Harcourt House Receives Major Gift

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Harcourt House, an Edmonton artist-run centre facing imminent closure, has received a $100,000 donation from a private Calgary foundation toward the purchase of its buildings from the Alberta government.

The gift from the Flanagan Foundation has prompted Harcourt House to request a three-year extension to its lease and purchase agreement to give it time to raise additional funds.

The W.E.C.A.N. Society, which operates the 35-year-old non-profit centre in central Edmonton, needs to find $3.5 million to buy the buildings, where it operates a gallery space and provides studios for artists.

The society says its conversations with potential funders are going well and it is confident it can raise the funds.

"We just need a realistic timeframe to accomplish it," the society said in a statement. "The norm for the project of this magnitude is three to five years."

It has not had a response from Infrastructure Minister Pete Guthrie.

The gallery was given a one-year reprieve last fall after the government refused to renew Harcourt's lease.  

An ongoing campaign on the GoFundMe crowdfunding platform designed to demonstrate grassroots community support has raised about $56,000 of its $70,000 goal.

Source: Harcourt House