Bateman Gallery in Victoria Closes After 10 Years

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The Bateman Gallery in Victoria has closed after 10 years advancing the work of wildlife artist and naturalist Robert Bateman and other artists working with themes related to conservation and the environment.

The gallery, located on the city's waterfront near the B.C. legislature, marked its last day on Feb. 18, after the Bateman Foundation and the Bateman family decided to suspend operations.

The foundation had hoped to revitalize its vision with a new community art and nature centre and had launched an ambitious fundraising campaign. There had been  talk as recently as January that the gallery would trade spaces with the Maritime Museum of B.C. in downtown Victoria.

"Unfortunately, compounded challenges have created an untenable situation to recover from the post-pandemic landscape and rising operational costs," the gallery said in a statement.

David Schneider, chair of the Bateman Foundation, a registered charity, expressed disappointment.

"It is disheartening to see that many arts and culture organizations are in the same boat – struggling to survive because of funding cuts, depleted donors and limited government support and options," he said.

"One silver lining of our closure is the hope it will sound the alarm to the community that we must not take our spaces for culture and art for granted," he said. "We need to start today to prioritize funding to protect our cultural institutions.'

The board will remain active to assess future potential for a sustainable model to deliver on the mission of building deeper relationships with nature through art and education.

Source: Bateman Gallery