Founded in 2003, GPAG has spent the last 20 years striving to become an integral part of the arts & culture community on the Sunshine Coast, fulfilling the region’s need for an accessible, high-calibre arts & culture exhibition space. In 2012, thanks to a generous bequest from Eve Smart facilitated by Pat and Murray Drope, the former Bank of Montreal building became our home.
In 2024 we completed a building assessment, community survey, and strategic planning project with the BC Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts. Our strategic plan includes, among other things: addressing building deficiencies, expanding community engagement, building upon past reconciliation efforts, and securing financial sustainability for our work in the region. We are ready to raise our game, and that starts with making sure our building is here for many more years to come.
This project uses information collected from regional arts & culture stakeholders, community surveys, and a detailed building assessment and energy audit, to inform all proposed planning, design and renovation work. This project will protect a key community cultural asset, resolve the issue of the Gallery’s cracking facade and other building deficiencies, and ensure that we will be able to continue serving the Town of Gibsons and surrounding communities of the Sunshine Coast region.
The integrity of the building’s deteriorating envelope is the project’s first priority. Repairing structural rot, roof drainage issues, poorly insulated windows, and cracks in the facade will ensure that the space within remains safe and suitable for continued use as a healthy and accessible cultural space. Accessibility improvements and improvements to the HVAC and Electrical systems will also allow us to use our second storey more effectively.
As funding permits, project work also includes a number of improvements to the interior that will support Gallery operations and enhance the experience for people using the Gallery building. Such proposed improvements include reconfiguring our reception and entrance to create a more welcoming experience, creating a new circular visitor flow to the Gallery and upgrading the walls and floor in Joe’s Lounge to exhibition standards, making the second floor accessible to all and necessary improvements to make it suitable for use as an artist studio/artist in residence space, resolving health and safety concerns about our office, addressing deficiencies with the building’s electric and HVAC systems, and increasing the prominence of acknowledgement of Squamish Nation culture and territory.
This project will address our organization’s challenge of sustaining an aging building for use as an accessible public cultural space. Our building is an essential part of our work, and renovating it will have a significant positive impact on our organization and on our community as a whole.
The project timeline is 2025-2027.
Phase One: Preliminary Consultant and Planning Work | 2023 – 2025
Phase Two: Construction Preparation | 2025
Phase Three: Exterior and Upper Level Renovations and Repair Work | April 2026 – October 2026
Phase Four: Lower Level and Main Entrance Renovations and Repair Work | December 2026 – March 2027
Project Completion: April 2027
To date, the Gallery has engaged several key professionals to support the planning and design phase of the renovation project, including an architect, structural engineer, and Indigenous cultural consultant. In addition, we have secured the voluntary support of the principal operator of a well-regarded local residential and commercial construction company. We have completed a Building Assessment, Community Survey, Energy Audit, Building Envelope Assessment, Architectural Study and Design Planning, our Strategic Plan, scheduled our exhibitions for 2026 to reflect this project, and applied for funding.
The Gallery has not yet selected a contractor or construction/project manager. Once the project is ready to move into the implementation phase, we will initiate a selection process by inviting multiple bids from qualified professionals.
All renovation work is scheduled to minimize disruption to the Gallery’s yearly schedule of rotating art exhibitions & cultural programs.
Our annual winter break, which will be slightly extended to begin in November of 2026 rather than December, will provide our first opportunity to complete major repairs that may be disruptive to exhibitions or to visitors.
Phases 1 – 3 are expected to cause very minimal disruption to regular GPAG exhibitions and programming. In Phase 4 work will be scheduled as necessary to avoid conflict or disruption to regular exhibition scheduling.
We have received funding from the Audain Foundation and from the BC Arts Council to address our building’s deteriorating condition. These funds are to be used to protect and preserve the building, specifically the building’s envelope, ensuring that we remain an asset to the community for many more years to come. We are deeply grateful to the Audain Foundation and to the BC Arts Council for their support of this project and for their commitment to advancing public art.
Based on the most recent recommendations, we will need to raise more funds to fully address the building’s deficiencies. We are reaching out to other agencies and the community for support. Later stages of this project not related to the repairs of the building envelope are currently conditional upon access to further funding. Major supporters of this project will be in great company and recognized prominently in the community: put your logo here!
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Get Involved
If you would like to get involved by offering a quote, a contract service, or your expertise or time as a volunteer, let us know!
Make a Donation
To date, we have received partial funding specifically for repairing the building envelope. Although repairing the building envelope is our first priority, we want to do more than just keep up the building; we want to maximize its potential and create a space that is truly special. The more we have, the more we can do, and donations to this project both large and small are deeply appreciated.
Building Envelope Condition
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