Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Awarded First Canada Council Art Bank Outreach Grant

News Releases – 2007

Ottawa, May 24, 2007 – The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia is the first beneficiary of a special program which uses original prints by Canadian artists to help young people and the broader public learn more about contemporary Canadian visual art.The AGNS will receive a $7,500 grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to extend its ArtReach program, which brings works of art to schools and communities and holds workshops for teachers, students and members of the public. Working in collaboration with the Nova Scotia Department of Education, the AGNS created ArtReach in 2005, when the Canada Council Art Bank provided the gallery with three sets of original prints created by Canadian artists.

Inspired by the example of ArtReach, the Canada Council created a special program, in celebration of its 50th anniversary this year, to donate works and provide funding to art collecting institutions, including art galleries and museums, for similar public outreach projects. Eligible organizations can apply for grants of up to $7,500 for specific proposals for community outreach program using the artworks.

“An important part of the Art Bank’s mandate – and the mandate of the Canada Council itself – is to engage the public with the work of Canadian artists,” said Art Bank Director Victoria Henry. “We are excited that we can celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Council – as well as the Art Bank’s own 35th anniversary – by giving an opportunity for museums and galleries across the country to reach new audiences for visual art.”

The AGNS plans to use the additional funding to extend ArtReach to reach areas of Nova Scotia where access to contemporary Canadian artworks may be limited, including francophone, African-Canadian and Mi’kmaw communities. The gallery is currently developing partnerships with French-language and First Nations schools, and the Inverness Centre for the Arts on Cape Breton Island.

Ms. Henry announced the grant to the AGNS today at the Halifax launch of a new book about the history of the Canada Council Art Bank, Art at Work/L’Art au travail, published by Goose Lane Editions in Fredericton.

More information about the outreach program, as well as a video on the AGNS’ ArtReach initiative, is available on the Canada Council’s 50th anniversary web site.