PRESS RELEASE: grunt gallery is the proud recipient of CAC Funding
(Vancouver, BC) – grunt gallery is pleased to announce that it has received a major cultural capital grant worth $400,000 from the Rize Alliance Cultural Amenity Contribution (CAC) fund which supports arts organizations in and adjacent to the Mount Pleasant area. This contribution will allow us to pay off our mortgage and support purchasing more space in the near future.
grunt gallery’s long history in Mount Pleasant demonstrates an operationally sustainable, non-profit arts organization that serves the surrounding Mount Pleasant area. In 1995 grunt purchased a facility in the Main Space building on East 2nd Avenue and has continued to contribute to the cultural ecology of Mount Pleasant and Vancouver.
CAC’s funding will pay off the remainder of grunt gallery’s mortgage, which provides grunt with the incredible opportunity to begin planning facility expansion. The fund will also supply $240,000 towards the purchase of a new facility. Ultimately, this funding positions grunt gallery to look towards a bright future of new and innovative capital plans that continue to serve the Mount Pleasant community and surrounding Vancouver public.
Board Chair Laiwan said of the award:
“This is wonderful news for grunt as well as for the communities active within the Mount Pleasant area. The cultural vibrancy of this neighborhood has seen incredible growth despite shortages of affordable rental space for artists to live and work. grunt gallery has a 30-year record of welcoming and encouraging diverse and intriguing artists and practices in the local community. We have matured as an organization, ensuring we have the infrastructure and the policies to continue to serve our beloved community, particularly nurturing experimental, edgy and community-based innovations from a range of artists including First Nations artists, artists of colour, queer and performance artists, and those who employ community-engagement and relational practices. With this CAC funding, we aspire to continue serving our public with imaginative, unique and dynamic cultural programming.”
grunt gallery Program Director Glenn Alteen said:
“This donation on the eve of our 30th anniversary is a welcome and important contribution to our infrastructure and our long-term sustainability. We appreciate this support from RIZE and the City of Vancouver towards the cultural community in the area and we thank them for this strong vote of confidence in our future. This will allow grunt to embark on a planning process around a new or expanded facility.”
GRUNT GALLERY BACKGROUNDER:
- grunt gallery was founded in 1984 and has had a long-standing relationship with the surrounding Mount Pleasant community since its inception. With projects such as the Brewery Creek Mural project (1986), and the Mount Pleasant Community Fence project (1994), and supporting the development of local theatre festivals such as Vancouver Fringe Festival, the LIVE Biennale, the PuSh Festival and much more, grunt continues to support local businesses and organizations to become a well-integrated cultural staple in the Mount Pleasant community.
- In the mid-‘90s, grunt gallery worked with local developers to build a space that provided our organization with a mortgage that was as cheap as the rent had been in the gallery’s old location. This collaboration with the developers provided grunt with the current gallery facility that they occupy today.
- In 2006, the province provided Renaissance funding for non-profit organizations to take advantage of endowment funds as long-term investments through matching funds to provide future sustainability. grunt gallery took $150,000 of their building equity to apply towards their new endowment fund, the grunt gallery Legacy Fund. Our endowment has also had the support of the Heritages Endowment Incentives Program, which has been matching our donations since 2006. Since then, $545,000 has been raised in the endowment, which has provided almost $100,000 in interest towards the operating and program costs of the organization.
Website:
https://grunt.ca/
grunt gallery Legacy Fund: https://s.vancouverfoundation.ca/GruntGalleryLegacyFund/donateonline.asp
Media Contact:
Karlene Harvey, Communications Director
karlene@grunt.ca | 604-875-9516