The Bateman Gallery is marking its final day of operation at the CPR Steamship Terminal today with a free celebration that Robert Bateman will attend.
The gallery, which opened in May 2013, has ended its tenancy at the Belleville Street building and will immediately suspend operations, though its search for a new home will continue. To honour its decade of success in the Inner Harbour location, the Bateman Foundation board and the Bateman family have arranged a day of celebration from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. today. Admission is free.
“Unfortunately, our situation is not uncommon,” Bateman Foundation chair David Schneider in a statement.
“It is disheartening to see that many arts and culture organizations are in the same boat — struggling to survive because of funding cuts, depleted donors, and limited government support and options.”
Robert Bateman, a renowned naturalist and artist, will be in attendance from noon until 2 p.m., and will be available to greet visitors and sign prints and merchandise. Organizers are asking those who meet Bateman to wear a mask.
The future of the gallery remains unclear, though the board remains hopeful it will find an interim home somewhere in downtown Victoria. The Bateman Gallery says it attracts roughly 15,000 visitors and 2,000 students annually.
Tentative plans to relocate to the Victoria Conference Centre, and into the current home of the Maritime Museum of B.C., are no longer feasible for a variety of financial reasons, according to the board.
The Maritime Museum of B.C. is looking to move into the Bateman Gallery’s former home inside the CPR Steamship Terminal, but does not yet have a deal in place with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, which took control of the building in 2021, according to museum chair Jamie Webb.
“The Maritime Museum regrets the Bateman gallery’s departure from the downtown cultural scene at a time when we need more attractions for visitors, not less,” Webb said. “[The museum] continues to have discussions with the Ministry of Transportation on the future use of the Steamship Building.”
