Rouge Gallery banking on big things in its new home

Roberta Post doing some "finishing" work on the new space

Two years into its mission to boldly go where art hasn’t gone before in Rossland, the little gallery that could is taking things up a notch and making another big leap forward.
 

Initially launched in September of 2008, the Rouge Gallery has been a cooperative non-profit effort organized, owned and operated by the local artists it supports. During the past two years, Rouge has supported and promoted over 20 local artists and has succeeded in achieving financial sustainability. In the world of small town, artist-run galleries, the ability to break even is truly a commendable feat.  
 

Acting as an incubator that has helped grow the burgeoning local art scene, the initial egg of an idea has hatched into a cornerstone of the downtown community and outgrown its first home. Opening its doors officially during Golden City Days, the new Rouge Gallery is the latest inhabitant in the old Bank of Montreal Building, and will be taking up residence in the former bank space on the main floor.  
 

“At the old Rouge, it was lovely, but it had its limitations in terms of what we could do in that space,” noted Louise Dresher.  
 

“We were in a transition point anyway at the gallery,” added Andy Holmes, who will serve as director of the new gallery space. “We didn’t have much room to expand as far as a larger concept and arts centre-type idea in the previous space. We definitely now have that, which is super exciting.”  
 

As discussions among the Rouge family started branching out into how to grow and expand the project, talks veered to the BMO building.
 

“We went over and first we looking at the possibility of an arts centre on the second floor of the building and were talking about the potential of the gallery,” explained Holmes. “The second floor didn’t really interest us, so I asked Fletcher [Quince, BMO building owner] what was happening on the main floor and if there was any possibility of using that. It kind of grew from there.”
 

Since the deal was struck, work has been moving at a feverish pace to transform the former banking branch into a top notch gallery space.
 

“We’ve already cleaned out the old location,” beamed an excited Drescher.

“We’ve been working on taking down the old bank teller stations, sanding and refurbishing the old floors, doing some painting, plastering, cleaning and it’s all starting to look absolutely wonderful.”
 

Throughout the renovation process, the old building has turned up a few interesting finds as fixtures that have stood pat for nearly a century were removed.
 

“When we took down the teller stations desk we found a bunch of really old pennies from like 1905 and 1908,” noted Quince. “This is the first time that desk has probably been moved in 100 years, so these are probably pennies people dropped and just got kicked under the desk at some point. Interestingly enough, we’ve found a lot more pennies from the 80s than the really old ones. I guess a penny was worth more in those days so you didn’t just kick it under a desk [laughs].”
 

With the new and expanded space comes many additional opportunities and the chance for the gallery to shoot for its long term goal of becoming a complete arts centre and a real hub for the creative community.
 

“Our goal is to have a larger arts centre-type concept there and bring in lots of different community partners,” added Holmes. “We’d like to have some travelling exhibits, musical and dramatic performances, 3-D art and eventually maybe using the second floor space for some art classes or studio spaces. Whether that’s a partnership with the Kootenay School of the Arts, Selkirk College or something totally different, we’re open to all ideas at this stage. It’s a big work in progress with a huge amount of potential. We’re excited to see how it all unfolds.”
 

It is hoped among all parties involved that having the gallery as the anchor tenant in the BMO building can act as a spark for the whole downtown and Rossland as a whole. Already, potential partners and potential offshoot businesses related to the arts have been approaching the group to participate in the bigger goal of creating a real beehive of activity on Columbia.
 

The space itself, with its 20 plus foot ceilings, will allow for some newer and perhaps significantly bigger works of art in the space. Holmes himself is looking forward to the opportunities afforded by the large space.
 

“The big walls and a big space in a central location in town and the general feel of the old heritage building is pretty cool. I think it’ll be a neat place to make art. It really invites some larger art as well with some of those large and tall walls for larger paintings or some three dimensional art. The previous gallery didn’t have the room for larger art.”
 

As part of the grand opening celebrations and for the first six months or more, Holmes is working on a new art project that literally makes use of the old bank. All of Holmes' art for the next several months will be made out of materials salvaged from the old bank itself, including old cupboard doors, windows, plywood and whatever is made available through the renovation process.
Kicking things off, the gallery will be holding an auction with each artist donating at least one piece to help raise money to install new, more gallery friendly lighting in the space.
 

While there is still lots of work to go and ideas for the potential of the space continue to grow at a fast and furious space, the new Rouge expects to start hanging art as early as next week.
 

If you haven’t been inside the old bank for a while, have a hankering for some home-grown art or just want to support a new venture in the near 15 year vacant space, Rouge welcomes you to pop in and see the progress when you’re passing by. You're also invited to come say hello when things officially launch on the weekend of September 10th.