Rich in Artistic Flavour, Check Out Grande Prairie's Art Gallery
Talented artists have been apart of the Peace Country for as long as the city was founded, learn more about them and why you should visit the Art Gallery today.
Learn More About The Grande Prairie Art Museum and Why You Should Visit Today
Perhaps hidden away (but in plain sight) is the Grande Prairie Art Museum. When most people think of things to do within the city the historic Art Museum is one of the few things that gets brought up yet it still provides incredible history and detail on the cities artistic past.
The Art Gallery is a nonprofit organization (learn more about how we support nonprofits) that was created way back in 1974 when a group of art enthusiasts and Grande Prairie citizens took it upon themselves to begin the process of opening an art gallery within the city. Shortly after in 1975 the Art Gallery opened.
Not knowing how long the fabled Art Gallery would stay open it was first in a chemistry lab supplied by the Grande Prairie Regional College before moving to a download location. It would stay there for a short period of time before having to return to the chemistry lab provided by the College. In 1981 it finally found a new home.
Led by Mary LeMessurier, the new Art Gallery opened after a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The new home formally belongs to "Speke Hall" and was transformed to provide a more artistic experience. Through the endless hard work of multiple volunteers, sizable donations and community support the Art Gallery was able to finally find itself on sturdy ground.
That was until 2007 when a large amount of snow on the roof nearly collapsed the roof and destroyed over half the gallery. Thankfully no one would be hurt during this nor would any art be damaged but the Gallery's services would be changed forever. From 2007 to 2009 the Art Gallery found itself located in a temporary location while staff worked tirelessly to continue to provide the community with classes and exhibitions.
Finally, in 2009 the city of Grande Prairie finally opened it's doors to the new Art Gallery in the Montrose Cultural Centre. The once collapsed roof was renovated and beautifully restored helping provide the Art Gallery with a new home and re-open fully to the general public in 2012. Today there is still plans to connect the existing 1929 building to the current one.
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