It finally opened its doors, with much fanfare and pomp and circumstance, this past Friday evening, as people crowded into its narrow corridor, sipping on wine, nibbling on cheese and perusing the showcases of local artists.
Yes, the Humboldt & District Gallery is now officially open to the public, a much-anticipated project that started about two years ago when the local museum board of directors wanted to expand the arts side of their museum.
"It was a good economical decision for us too," said Jennifer Hoesgen, director of the Humboldt & District Museum & Gallery (HDMS), referring to the idea of moving the new gallery into the old Merchants Bank of Canada building on Main Street.
Constructed in 1920, the Merchants Bank building had a brief stint as a Bank of Montreal in the '20s, before housing Humboldt's CIBC branch. After a decades-long run, CIBC moved out in 1989 and the building became the Wilkommen Centre, a display area for tourism and special events, until 2010.
A year later, the museum assumed stewardship of the building, the same year it was designated a municipal heritage property.
"We had presented business plans and ideas to city council; thoughts on what we wanted to do with it," Hoesgen said.
After plans were formalized, renovation of the museum began, with city council being more than happy to have the arts void filled in Humboldt, especially after the closure of the Sutherland Theatre in 2012.
A lack of an arts facility has been a consistent topic of concern for Humboldt residents, being mentioned several times over to council at various opportunities, especially the recent Our Humboldt community forums.
But Hoesgen and the rest of the museum's board members are hoping the new gallery will remedy the sting of the Sutherland's closure and give new rise to the local arts movement.
"We want it to be used a lot by the public, because really, we did this for them," Hoesgen said.
That's why the gallery will be fairly eclectic in its showcases and events; it's intended to please everyone in Humboldt, from every age group and interest.
There will be travelling art shows exhibited at the gallery, including provincial ones, and a local perspective wing of the gallery where artists from Humboldt and area can present their work, whether it be paintings or photography, sculptures and the like.
"We want to promote people in this area," Hoesgen explained. "We've designed all these exhibits to show a broad scheme of Humboldt's artists."
Hoesgen said it's especially crucial that youth feel involved too; at the gallery's opening gala on Jan. 10, an exhibit in the upstairs wing displayed photography work from Humboldt Collegiate Institute.
The board also purchased a stage and sound equipment for the gallery, that sits in a corner on the main floor of the building, intended to be used for special performances by local bands and artists, a coffee-house type of event.
For now, the logistics of hosting these types of performances are still being worked out, along with developing criteria for showcasing art at the gallery. As for the travelling exhibitions, the gallery is already booked up for 2014.
But as Hoesgen reiterated, the facility is an extension of Humboldt itself and the board of directors want people to contact them with their thoughts and ideas on what they'd like to see in the building.
"We've just been so overwhelmed with the outpouring of support for this gallery," Hoesgen said. "I mean, really, there's no way we could have done this without the help of our community, so that's why this gallery is for them."
The gallery will have the same hours as the museum, open Tuesday to Saturday from 1-5 p.m., excluding special showcases or performances that may happen in evenings.
