Beaverbrook Art Gallery set for grand opening in late June

There is still work to do on the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, but the gallery's director said it should be ready for a grand opening in June.

"We're on time, and we're on schedule, and we're on budget," said Terry Graff after presenting the progress at a Fredericton council-in-committee meeting on Monday night.

Construction workers are finishing the outside stone and pouring concrete inside. The plan is to get the building closed in before it starts to snow.

"Certainly a snowstorm can inhibit progress on the construction so we want to get the building sealedin and everything protected because there's a lot of interior work to be done once the outer structure is complete," said Graff.

• Beaverbrook Art Gallery expansion plans unveiled
• Beaverbrook Art Gallery granted right to extend on city land

Graff is unsure when the new sidewalks and the city trail will be back in order. He said they'll be working with the city to figure that out.

New collections

Along with construction, staff at the gallery have begunplanning how the new spaces will look.

Graff said newsabout the upgrades has been reaching the ears of art collectorsand has led to more people wanting to lend pieces from their collection to the gallery.

"As word has gotten out, collectors across the country and even internationally are recognizing the history and the purposefulness of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery," said Graff.

He said collectors have been taking a serious look at donating their pieces to the gallery.

"We're in the right space right now to be able to look at that and see how we can build on the legacy of the Beaverbrook Art Galleryand have some wonderful surprisesin store for people when they come to the gallery when we open," said Graff.

Grand opening plans

Graff wants to take some cues from history when the gallery hosts its grand opening.

"When the gallery opened in 1959 there were thousands of people that gathered around the gallery on the front steps. Lord Beaverbrook didn't let anyone into the gallery and they had a ribbon cutting ceremony and there was a band," said Graff.

He said they can't exactly replicatewhat Lord Beaverbrook did back then, but he wants to do something with a similar feel to it near the end of June.