The Thunder Bay Art Gallery is hoping to set the record straight on how money is being raised for its new building.
The new waterfront location is projected to cost about $80 million to build, of which the City of Thunder Bay is contributing $7.5 million.
But the gallery’s Executive Director, Matthew Hills, says that many members of the public seem to believe that Thunder Bay is fronting the entire bill itself.
“A lot of things being said in the public about the project aren’t accurate, but the perception becomes real and it deserves a clear and respectful response,” he explains.
A new campaign by the gallery is comparing the new building’s funding to the city’s efforts to fill potholes, which unlike the gallery, are fully funded by municipal tax dollars.
Hills says the campaign is about proactively informing the public “about where the project stands and about the details of not only its funding, but its construction, and really what has been successful.”
An infographic on the art gallery website points out that no money in the 2026 city budget will go towards the gallery.
Raising funds
More than a decade ago, when the plan for the new art gallery was first set into motion, the City of Thunder Bay agreed to cover about 10 per cent of the cost of the building, which at the time was projected to cost closer to $50 million.
The initial $5 million city contribution was funded through the Renew Thunder Bay Infrastructure Fund, which is meant to fund long-term infrastructure and quality-of-life projects in the city.
As the project has progressed, rising costs have inflated the budget significantly, primarily due to substantial inflation in the COVID-19 pandemic years, and higher-than-expected cleanup costs for industrial pollution on the waterfront property.
Last year, the gallery asked the city to up their contribution by an additional $2.5 million, which City Council ultimately agreed to with some consternation.
For Hills, the city’s contribution is worthwhile.
“That $5 million contribution from the city has been leveraged for significant investment outside of our community,” he says, arguing that the initial money helped bring in more than $45 million of funding from private donors ($5.5 million) and the federal ($37 million) and provincial ($5 million) governments.
Hills believes that the project will “be transformative for our community and for our city… There will be significant economic contributions to say nothing of the visitorship and the tourism that we will drive at that location.”
The gallery projects it will bring $5.2 million in economic activity into the city each year, thanks to the 40,000 annual visitors it expects to see.
50 years in Thunder Bay
The Thunder Bay Art Gallery is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
It is targeting a 2027 opening for the new building, but until then it continues to operate out of its location on the Confederation College campus.
He says the old location has been very successful over the years, which has helped the gallery make its case for a larger space.
“We have a really successful gallery shop. We have earned revenue. And the new building has a sustainable business model that we are planning and excited to work with,” he says.”
The gallery is still exploring ways to meet a 2027 opening target for the new building, including cuts to the project or pursuing a partial opening before construction is fully finished.
In the meantime, as part of its 50th anniversary, the gallery will be hosting its triannual Northern Ontario Juried Exhibition, possibly for the last time in the old location.
“I think in many ways this crystallizes the service of the gallery,” says Hills of the exhibition. “We serve an area the size of France in northern Ontario, and we have artists from across the region in that exhibition and it is incredibly vibrant.”
“It’s a nice send off to our current location as we prepare for the move,” he adds.
The event will run from July 5 to September 13.
