Public input is being sought about the future of Rodman Hall Art Centre.
The centre, located in a 19th century mansion in St. Catharines, has operated and an arts centre and museum since 1960. It is currently owned by Brock University, which said it can no longer afford to operate the hall due to “growing pressure” regarding operating funding it and other Ontario universities are facing, according to a press release from Brock.
The Rodman Hall Coalition, created in 2016 to help bring diverse community input into the future of the Niagara landmark, along with Brock, is holding public meetings to give members of the community a chance to speak about what they envision for the future of the centre.
The next meetings will take place at Rodman Hall on Wednesday at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Advance registration is required because space is limited.
The Coalition is also conducting an online survey to gauge the type and level of community interest in the hall, which can be found at brocku.ca/rodman-hall/Community. Deadline for submissions is Nov. 30.
For now, Rodman Hall is still operating as an arts centre with exhibitions open to the public. It is currently featuring an exhibit called Material Girls, which runs until Dec. 30.
This week the Ontario Association of Art Galleries awarded one of Rodman Hall’s exhibits with exhibit of the year with a budget under $10,000. The exhibit was The Grass is Still Green, by Niagara artist Elizabeth Chitty. It was on display in the summer of 2016 and explored ideas of place, land ownership and treaties.
