Bill Reid Gallery to gain more exhibition space after renovation
A renovation to the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art will add more exhibition space and an area that can be used for outdoor light exhibitions.
Alexandra Montgomery, director and CEO, said the gallery will close at the end of the current exhibition, Intangible, on Dec. 10 for the $1.5-million renovation.
It will reopen sometime in April with Body Language, an exhibition on tattooing on the Northwest Coast.
“The whole impetus is that we’re the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art, but because our space is small, how do we program and use our space differently to reflect the diverse Indigenous cultures of the Northwest Coast?” she said.
“What we’re doing is activating the space and repurposing it.”
The renovation will add 1,300 sq. ft. of exhibition and public space without expanding the footprint of the gallery. The gallery currently has 3,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space on the main floor.
On the mezzanine level, the renovation will end the awkward combination of public space and private offices around the perimeter. Staff offices will be moved to the main level and the space converted to a mezzanine gallery and public space for workshops and artist talks.
Since the Bill Reid Gallery opened in May, 2008, the terrace has been rarely used. The renovation will add a pavilion that is being designed so it can be used as a canvas for projected light installations similar to what the Vancouver Art Gallery does for its Façade Festival. The light works are expected to be visible to the west on Burrard St.
“We’ll be able to activate the terrace and mezzanine and continue with our main exhibition area, as well as have more programs and more artist talks and hands-on workshops,” she said.
The renovation being undertaken by Merrick Architecture, which designed Cathedral Place. The Bill Reid Gallery was initially occupied by the Canadian Craft Museum from 1991 to 2002. The space at 639 Hornby is leased from the City of Vancouver.
Bill Reid was a legendary goldsmith, carver and sculptor who was among the artists credited with renewing public interest in Northwest Coast art. He died in 1998. One of his most recognized works in Metro Vancouver is the Spirit of Haida Gwaii, the cast bronze statue with green patina known as the Jade Canoe in the International Terminal at Vancouver International Airport.
Paid attendance at the Bill Reid Gallery has increased 90 per cent since 2014 to a projected 11,400 for this year. Total attendance for 2017 is predicted to hit 25,000, an increase of 50 per cent since 2014.