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We have launched our Summer Art Camps! Offered in a professional gallery setting, students will get interactive tours of our current exhibitions and explore a variety of exciting mediums including, drawing, painting, sculpture, mixed media and more.

This year camps will have a maximum of 12 students per camp. Due to camp popularity, we have made it more inclusive by allowing more children in our community to access the camps by limiting registration to one camp per child. 

All weeks are now full! Thank you so much for registering!

Week-long camps for 6 – 12 year olds.
$105 Non-Members / $85 Members  click here to become a member! 

1:00 – 3:30pm 

Choose from: 

JULY 11 – 15 (full)

JULY 18 – 22 (full)

JULY 25 – 29 (full)

To register: call (780) 532-8111 or email info@aggp.ca

All weeks are now full! Thank you so much for registering!

SPONSORED BY:

Request for Proposal: Digital Consultant for the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie

April 15, 2022
Issued by: Art Gallery of Grande Prairie (AGGP)
AGGP Representative: Brittany Kelsey, Interim Executive Director
brittany@aggp.ca
780-357-7481

Project Description

The Art Gallery of Grande Prairie is looking for a digital consultant to assist in auditing, recommending, and training in a digital direction for all aspects of the Gallery’s operations.

Goals from this consultation are:

• Digital software and training for virtual exhibitions and exhibition design
• Digital software and training for collections management and website configuration
• Recommendations on capital related to digital success, including necessary training
• Recommendations for educational programming related to digital software and training
• Identification of staff skills and development opportunities related to Gallery digital needs

This request for proposal’s (RFP) objective is to find a digital consultant with experience in the cultural sector, with an emphasis on art, to create a digital strategy that aligns with the Gallery’s mission to enrich the community through the creation, conservation and sharing of art. Expected completion of this strategy is May 30, 2022.

Background

The Art Gallery of Grande Prairie is one of the largest Free Admission galleries in Western Canada.  It is one of a number of programmed spaces within the Montrose Cultural Centre and shares communal spaces with the Grande Prairie Public Library and Teresa Sargent Hall. Strict adherence to climate and security controls has earned the Gallery a “Category A” designation by the Movable Cultural Properties Directorate of Canadian Heritage. This designation permits the Gallery to preserve and exhibit artworks to the highest of national standards.

Vision
The Art Gallery of Grande Prairie will be a centre of excellence, inspiration, creativity, and innovation for the Arts.  We will be a valued cultural partner and vital resource for the public, artists, curators, and writers.

Mission
Enriching the community through the creation, conservation and sharing of art.

Proposal Guidelines

Your proposal should follow the following format below:

• Executive Summary
• Background information about your business
• Relevant experience that would help you deliver our project goals
• Proposed services or deliverables
• Pricing. Note fixed price for the project with an itemized costing. Please include hours you expect the project to take.
• References
• Any terms and conditions for working with you

Submission Deadline
Please submit proposal in PDF format to brittany@aggp.ca by April 24, 2022.

Budget
The budget for this project is $5000

Selection Criteria
AGGP will evaluate the proposals based on the following criteria:

• Responsiveness to the required outlined in this Request for Proposal
• Relevant experience
• Quoted cost of the project

RFP and Timelines

AGGP’s timeline for RFP and project as follows:

Request for proposal issuance
April 15, 2022

Deadline for proposal submission
April 24, 2022

Selection of vendor
April 27, 2022

Project work begins
May 2, 2022

Project completion
May 31, 2022

Vendors may propose an alternate timeline with approval from AGGP to be in line with completion of total ‘Digital Shift’ with granting authorities.

DOWNLOAD A PDF VERSION

History of the Gallery Collapse

On Monday, March 19, 2007 at 10 am the historic 1929 Grande Prairie High School that was home to the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie (previously named Prairie Art Gallery) suffered a collapse of the southern wing of the building. No one was injured and no art works were significantly damaged. The building was built in 1929 and is the second oldest brick building still standing in Grande Prairie. The building was designated a historic site in 1984.

For the two weeks following the collapse, there were discussions about safely securing the site and retrieving the art collection. The Gallery sought advice from the Canadian Conservation Institute. Tara Fraser, a paper conservator arrived on March 22 to set up a recovery plan. Engineers, City staff, and crews from local companies worked to remove the snow and planned to remove the 3,000 kg heating and ventilation unit to prevent further collapse to the structure.

Artwork in the basement vault was removed on March 26 by Gallery staff and board members under the supervision of the Grande Prairie Fire Department. All materials in the classrooms directly below the collapsed roof and in the upstairs gallery had to wait for removal of the debris from the surrounding building and were not removed until April 3. On March 28, a controlled demolition was carried out to safely remove the east-side wall of the south wing. Whether or not the historic building would be restored was debated.

Many concerned individuals in the community advocated for the preservation of the historical integrity of the collapsed Art Gallery of Grande Prairie and to continue action of the plan to integrate it into the architectural design of the yet to built Montrose Cultural Centre. In an eight to one vote in June 2007, City council recommended the building be demolished, but needed to wait for provincial approval because the building had heritage status.

Construction moved forward on the Montrose Cultural Centre as the fate of the historic building was discussed with the province. In December 2008, the Minister of Cultural and Community Spirit, Lindsay Blackett, sent the City of Grande Prairie a letter supporting the repair of the provincially-designated historic site. On December 15, 2008, the initial decision to demolish was revoked when City council voted unanimously to begin restoration. In May 2009, the City of Grande Prairie got news of a $5.6 million grant for the Gallery’s repairs from the federal and provincial governments through the Build Canada Fund.

(Below: Interior images of the Gallery after the collapse and just before demolition/restoration began.)

The completed Montrose Cultural Centre opened its doors in June 2009 and is home to the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie, the Grande Prairie Public Library, the Teresa Sargent Hall, and Jeffery’s Café. The inclusion of the historic building would happen after the construction and restoration, but the Gallery opened to the public in the Montrose Cultural Centre in 2009 and continued with programs in one exhibition space, offering art classes, and developing travelling exhibitions through the TREX program.

Image by Teeple Architects

In August 2010, construction began on the historic 1929 building, which included a new interior steel structure and use of all original bricks. In September 2012, the fully restored building was completed and fully connected to the Montrose Cultural Centre, as it was always intended. The restored space includes the Gallery’s classroom, art exhibitions space, Permanent Collection storage, workshop and loading dock area. The project was designed by Teeple Architects Ltd. of Toronto who also designed the Montrose Cultural Centre.

Image: Teeple Architects

Grand Opening – September 2012

The Art Gallery of Grande Prairie’s official grand opening reception was held during Alberta Culture Days in September 2012 and included five art exhibitions. It was a very special night with nearly 500 guests who attended, including family, friends, artists, Gallery supporters and community leaders to celebrate the bright future of the Gallery.

Exhibitions During the Collapse

During the two years the Gallery was in a temporary location (April 2007 to May 2009), temporary exhibitions were held in several locations within Grande Prairie. This included the Kin Gallery in Centre 2000 and Northwestern Polytechnic (Grande Prairie Regional College.) Group exhibitions “ARTery” (2008, guest curated by Edward Bader) and “Here Now or Nowhere” (2009, guest curated by Micah Lexier) were located within several storefront windows in the downtown area.

Before the Gallery had full access to the restored building, we hosted several outdoor exhibitions. This included solo exhibition “tenuous” (2009) with artist Tina Martel where she created a paper casting of a full size pickup truck and was featured during the annual Street Performers Festival.

In Fall 2009, the Gallery utilized the unused space in front of the collapsed building to place a sculptural installation (pictured) by artists T&T for a group exhibition titled “The Boundary Layer” during the month of October. The outdoor sculpture, which included two full size cars, remained there for nearly 6 months.

In the Summer of 2010, the Gallery presented an outdoor performance installation “AutoPark’ by artist Laura St. Pierre. “AutoPark” was a portable garden of defunct vehicles that were converted into large-scale terrariums positioned on the Northside of the Montrose Cultural Centre.

Permanent Collection During the Collapse

The Gallery found temporary office space shortly after the collapse and remained there for two years. Over 300 works from the Permanent Collection, all rescued from the collapsed Gallery building on March 26, 2007, were on view in open storage at the Gallery’s temporary location. The portion of the Gallery’s collection that required hanging storage for its safe preservation was fully accessible to the community.

The collection had rarely been seen in recent years became the object of international concern when it was trapped inside the frozen, collapsed Gallery for a week in March 2007. The Permanent Collection, now around 750 works, is currently located in a secure vault within the Gallery and continues to be displayed regularly in exhibitions.

About the Montrose Name

Since 1910, the land has been known as “Montrose” and the name was given by settler and community builder, Agnes Forbes. It was named after her home in a region of Scotland and was the site of the historic Grande Prairie High School that was built in 1929. The site was also the location of other schools, including the Montrose Junior High School, which was torn down and removed in 1994.

Join Travelling Exhibition (TREX) artists Lindsey Bond and Heather Magusin on Thursday, February 17, 6pm MST 2022, for an artist talk and Q&A panel. During this event, we will get to know our panellists and the work they have exhibited with the Alberta Foundation for the Arts TREX program.

Lindsey Bond’s solo exhibition Visiting with Memory draws on an archive of family photographs to explore a multitude of worlds; human and more-than-human, past, present and future, personal and cosmic. Heather Magusin’s photo series titled CARBON features a series of photographs centred on the aftergrowth of wildfire sites in Boreal forests across Alberta.

Click here to register for free.

A zoom link for this event will be shared one day prior to the event. Registration for the event closes on February 16, at noon.

This event is presented in partnership with EXPOSURE: Alberta’s Photography Festival.

TREX Northwest is sponsored by KMSC Law LLP

Featured images: 1) Lindsey Bond, Memory re-moved, archival pigment print, 2020 2)Heather Magusin, Inheriting, photograph, 2021 3) Lindsey Bond, Yarrow Flowers, photo-sculpture, 2020 4) Heather Magusin, Seeking, photograph, 2021

General Description

One of the largest square footage art galleries in Alberta, the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie is a place which enriches our community through the creation, conservation and sharing of art. We offer free admission, tours, programs, and activities for all ages. The Art Gallery presents an average of twelve art exhibitions per year and welcomes over 20,000 visitors annually.  It holds a collection of mid century artwork of roughly 850 pieces, mostly from the Peace Region in Northern Alberta. Strict adherence to climate and security controls has earned the Gallery a “Category A” designation by the Movable Cultural Properties Directorate of Canadian Heritage. This designation permits the Gallery to preserve and exhibit artworks to the highest of national standards.

Job Title:       Executive Director
Reports to:    Board of Directors
Status:            Full-time, Permanent Position

Position start date:  Flexible to suitable candidate
Contract:                      6-month probationary period with a 3-year renewable contract
Full time Work:        Some evenings and weekends are required for meetings and events.
Salary:                           $70,000 – $85,000 commensurate with experience, full benefits package available after 3 months *Relocation allowance available

Closing date for application:          Friday, February 25, 2022**

**Update: Deadline extended. Continuing to accept applications until the position is filled

About the Position

The role of the Executive Director (ED) is to provide professional competency and effective strategic leadership. This is accomplished by operating the best possible organization within its mandate and available funds. It means that the ED is ultimately responsible for the daily management and operation of the organization and its facility.

In more detail this means that the ED, even if he/she/they delegates duties as appropriate, is ultimately responsible to the Board for:

• the efficient and effective functioning of all departments of the organization
• all paid employees, volunteers, interns, or students who work in the organization
• the financial affairs of the organization that include budget preparation, grant applications and fund raising, payroll accounts and all other expenditures and receipts
• the development, implementation and evaluation of short and long term operational plans for the organization that reflect approved strategic plans
• an innovative and creative approach to implementing the vision and mandate of the Society.

Profile of the Candidate:

Education

• Master’s Degree in Fine Arts, or equivalent education & experience, from an accredited university program with a specialization in Art History, Curatorial Studies, Cultural Studies, or Studio Art.  A suitable combination of education and experience may be considered.

Experience

5+ previous art gallery experience, administration and operation of a cultural institution, exhibitions, or related programs. Demonstrated leadership working in a professional team, groups and managing volunteers is needed. Managing finances in the non-profit sector, including grant proposals and fundraising. The role is centered in:

• Society Administration
• Financial Management
• Contract / Project / Program Administration and Accountability
• Facility Management
• Fundraising and Investments
• Personnel Management (team of 10-15)

Please email cover letter and CV, and any inquiries, to:

Board Chair, Christine Kreibom Quinn

EMAIL: chair@aggp.ca

PRINTER FRIENDLY PDF OF JOB POSTING

Closing date for application:      Friday, February 25, 2022**

**Update: Deadline extended. Continuing to accept applications until the position is filled

We thank all who may apply, and only those who are short-listed will be contacted for an interview.

About Grande Prairie, Alberta

Serving as a retail and service hub for Northwestern Alberta and Northeastern British Columbia, Grande Prairie has much to offer visitors and residents, from shopping and entertainment to world-class recreation facilities and activities. During the spring and summer, you can take advantage of late-night golfing, the largest slo-pitch league in Alberta, and hundreds of kilometers of City and regional trails for biking, hiking and ATVing. When the snow falls, Grande Prairie and the surrounding region become a winter playground – outdoor ice rinks abound, along with many other winter activities such as snowmobiling and destinations like Nitehawk Adventure Park.

The community has numerous recreation facilities with fun activities and events for all ages, including the Eastlink Centre, Bear Creek Outdoor Pool, Museum, Montrose Cultural Centre and Indoor Soccer Pitch. World-class acts like Elton John, Keith Urban and Rihanna, have all graced the Bonnetts Energy Centre’s stage. The Grande Prairie Live Theatre produces seven plays each season, as well as concerts, movies and other events. You can curl up with a good book and latte at the Grande Prairie Public Library or tour an art exhibit at the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie, both situated at the state-of-the-art Montrose Cultural Centre. For those looking for hands-on experience, sign up for a pottery class at the Centre for Creative Arts. Grande Prairie is home to many national retailers not often seen in similar-sized communities.

For more information about Grande Prairie, please visit the City of Grande Prairie website, cityofgp.com, and the website for Grande Prairie Regional Tourism Association, gptourism.ca.

February 3 Update:

We’re now open with the new exhibition, Fantastic Worlds.

The Carlstrom Family Green Space is closed while building maintenance continues in the space.

Posted January 25, 2022:

Last weekend, the Art Gallery was closed due to unexpected emergency maintenance in the building.

The Gallery will continue to be closed this week due to the building maintenance.

During this closure, staff will also continue with installing the new exhibitions that will open next month.

We’re tentatively scheduled to resume regular hours on Tuesday, February 1st. Please continue to check our social media and e-newsletters for updates.

Thank you for your patience.

The Board of Directors of the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie (AGGP) have announced Jeff Erbach is stepping down from his position as Executive Director of the organization. The change will be effective February 4.

The Board wished to make the announcement to all the Gallery supporters, members, partners, and its extended arts community.

Mr. Erbach has served as Executive Director at the AGGP since early 2017. Originally from Winnipeg, MB, Jeff has over 25 years background in community outreach and arts administration.

The Board of Directors and Gallery staff thank him for his contributions to the Gallery and wish him well in his future endeavours. While an interim Executive Director has not been selected yet, they also wish to emphasize the Gallery vision and quality of service to the community will be unchanged during the transition as they seek to hire a new Executive Director of the AGGP.

The Board will be posting for this position in the coming weeks and details can be found on the AGGP social media and here on our website.