Art galleries across Western Canada are temporarily closing to assist efforts to stem the spread of COVID-19 amid a quickly evolving global pandemic crisis.
The Winnipeg Art Gallery is one of the latest to announce its closure, effective Saturday. A brief message from director Stephen Borys says the gallery will be closed "until further notice."
The Glenbow Museum in Calgary closed Friday. "Our priority at Glenbow is to ensure the safety of our visitors, staff, and volunteers," marketing and communications manager Jenny Conway Fisher said in a brief message late Thursday.
"While we don’t have any confirmed cases connected to Glenbow, we believe that we can do our part and best serve our community by temporarily pausing public access to our exhibitions and galleries, large group events and programs."
Also in Calgary, the Esker Foundation announced its temporary closure, effective Saturday. It has cancelled its public programming for March and April. Contemporary Calgary also announced it would close starting Saturday.
The Vancouver Art Gallery, however, is remaining open during for its regular hours. But a note on the gallery's website says hands-on educational activities, including hands-on workshops and spring break activities, are suspended until March 30. It is the largest and busiest gallery in Western Canada.
In Edmonton, the Art Gallery of Alberta is remaining open "unless the risk level changes or Alberta Health Services changes its current recommendations,” according to a notice posted Friday on the gallery’s website. It notes that visitors will be limited to a maximum of 200 at any one time and the frequency of cleaning and sanitizing the gallery has been stepped up.
The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria said it is remaining open, although it has cancelled its Urbanite event, billed as the "hippest, happening night of art and mingling in the city."
In Regina, the MacKenzie Art Gallery will close temporarily as of Saturday. "There have been no confirmed COVID-19 cases associated with the MacKenzie Art Gallery, but we are committed to doing our part in reducing the risk of spreading the virus and will continue to monitor the directives from the government agencies," said a message on the gallery's website.
The Remai Modern in Saskatoon was remaining open. It has postponed a planned performance on March 17 by Toronto artist Bridget Moser, although her exhibition was proceeding
Elsewhere in Canada, temporary closures include the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, along with all other national museums, including the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg, are closing as of Saturday.
"We regret the impact of this decision on individuals, families, students and groups who use our facilities," said John Young, CEO of the human rights museum. "However, we believe this decision is in the best interests of all communities we serve."
Many commercial galleries – generally much smaller venues – are remaining open but some have sent out notices that opening receptions or other events are being postponed.
Meanwhile, the Canada Council, which says it is operating at reduced capacity, acknowledges difficult times ahead for the arts sector because of COVID-19.
"Although we can’t predict the extent of its impact on Canada’s national arts community, we are sensitive to the potential range of challenges which the sector will face,” the council said in a note on its website.
"We know these are likely to be difficult times, as cancellations and postponements of events, combined with prolonged restrictions on public gatherings and other necessary precautions, come into effect.”
The situation is evolving quickly, so the best advice is to check with galleries before planning a visit.
