Harcourt House Given One-Year Reprieve

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Harcourt House, an artist-run centre in Edmonton that was facing imminent closure, has been given a one-year reprieve by its landlord, the Alberta government.

The gallery was facing a Nov. 30 deadline to find a new home after the government refused to renew Harcourt's lease after more than 30 years of continuous occupancy.

The news of the one-year extension came in a letter from Infrastructure Minister Nicholas Milliken three days after he toured the centre and met with artists, as well as Harcourt's staff and board.

"We were very encouraged by the constructive tone of our conversation with Minister Milliken, and the minister’s positive response to our concerns and our future plans," Jacek Malec, the centre's executive director, said Monday.

The extension will give Harcourt House time to pursue a $3.5-million funding campaign to purchase its current space, which includes galleries and artist studios. 

Malec says a campaign on the GoFundMe crowdfunding platform designed to demonstrate grassroots community support for the centre has already raised $35,000, half its latest goal of $70,000.

"This broad community support for this important project is needed in our negotiations with all levels of government, prospective corporate sponsors, private foundations and other funding sources/streams to secure the rest of funding to make Harcourt House permanent and secure," Malec said.

Source: Harcourt House