureux said. “What happens if people in the ’60s didn’t have the vision? We wouldn’t be in this facility today. If we don’t make the decisions today, your kids, my grandchildren, will not be able to enjoy some of the things that we have.”
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parker.crook@vernonmorningstar.com
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