A downtown Kamloops building with more than a century of history is home to the city’s newest art gallery, with its first exhibition slated to open on Friday.
Old Federal Studios has taken up residence inside the Old Federal Building on West Victoria Street, which was built originally as a post office in 1900 and is the last remaining original building on the street.
Long-time Kamloops artist Vaughn Warren, who is best known for designing the City of Kamloops logo, is serving as the building’s co-ordinator and curator for the gallery.
Warren said his intention with the gallery is to provide a space for burgeoning artists.
“The first thing is affordable housing, so it’s a shared residence, and the tenants, there’s different situations of residents being here. They’re affordable residences and then shared amenities,” Warren said.
“The second thing is shared workspace for artists. So we have studio space, shop space. That comes with the tenancy.”
Warren said the space will serve to support an artists collective that will evolve over time. He said the gallery is hoping to attract “some very interesting artists.”
Part of his motivation was to provide a space that would allow local artists the opportunity to show their work and develop their style, something he said Kamloops is sorely lacking.
“To have a strong cultural fabric in Kamloops, these facilities are critical. You got to have them,” Warren said. “You have to have spaces and places to animate and meet and to gather and to show art, to share ideas.”
Warren had previously been involved with the building through the Kamloops MakerSpace before it moved to a different location on the North Shore. The space has since been revamped.
He said the idea came out of an epiphany he had several years ago
“I looked in the mirror and said, ‘Vaughn, you do have some resources and you have some knowledge and you are a person who could put something together if the factors were right,’” he said.
Warren said he thinks the living space will be attractive to local artists looking for affordable housing options.
“In this housing market too, people are really interested in unique, affordable housing, and I think it’s just wonderful to mix that need with the artistic side of things.
“It’s just a great fit and another arrow in the quiver of Kamloops’ coolness.”
The gallery will be holding its first exhibition on Friday at 6 p.m. titled JASPER ELLIS: I had a dream last night. I was ruining your day.
The exhibit is open to the public and will feature the work of local artist Jasper Ellis. Following the opening, the gallery will hold events each Thursday at 6 p.m. until Oct. 25.
More information about Old Federal Studios is available on its Facebook page.