Vancouver Art Gallery to Close on Tuesdays

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The Vancouver Art Gallery says it will be closing on Tuesdays, starting in May, and eliminating its popular by-donation Tuesday evenings.

Instead, it will offer a $5 monthly pass that provides unlimited gallery access.

The pass, available after paying an initial one-time $29 activation fee – the current entry fee for an adult – can be renewed for $5 in following months. 

The change is most likely to impact those on tight budgets who can only afford to visit  the gallery a few times a year on Tuesday evenings, when they are asked to make a minimum $5 donation.

The gallery's tiered membership system offers a basic no-frills annual pass for $58, as well as more expensive annual memberships with extra benefits, such as guest passes and discounts at the gallery shop and bistro.

Tuesdays have been a peak attendance day due to the minimum $5 by-donation evenings, which sometimes see long lines stretching down the block.

CEO Anthony Kiendl said in a statement released Tuesday that the month-by-month pass will allow visitors to enjoy gallery programs more often.

Kiendl said about one in five people enter the gallery for free. No admission is charged to children and youths under 18, and a community partnership program provides complementary access for 15 non-profit groups that serve communities in need.

The gallery says it will offer school tours and schedule customized group tours for people with special accessibility needs on Tuesdays. 

For the rest of the week, the gallery will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except Thursdays and Fridays, when it closes at 8 p.m. 

The gallery shop, bistro and art rental facility will open Tuesdays.