Media Release: Art Gallery of Peterborough Celebrates 50 Years in 2024

For Immediate Release

The Art Gallery of Peterborough marked its 50^th anniversary on Friday, March 15, 2024 by announcing a lineup of events that will be held throughout the year to celebrate the founding of the Gallery in 1974.

In addition to preserving the past through its collection, the Art Gallery of Peterborough provides a space to tell stories and share ideas – it’s a special place where everyone is welcome, said Debby Keating, Board of Directors, Art Gallery of Peterborough.

“This is a chance for us to recognize and thank our community, our artists, our volunteers, our talented staff and our partners at the City of Peterborough who have been supporting the Art Gallery of Peterborough for 50 years,” Keating said. “The Art Gallery of Peterborough Board sees this year as an opportunity to recommit ourselves to the future of the gallery.”

The Art Gallery of Peterborough (AGP) received its Letters Patent from the Province of Ontario on March 15, 1974, incorporating the AGP as not-for-profit charitable organization “To establish an art gallery in the City of Peterborough to preserve, maintain, exhibit and display works of artistic interest.”

In 1977, the AGP’s Board expanded on these aims and objectives: “This gallery recognizes that, in a changing environment, its role is not static, but must be open to change; that it must reach out to its community; that it must be both a permanent institution and a ‘museum without walls’.”

For 50 years, the AGP has continued to showcase the extraordinary art produced by artists from within the community and beyond, offer enriching educational experiences for all ages and built a collection to reflect the vibrancy of the community and keep pace with emerging currents in the practice of contemporary art.

Mayor Jeff Leal congratulated the Art Gallery of Peterborough, including all the staff, volunteers and board members, who have contributed to making the Gallery an organization that reflects the talents of the Peterborough Region, inspires ideas and conversations about art, and is a leader within Peterborough’s exceptional community of cultural entities.

“Peterborough is a regional hub for the arts, with the Art Gallery of Peterborough at its foundation. There are countless artists and arts organizations that have benefited from the work and the presence of the Art Gallery of Peterborough – and our City benefits from the cultural impact that ripples through our community,” Leal said. “Thank you to the Art Gallery of Peterborough and I look forward to joining you as we mark the Gallery’s 50^th anniversary this year.”

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