Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax needs new roof, more storage

The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (AGNS) needs a new roof and more space to store its collection and it's hoping to begin to resolve both issues this coming year.

According to the 2023-24 AGNS business plan, the search for more space is a key goal for the coming year. 

"The AGNS will look to refine the short- and long-term permanent collection storage plans to better match storage requirements for contemporary collections," stated the report.

Sarah Moore-Fillmore, interim CEO of the gallery, told CBC News more than 90 per cent of what the gallery owns is currently in storage and that sometimes makes it hard to add to the collection.

"Some of the work we're acquiring is large and our space is finite," said Moore-Fillmore.

"Contemporary work can look like a car. It can look like a wall of ceramic work, some kind of installation. It can be video which is very easy to store or it can be something very demanding for a collection facility.

Balancing needs

"We don't want to miss an important collection for Nova Scotia because the storage isn't there, so we're trying to balance those needs and the reality of where we are."

She said the problem is not connected to the decision by the Houston government to halt plans to build a new home for the gallery on the Halifax waterfront.

"The building that we were planning for was not accommodating our collection and we were doing this work regardless of the building project on the waterfront," said Moore-Fillmore.

The Department of Public Works is helping in the search for storage space and is working with agencies such as the Public Archives to see if it has room to spare.

According to Moore-Fillmore the issue was first identified in 2015 and a 2019 audit pointed to the need for a strategy to tackle the issue.

Another long-standing problem is the gallery's roof, which sometimes leaks. The province recently issued a tender to replace the metal roof with a new one, but not a single company bid on the work.

No takers of roof repair tender

Public Works Minister Kim Masland said her officials were trying to determine why. 

"Is it because it's a metal roof? Is it because it involves heritage carpentry?" said Masland. "And if we have to look at something different, we'll have to look at something different but right now we would like to still stick with the metal roof."

Although the roof needs replacement, Moore-Fillmore said the need for a new one isn't urgent.

"I'm happy to say nothing is in an emergency situation," said Moore-Fillmore. "There's not water pouring through the roof or anything that is dire."

"We're very careful to monitor all of the facilities and how they're looking. These are maintenance issues that have been raised for years and they're longstanding issues."