Dear friends,

It is a bittersweet moment for us, our excitement after the Council of the Whole meeting on June 4th was quickly tempered when we learned that Council had walked back its motions on June 25th – deciding in favour of an independent feasibility study to be conducted internally. We are delighted that the concept of repurposing the Drill Hall as community art space for local visual artists has taken root amongst the community and the City, and encouraged by the wide support this initiative has seen.

The GCVA proposal for the Drill Hall represents countless volunteer hours, thousands of conversations, expertise and advice from a multitude of experts across educational, artistic and institutional platforms and hundreds of letters and messages of support. We are hopeful that the city’s own feasibility report supports the vision of the creation of a collaborative environment that includes shared workspaces, equipment libraries, exhibition space and individual studios – all with the goal of enabling sustainable artistic practice for our incredibly talented artist community.
First, a huge thank you to those individuals and organizations who have publicly expressed their thanks and recognition of GCVA’s efforts. Your support and enthusiasm has carried us to where we are today.

A huge thank you to those individuals and organizations who have publicly expressed their thanks and recognition of GCVA’s efforts. Your support and enthusiasm has carried us to where we are today. In the short time frame provided by the City we did our best to connect widely across sectors and with identifiable and equity-deserving groups. We have a genuine desire to connect with, and work collaboratively with all interested parties.

We hope to play a part in the future of this project and realize the potential and ambitions of all those who have been dreaming for this to become a reality.

We are grateful for the part we already played in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to re-purpose a heritage landmark and create a high-profile, world-class centre for visual art in the City of Guelph.
We, along with the rest of Guelph, await the next steps, and what the future holds for the Drill Hall.

For information or to participate in the City of Guelph feasibility study, please contact:
DannaEvans@guelph.ca General Manager of Culture & Recreation
Tammy.Adkin@guelph.ca Manager of Museums & Culture

THANK YOU to everyone who put in so many hours of volunteer time and effort in this vision.

Sincerely,
The Guelph Centre for Visual Art Working Group

Victoria Coates
Lise Anne Janis
Mike Salisbury
Janine Smith