Who will fund Ottawa Art Gallery?
Re: Arts Court won’t get federal money, July 10.
I read with great dismay this morning that the Department of Canadian Heritage has turned down the City of Ottawa’s request for $9 million for the new Ottawa Art Gallery project and the redevelopment of Arts Court.
It is clear to me that the Department of Canadian Heritage does not understand the huge importance of a new Ottawa Art Gallery for the nation’s capital. Housed at the current Ottawa Art Gallery is the Firestone Collection of Canadian Art, a collection of national significance comprised of 1,600 works of art by artists from across Canada, including a very significant collection of works by the Group of Seven. My family donated this collection to the City of Ottawa in the early 1990s. For the last 20 years these works have found a home at the Ottawa Art Gallery. Due to space restrictions at the Ottawa Art Gallery the majority of these paintings and drawings are stored in the basement of the gallery. The building of a new state of the art gallery for our city will at long last give the citizens of the national capital region and the many tourists who visit our city a chance to see this unique and important collection of 20th-century Canadian art.
The City of Ottawa needs partners to join in making the new Ottawa Art Gallery and the Arts Court redevelopment a reality. It’s truly disappointing that Department of Canadian Heritage has turned down an opportunity to be part of a project that will add greatly to the cultural life of our capital. Sadly, this shows a complete lack of vision from our federal government. Ottawa is our home and our capital and the city badly needs a new municipal art gallery to showcase the works from the Firestone Collection and the works of the many artists who live and work in this region.
Who will step up to the plate now and make the new Ottawa Art Gallery a reality?
BRENDA FIRESTONE, Ottawa, Spokesperson, Firestone Collection of Canadian Art