Art Gallery of Hamilton plans $30-million reno
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/42...-million-reno/
The Art Gallery of Hamilton is about to embark on a two-year fundraising campaign to help pay for a $30-million renovation project.
The facelift involves a renovated wing on its east side, street-level studios, expanded food services, fresh landscaping and a new sculpture on the Main Street plaza.
CEO Louise Dompierre told city councillors Wednesday the estimated cost of the project is $30 million.
Dompierre said she hopes the AGH can generate the cash for the project through fund-raising, but didn't rule out returning to council for help.
"It would be normal, I think, for the city to make some sort of contribution," she said.
The city makes an annual contribution about $1 million to the art gallery.
Dompierre was before the general issues committee Wednesday to present the results of the project's feasibility study and ask for permission to begin fundraising
Civic leaders agreed to endorse the fundraising campaign. That was required because the project involves city property, which the AGH leases from the municipality.
That initial nod must be ratified at council.
Based on a two-year fundraising campaign, the project should be completed by 2019, Dompierre said.
The garden project, which will be complemented by a new piece of public art, is to be the hallmark feature of the renovation, she noted.
"The garden is the driving part of the project."
The competition for the outdoor art will likely be international in scope, Dompierre said.
The art gallery should make a more dramatic statement, Councillor Maria Pearson said in support of the project.
"We needed for the art gallery to have a presence on Main Street, which we haven't had."
In 2012, the art gallery drew 290,000 visitors, which was a record, she noted.
The gallery now has 10,000 works of art but there is demand for more space for additional works, Dompierre said.
That's a welcome dilemma, Councillor Brian McHattie said.
"I guess it's a nice problem to have: to have more art than you can actually display."
Dompierre said a conceptual design will be brought before council and available publicly before anything is etched in stone.