Arts Centre Reopens After Year-Long Pandemic Closure

Museums and galleries were particularly hard hit during the pandemic, in Manitoba at least, with restrictions on attendance more stringent and long-lasting than in most other sectors. While government programs helped pay the mortgage and power bills, many smaller facilities, including ArtsForward, had to remain closed entirely until they were able to begin running programs and producing income again.

In October ArtsForward was finally able to do just that, and decided to hold a grand re-opening celebration late in the month to welcome the public back into the facility and help ward off the stagnation in attendance that a year of closure would normally see. The event also provided an opportunity for local artists, many of whom had also been hard hit by the pandemic, to share their work and connect with potential customers.

Board President Ron Nordstrom welcomed the gathered visitors and thanked ArtsForward’s sponsors - as well as soliciting new ones - before outlining changes that had taken place behind the scenes. Many areas of the facility had been repaired and painted, and the organisation took the opportunity to refinish the gallery and meeting room floors while the building was vacant - a rare occurrence under normal circumstances. ArtsForward also has a new Administrator, Yvonne Sisley, who has already introduced several new and returning arts programs now that restrictions have eased. Of course there are still some restrictions in place, and those were clarified as well.

Before and after the formal portion of the event, guests were encouraged to mingle and visit the artist displays, and many artists took the opportunity to reconnect with one another and discuss not just their work but how the pandemic has impacted their artistic practice.

The event was very well attended, demonstrating an eagerness by many to return to their “normal lives,” and a good sign that ArtsForward has not been forgotten while the doors were closed.