About the Gallery

Mandate and History

History

The Grimsby Public Art Gallery was founded in 1975 as a committee of the Grimsby Public Library Board, creating an active and accessible community art gallery in the lower level of the Grimsby Public Library. In 1999 the Gallery became a separate sub-department of the Town of Grimsby, although we still shared a building with the Library. In 2004 both Gallery and Library moved into a new purpose–built facility that has significantly enhanced our ability to fulfill all aspects of our mandate.

Many of the gallery's most popular programs, including Wayzgoose, our internationally celebrated book arts fair, and Art In The Schools, our educational program of in-school exhibitions, as well as our special focus on multiples and works on paper, were established during the first few years of our existence. Since then, our focus has expanded to include fine craft, popular culture and environmental art.

Mandate

• To be a public, non‑profit gallery serving the Town of Grimsby and surrounding area
• To be dedicated to the exhibition, preservation, encouragement, and collection of visual art of professional standard
• To provide lectures, seminars, workshops, tours and other forms of public education relating to visual art

Forging and maintaining connections with our community is of primary importance and we do this through our careful selection and presentation of exhibitions and programs. We preserve art by our responsible care of the permanent collection. We encourage visual art by maintaining a gallery that is open and welcoming to all visitors and by offering a range of thought provoking art and related programs.

 The Gallery Shop 

The Gallery Shop offers a wide array of exclusively Canadian, handcrafted giftware with much of its stock coming from regional artists. Gallery members enjoy a 10 per cent discount on their purchases. Once a year we have an annual Christmas sale (usually three days in November) as well as “no tax Tuesdays” for the month of December. We are open every day of the year during gallery hours with the exception of statutory holidays.

The Gallery Shop is run entirely by the volunteer committee of the Grimsby Public Art Gallery and is always looking for new volunteers. Spend as little as a few hours a month greeting Gallery visitors and introducing them to our unique collection of handmade gifts.

Please note that the GPAG is currently taking this year (2021) to review our membership program to best serve our community.  

Maintaining a masterpiece like the GPAG requires a full palette and gallery members are the rainbow of hues, tints and blazing colours that make it all possible. 

While our membership program is being re-assessed, we greatly appreciate any donation to help keep the arts community vibrant in Grimsby. 

Donations can be made in person, over the phone with Visa or MasterCard (905-945-3246) or mail a cheque made payable to "Town of Grimsby - Art Gallery". Our mailing address can be found at the bottom of this page.  Donations over $20 will receive a tax receipt. 

Volunteers have been an integral part of the GPAG since the gallery was founded in 1975. Originally known as the Women’s Committee, members of the Volunteer Committee of the Grimsby Public Art Gallery have worked side by side with gallery staff to ensure that Art and Culture is available for all residents of Grimsby and the Niagara region.

This has included organizing the annual Fundraising Auction and managing the Gallery Shop; assisting with educational programs as tour guides and moving Art in the Schools displays in the community, and by helping at events as varied as Wayzgoose, gallery openings and community festivals. Simply put, the Grimsby Public Art Gallery would not be the amazing organization it is today without the work of numerous volunteers. While most members of the Volunteer Committee are adults, the gallery also has a strong commitment to youth and teenaged volunteers. All ages are welcomed.

The Volunteer Committee was founded as an independent entity, separate from the gallery, with its own constitution and by-laws. Several years ago, it became clear for a variety of reasons that this organizational structure was no longer viable and the decision was made to dissolve the independent Volunteer Committee and reconfigure the GPAG Volunteers as a committee of the Advisory Board, under the direction of the Board Chair and gallery staff. Re-envisioning the structure and role of the Volunteer Committee within the Gallery is something that we continue to work on together. 

Without volunteers there are many key programs and activities that GPAG staff simply cannot manage to deliver. We are extremely grateful for all that our volunteers have done and continue to do for the gallery. We look forward to completing the work of restructuring the volunteer functions at GPAG and launching our new entity, the GPAG Volunteers, in the very near future. Please monitor this space for more information. We look forward to welcoming you back soon!

Art Gallery Advisory Board

The Grimsby Public Art Gallery (GPAG) is governed by a nine member Advisory Board. The Board includes one member of Town Council and eight citizen appointees, one of whom is also a member of and represents the Gallery's Volunteer Committee. The Grimsby Public Art Gallery Advisory Board exists to provide recommendations to Council that will ensure the viability and sustained growth of the Art Gallery.