Image Credit: CFJC Today
ART IS BACK

Kamloops Art Gallery reopens to the public after three-and-half-month COVID-19 closure

Jul 7, 2020 | 5:23 PM

KAMLOOPS — On March 16, 2020, the Kamloops Art Gallery shut its doors temporarily due to concerns over COVID-19. For three and a half months, the facility remained closed to the public — until today, when they finally reopened their doors with a brand new exhibit.

Staff members from the museum were outside of the building Tuesday morning (July 7) to welcome visitors and inform the public that the gallery is now open. Gallery Curator Charo Neville says that along with enhanced sanitation measures, the gallery encourages physical distancing within the space by limiting the number of people allowed inside at one time.

“It’s been a long time for us to be closed, and like everyone else, it’s been unprecedented,” Neville explains. “We have a limitation of about 20 people in the gallery. In The Cube, it’s two people. We’re really practicing those keep your distance measures. We have sanitizer. Just the usual things that have become kind of normal when you’re out and about.”

The gallery was scheduled to open their newest exhibitions on April 9, but the coronavirus forced those plans to change. Neville says the art gallery was able to use that time to make sure the newest displays — both by local artists — were 100 per cent ready when they reopened to the public.

“We’ve had the luxury of really being able to take our time on the installations, so it’s an exhibition I’m so proud of, and there’s so much to look at,” Neville says. “We have an exhibition in central gallery that is an artist from Kamloops, Donald Lawrence. In The Cube, we have Anyssa Fortie, who is an emerging artist from Kamloops. We finally get to show off what we’re working on. It’s pretty exciting.”

The Gallery is now open Monday to Friday, from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.