2019 should be a big one for Nelson’s museum. A new public art piece, heritage walking tour app, and the launch of the Bunker exhibit are all on the list.
Executive Director for the Touchstones Museum of Art and History, Astrid Heyerdahl, says they’ll also start to plan and apply for grants to help recreate part of the third floor.
“We want to ensure we can open up the third floor of this incredible heritage building to the public. It’s not really seen. It’s sort of just administrative offices and a board room and that board room and be turned into something just quite stunning for artists and students in the community, so that’s our hope.”
A new staff member will also be joining the team this year, Heyerdahl explains, working a dedicated 10 hours a week to help with the school program.
“It’s been something that’s be done off the side of people’s desk, albeit, the curator’s desk or the executive director’s desk and we want someone who is really dedicated to ensuring that the school program is as absolutely exciting, rigorous, innovative as it can be.”
The museum had over 15,000 visitors in 2018. One of their big projects was a community curated exhibit on local mountain biking, which became one of the most successful in the museum’s history. 450 people attended the opening and closing events alone.
Last week, Heyerdahl asked Nelson City Council for a budget increase, as there hasn’t been one since 2015. 40 per cent of the museum’s revenue comes from the City – currently a $223,000 contribution. The hope is that will increase to over $241,000 this year.
“It’s really just about asking for levels that we would have been at in 2019 had we received the two per cent inflation increases. Because of course the utilities go up, the taxes that go back to the City, the insurance that goes back to the City for the building. All of those things go up significantly and yet our operation funds remain the same.”