Described as “a long time coming,” the Ladysmith and District Arts Council opened their new downtown gallery after using a vacant school as an interim gallery since 2019.
On Wednesday, June 7, the arts council opened the new gallery on High Street to present their newest exhibit called Happiness, which showcases the work of dozens of local artists.
Delie Lawley, the council’s executive director, explained the new gallery will open a lot of doors for the local art community.
“It’s going to give so much more accessibility to people to be able to come and experience artwork and see all different types of artwork,” she said. “The goal is to bring lots of diverse art to the community, and give local artists an opportunity to show as well.”
She said they plan on holding a mix of member shows, which will prioritize showing local artists and members of the council. Later in the year, they want to allow artists to rent the space for their own shows.
In 2019, the arts council was relocated to the vacant École Davis Road Elementary school after a storm blew part of the roof of their first gallery on the waterfront.
The Happiness exhibit is available to view until July 2 with free admission, and the gallery is open from Wednesday to Saturday, between 10 a.m. -5 p.m., with new hours in July.
More information on the show can be found at www.ladysmitharts.ca.
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bailey.seymour@nanaimobulletin.com
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