Arts Centre finding innovative ways to bring patrons the arts

By Mark Ribble

LEAMINGTON — Just over one year into the COVID pandemic, the Leamington Arts Centre has had to come up with innovative ways to carry on.

Arts Centre Director and Curator, Chad Riley, is introducing some new technology in the coming months that will help art fans see the gallery virtually.

When the gallery was ordered closed on March 16 of last year, Riley really didn’t know what to expect.

“We immediately put our programs on hold,” he said. “At that point, nobody knew what to expect.”

By the end of June, the province had put Windsor-Essex into Stage 1 of the re-opening framework and Riley was able to open up their art supply store within the Arts Centre.

Then, later in the summer, they were able to re-open the gallery. To this day, they are still unable to do receptions or venue rentals.

“That was a big part of our revenue stream,” said Riley. “We had to come up with other ideas and shift our focus.”

Chad Riley at the Art Supply store inside the Leamington Arts Centre.

Sun photo

Riley spent some time looking for grants and government subsidies and managed to get a couple of grants that have helped greatly.

Expect an announcement in the coming weeks about a virtual gallery, where patrons will be able to look at all of the art in the gallery on their home computer.

“We’ve been able to purchase some new equipment and bring on some new technology,” he said.

This will also facilitate an online store for art supplies.

Despite the difficult decision to cancel the Arts at the Marina once again this year, Riley and his staff have come up with an indoor Arts at the Marina, which will run on a much smaller scale inside the gallery for the month of May.

“We encourage people to come and purchase the crafts of the local artists,” he said.

For Riley, it’s been a difficult year, trying to navigate the waters of COVID, but he has hope that the best is yet to come.

The Arts Centre is open Thursday and Friday from 10-4:30, and Saturday and Sunday from noon until 4:00, with protocols in place. Admission is free.

Check out their website at leamingtonartscentre.com for more information.