A federal grant is helping the Kelowna Art Gallery’s permanent art collection have a little bit more space to grow.
The grant provides funds for what the art gallery says is significant upgrade to the storage vault that houses more than 800 of the works that are in the collection.
“The permanent collection is one of the cornerstones of the institution and all of the works of art are held in trust by the City of Kelowna for its citizens,” said executive director Nataley Nagy. “This reconfiguration allows us to make better use of the space and also offers us the opportunity to look toward the future expansion of the collection.”
The storage vault is both climate and environmentally-controlled, which allows for the careful preservation and conservation of the works inside. At the time of this release, the collection contains 881 pieces by 166 different artists. The majority of pieces in the collection are by contemporary Canadian artists, with a small number of historical Canadian pieces.
“Our government understands the value of preserving our heritage collections,” said Kelowna–Lake Country MP Stephen Fuhr. “This contribution to the Kelowna Art Gallery through the Canadian Heritage Museums Assistance Program will improve the preservation and additional security of a collection of over 800 valuable pieces of Canadian history and art.”
Members of the public can now view and explore the works in the permanent collection online at www.kelownaartgallery.com.
The Kelowna Art Gallery is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.