The renovation of one of Humboldt's historic buildings could get a boost from the government, if there's enough support shown for it locally. Last week, Kevin Doherty, Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport, announced that 37 arts and cultural organizations have received pre-approval for year two funding under the ArtsVest program. The 37 projects will share $350,000 in matching funds. Among those projects is the Humboldt and District Museum and Gallery's Merchants Bank project. "We are very excited about it," said Jennifer Hoesgen, director of the HDMG.The Merchants Bank of Canada building, formerly the Willkommen Centre for the City of Humboldt, came under the auspices of the HDMG last year. Since then, the museum and its supporters, including the Friends of the Museum and the HDMG Foundation, have been raising funds through events and grants to renovate the facility.The building is being re-adapted to create a community venue for the arts, culture and heritage in the downtown core - basically, to house an expansion of HDMG operations. This past summer, those renovations began with the installation of an elevator into the building, making it wheelchair accessible, and other work involving accessibility and safety, including installing a new heating, venting and air conditioning system. Further renovations are planned to do cosmetic work to the building.This funding - $15,000 from ArtsVest - will help continue that work. All that's needed is to find another $15,000 from the community to access those funds. "We will have six months to secure the $15,000 from the community," said Hoesgen "We will be looking to the business community for support.""Year one was an incredible success, bringing in $1.17 million to Saskatchewan's cultural economy, and we will continue that by bringing in new and diverse organizations and businesses to participate in the program," said Doherty. "One of the advantages of our growing province is the ability to fund cultural programs like ArtsVest. The best part about ArtsVest is that the arts and cultural organization partner with businesses to further grow Saskatchewan's economy."The purpose of ArtsVest Saskatchewan is to assist the province's small- to medium-sized arts and culture organizations to develop mutually beneficial partnerships with local businesses. With the confirmation of matching funding in place, the organizations can approach businesses to look for opportunities to build partnerships with cash and in-kind contributions matched dollar-for-dollar.The HDMG does have a fundraising formula in place for the project, and all donations are tax deductible.
