COCHRANE— After securing two grants totalling $10,000, The Route 22 Artist Collective Gallery is looking to bring arts programming to the community.
The Gallery was recently awarded grants from the Town of Cochrane and Rocky View County that will allow the organization to facilitate community arts programming, said president Lara Kruger. The Town of Cochrane provided a $2,500 grant and Rocky View County provided a $7,500 grant.
“The grant money will help us to get this all set up and launching programming and teaching,” Kruger said. “We’re at that point of really starting to put the bricks and pieces together about what that programming is going to look like.”
Route 22 Gallery has been in pandemic mode since its launch, she said. The global health crisis has made it interesting and challenging turning the dream of becoming a community arts hub into a reality.
Kruger said they are grateful for the funding boosts from the municipalities as it will help Route 22 grow its place in Cochrane.
“That’s something we’ve had for this to be part of our long-term goal. We wanted to get the gallery up and running and then become more of an arts hub and be able to serve the community in terms of art programming,” Kruger said.
A section of the gallery located in the back of the building has been kept clear as a space to host art classes.
Route 22 is hoping to connect with community members that have a background in arts education and teaching. As a multi-disciplinary gallery, they are looking to host a broad spectrum of art from photography and painting, to glasswork and sculpture, to drawing and woodworking and everything in between when it comes to visual art.
The collective boasts some members experienced in teaching art and has secured another teacher from the Rocky View area starting in September.
“We’re here and we’re trying to build the capacity for us to really become more of an arts hub to grow the arts in the area,” Kruger said.
The programming is designed to be accessible for artists of all ages and abilities.
The Route 22 Artist Collective currently has 40 members and they are hoping to grow that number to 60 by the end of 2021. Kruger said she encourages any visual artists looking to connect with a supportive group of artists to join the gallery.
The collective is volunteer-based and members can contribute through volunteer hours each month. As part of this, four hours of volunteer time for a minimum of two shifts is required.
“What we’re trying to do is make it a collaborative community of artists. The vision is that we give as much return to the artists as possible,” Kruger said. “It makes everyone feel like they’re part of something bigger.”
Kruger has enjoyed getting to know the community of artists who call Cochrane and the area home over the past year. Together they are creating a strong art centre in town.
Each month the gallery hosts an “interchange” of art bringing in new pieces by members to showcase. A new edition to the interchange will be an artist's spotlight which will allow any member of the artist community in Cochrane to feature a solo show in one of the gallery’s display areas.
Route 22 is currently holding a raffle for a painting of Cochrane’s iconic 300-year-old White Spruce Grandfather Tree created by painter and gallery director Karen Chiasson. Tickets are available online or at the gallery. The draw will take place on July 1.
