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Arts council looking for space in library-museum

The Whistler Library and Museum campaign to raise money for a new building kicks off Saturday.

The Whistler Library and Museum campaign to raise money for a new building kicks off Saturday.

At an invitation-only wine and cheese reception people will get a chance to meet the architects of the new facility from the just-appointed firm of Roger Hughes Partners.

"This is just to let everybody know that we are starting the capital campaign and then we will be approaching people for donations," said Anne Fenwick, chairperson of the capital campaign steering committee and the library board.

"It is more of an information session. We are getting a lot of support and we are very excited about it."

The new building is budgeted to cost $9.5 million and be completed in 2004. Half of money will come from the municipality and the rest will come from fund-raising said Fenwick.

It will be located on the current site of the library and museum portables. Although the site is conveniently located for users there are challenges to the site. It will exposed to the public on all sides, surrounding hotels and condominiums look on to it or across it, and views can be had from almost every angle.

For those reasons and others, said Fenwick, the design and look of the building is very important.

Inside there are challenges too, as the library would like as much natural light as possible while the museum needs spaces without natural light to protect exhibits.

While these issues have been dealt with more are on the horizon.

This week at a municipal council meeting the Whistler Community Arts Council formalized a request for space in the new building.

"Our needs are primarily for permanent office space and possibly working space for artists," states the letter to council by John Hewson, president and chairman of the Arts Council.

"We would like to be included in the planning process to also consider potential meeting space and community workshop space, in addition to being involved in the planning of gallery display and retail space so that Whistler’s local artists can be fully represented and included."

The letter from the Arts Council and a reply from the Library Board were referred to staff by council.

The request is a concern said Fenwick, chair of the library board. Not because the boards of the library and museum don’t welcome Arts Council involvement but because the process is so far along already.

"We are concerned that to launch into a lot of extra uses at this stage will hamper the timeline of the building project," said Fenwick.

There is also concern that adding new partners may confuse donors to the project.

"When we go out to the donors we are telling them this is what the project is all about and this is what we are raising funds for," said Fenwick.

"We are concerned if we start changing that the donors could potentially be upset. So we want to make sure that what we are telling them the project is, is in fact, what it is."

"We are very supportive of these other groups and know that they are very valuable organizations. The focus of the building is the library-museum and archives and certainly if we can work some of the other groups in we will try, but the primary focus of this building is the library-museum building."

It’s likely accommodating the Arts Council’s request for office space will not present a problem at this stage but, said Fenwick, changes must also be kept to a minimum to stay within a very tight budget.

Hewson, of the Arts Council, is hopeful if all parties work together a plan that will make everyone happy can be worked out.

"There are always challenges but I think if we are committed as a community to do something then we can figure it out," said Hewson.

"I understand the concern and I think we can work it through so it will work. We are prepared to do what we need to do to help them too."

The Arts Council currently has one office in Millennium Place. While that space may have worked until now it’s no good for the future, said Hewson, as the Arts Council will soon hire a new executive director and expand to fulfil a new role as the umbrella organization for everything art and culture in the resort.

"The reality with Millennium Place is that there is limited space and as we grow and take on the role of being the umbrella organization for the arts and putting Whistler on the map ultimately for arts as well as world class recreation, we are going to be expanding and there is not sufficient room for that expansion here," said Hewson.

Funding for the Arts Council has increased substantially and Hewson is hopeful it will soon be a budget item for the municipality, so funding is assured.

It is important for the resort to expand its cultural side to match the tremendous success of recreational activities. And that is a challenge the Arts Council wants to take on, said Hewson.

"It adds to the quality of life for people who live here," he said.

"It adds another dimension or even another destination draw for visitors. It rounds off the community. It is like a child maturing.

"We need to build a presence and a team of people and have a place that the community can come to.

"Our request is to be included because if we can design a small suite of offices that allows us to have a presence, to be able to meet regularly, and provide a place for artists to participate, without us all being crammed in one little space, then we can actually create a welcoming space."