The Chemainus Valley Cultural Arts Society’s plans to explore a regional arts centre in Chemainus generated loads of responses, both pro and con.
There are some misconceptions circulating, one of them being this will be of no benefit to the community and cater only to tourists.
That couldn’t be farther from the truth. The plan does involve programs and workshops and space within the facility that will be utilized more by locals.
That’s certainly how one artist, sculptor Daniel Cline, sees it. “It’s for the community,” he said. “The tourists may benefit from it, but it’s for us in the wintertime.”
While the former Chemainus Foods site is the one being considered, the CVCAS’s ‘A Team’ that will be investigating the viability of such a centre, isn’t tied to it. Other sites could certainly come into play.
There is a concern about costs and Anthem Properties, owners of the Chemainus Foods building, isn’t known for being too charitable or willing to offer any great deals for its available spaces. That’s why Anthem locations available for lease often sit empty for long periods of time.
That part will have to be sorted out to determine if the price to lease the space is going to be too rich for the community’s blood.
Many people have expressed ideas about different uses they’d like to see such as a Duncan Garage type of multi-use facility with different shops and services.
But that’s not the point here. The idea being discussed at the moment is for a regional arts centre to accommodate small performances, traveling art exhibits, workshops and that type of thing.
It’s a venture worth pursuing, but will just come down to number crunching whether it’s feasible or not. Some of those other ideas being bandied about can come later either for that space or somewhere else.