Grand Opening / SWARM Afterparty / Fundraiser on Friday, September 13th at 10pm.
We have been working hard this summer! The space at 236 East Pender is looking impressive these days, but it wasn’t always so pretty. Here is a look at the progress we have made in our renovations since May.
By October we will have the building ready to serve as a hub for artists and their organizations, creating a much-needed expansion to the amount of accessible, artist-managed space already available at places like 222. UNIT/PITT’s exhibition space on the main floor will continue to house our socially conscious and experimental programming. We will also carry forward our mandate to support a space for public dialogue and critical awareness and provide support for emerging artists.
We have a dedicated team of workers headed by 221A’s Brian McBay who have done phenomenal things with our limited budget. However, we still are waiting on the installation of wash sinks, a kitchenette, some safety features, and bathrooms, all essential amenities. (You can help us out with that!)
The building was previously a grocery, and after that a herbalist and dry-goods wholesaler. Although it had promise, we knew there was going to be a lot of work involved. We cleared out everything inside from dried lizard heads to decrepit massage tables to a monster of a safe from the first half of last century.
The newly-installed floors in the main floor and gallery space brighten it up with clean lines, and the basement has been transformed from a refrigerated storage space to a bright, clean, safe work and storage area. As you can see, we can do a lot with very little. Every donation has an impact, and your contribution now will help give the Pitt a solid foundation for the next fifteen years and beyond. Help us complete this project by contributing via CanadaHelps.
If you would like to donate money, but don’t want to do so online, you can contact us at info@helenpittgallery.com.
You can also show your support by attending our Grand Opening / SWARM Afterparty / Fundraiser on Friday, September 13th at 10pm, after the opening of God Save The Queen.
RT @unitpitt: 236 E Pender: what we’re doing, what it means for the next 15 years, & how you can help http://t.co/z7QmpkJNvL
RT @unitpitt: 236 E Pender: what we’re doing, what it means for the next 15 years, & how you can help http://t.co/z7QmpkJNvL
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Keith, I am totally impressed! Good going! I will drop by soon with a small contribution
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Is this the renewed Helen Pitt Gallery of which I was a board member all those years ago?
Definitely. We’re the latest chapter of the grand history that started in 1975 with the student-run Helen Pitt Gallery at 163 W Pender, which then merged with the Unit 306 Society and moved to 36 Powell, then went through several more locations and changes until the catastrophe that led to our closing in 2009. We reopened in 2011 with the current name, and now we’re preparing for the next 15-20 years of art badassery. http://arcpost.ca/articles/unitpitt-disorganization-of-discontent
I am so glad you have reopened. I had a fabulous time there from 1989 – 1998. Curating, and the neccesary things such as fundraisers etc. Congrats Pitt Gallery!
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