​ARIEL thanks the City of Elliot Lake, Elliot Lake Retirement Living and ELNOS for their generous support of the ARIEL Arts Space at the Elliot Lake Arts and Heritage Centre. Our dream of re-launching an art gallery would not have been possible without them. Now we ask you for your support.

The lighting in the halls at the Centre is not intended to illuminate paintings. Yet we are planning to hang paintings along each hall as part of our gallery exhibit space.  But that takes dollars, five thousand of them, as a matter of fact. 

So this week we launched our Light Up our Gallery campaign to raise the money to purchase a track lighting system. During our research process we learned that the average cost of one unit of track lighting - the track, three lights and the connector - is $250.  We need 20 units.

We are asking book clubs, bowling teams...any group...to donate one unit - $250.  Individuals are encouraged to donate any amount.  Businesses can donate a unit too!  Every person, organization or business that donates at least one unit will be recognized in our grand opening brochure and on our thank you wall. If you prefer anonymity, we guarantee that too!

We have made unit donating easy just click the button.
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Is the building open to the public? Not yet.  Keys cannot be distributed until leases have been signed, insurance put in place and a cleaning company hired. We are awaiting quotes from the cleaning service and insurance companies.  We is inclusive - the Arts Club and the Model Railroad Club - are waiting for quotes.

Where is the gallery going to go?
The small retail space in which jewellery and smaller items will be displayed will be located in the lobby up against the wall that defines the end of the lobby.  Paintings will be hung on the inside walls of the two halls that run the length of the building.  Each hanging space is about 40 feet long, interrupted by a door or doors to studios.

Where is the accessible washroom?
In the room labelled WR, next to the Janitor Room.

What is that dotted line crossing the lobby floor?
It is not a wall. It is there for clarity, as the lobby is NOT easy to measure.

Where do the stairs go?
To the second floor and to the basement.  Neither area will be open for use.  Only the ground floor has been prepared for use.

The stairs marked on the far right of the map are actually the fire exit stairs.  They will be for public use, of course.

For what is the room at the back of the pottery room used?
That will house the kiln or kilns.

What do the black hash marked areas represent?
Ramps to make those rooms fully accessible.

The gallery that will be located in the Elliot Lake Arts and Heritage Centre sometime in the fall, will be calling for submissions in August.  A jury will review the submissions, and select the best of the best to exhibit their work in the gallery. 

As this is being posted, ARIEL is writing the gallery agreement for successful artists. The details of the agreement will be included in the information we send to prospective exhibitors. 

While the details are being ironed out, we can tell you that we will be accepting submissions from visual artists of all kinds - painters, sculptors, and mixed media artists.  Woodworkers, weavers, quilters and other fibre artists are encouraged to submit applications.  Potters we want you too!

There is one detail that we can confirm right now.  In order to be an exhibitor, artists must be members of ARIEL.  The annual membership fee is a very reasonable $20.  You do not have to be a member to apply, but if accepted, you must pay your membership dues immediately.

At this time we can also confirm that there will be a virtual gallery on this site.  If your submission is accepted, you will have the option to show your work in our online gallery, as well as the brick and mortar gallery.

To ensure you are one of the first to learn that applications are open, subscribe to our enewsletter.

The generosity of an international community of donors is helping us launch our gallery. Locally, Elliot Lake Retirement Living has ensured that there will be a modern, professional hanging system.   Once again, they have come to the aid of our community! Thank you!

We are, however, missing one essential component. A complement ​for the hanging system - track lighting.  We are not implying that the Elliot Lake Arts and Heritage Centre is not well lit.  Both the Arts Club and Model Railroad Club are delighted with the level of lighting in their studios. However an art gallery needs different lighting.

So why do we need to add track lighting?

The photo above (not of our art gallery) is the picture worth a thousand words. The artwork that we plan to hang needs spotlighting to show the work to its best advantage.  Spotlighting is a gallery standard.  The ELAHC does not have gallery lighting.

Our landlord, The City, has agreed to help us acquire the lighting.  But, as you know, they are fundraising for the Arena right now.  City staff are stretched to the limit.  So we are helping them out to help us out! We thank the City for its continued support of the re-establishment of the art gallery.

The cost of fundraising sites

Did you know that fund raising sites like GoFundMe get paid for collecting donations? The recipient never gets 100% of the funds.  So we have decided not to use GoFundMe or other similar sites to shed a little light on our fundraising efforts.  We are trying something that will result in 100% of the funds donated going to the track lighting purchase.  We are asking you to e-transfer what you can to our email.  Your donation will be automatically deposited in ARIEL's bank account.

How to send an e-transfer

Every bank is slightly different, so you need to follow the instructions on your online banking site. (Yes, not everyone will want to use an e-transfer.) You will be asked to add ARIEL as a recipient of your funds.  Use ARIEL, for our business name.  Once you have set us up, you will be asked to identify the account you want to donate from, then you will be given an opportunity to confirm the transaction.  When you continue you can add a note - write that you are donating to the lighting fund.  Then push send.  You can skip the ID question, because we are set up to accept donations directly.

​How much will the track lighting cost?

Somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000.  Our challenge is finding a track lighting system that is strong enough to illuminate from a height of sixteen feet.  Our ceilings are much higher than those in the picture.  
We are speaking to professional lighting companies that specialize in gallery lighting while we fund raise. Fifty people donating $100 each is all that it will take to reach our minimum target.

Elliot Lake your generosity is unparalleled.

You have dug deep for the hospital, and the arena.  You give generously to support those not-for-profits that sit in the lobby of Foodland or No Frills.  You ate a ton of cookies for Tim Horton's smile day. Do you think you could dig down one more time to shed a little light on our art gallery?

PS - you will be able to drop off donations at 14 Elizabeth Walk in a few weeks.  Watch this space for an announcement.

The photo above was taken in September 2023 when we toured our potential new home.  The facility is bright and clean and ready for occupation now.  Yet there is still much to do before the public can be invited to see the transformation.

We are in a position now to begin that transformation, as the City Council voted to accept the agreement we have been working on for a  year.  ARIEL is officially the property manager for the Elliot Lake Arts and Heritage Centre (ELAHC) and the operator of a gallery within the building.

Our list of priorities to fulfill prior to opening is extensive:

1. ​Insurance must be contracted, before we get the keys.
2. A cleaning service must be hired.
3. Leases must be negotiated and signed with the Arts Club and Model Railroad Club.
4. A jury must be established, and a call for artists to sell their work through the gallery has to occur.
5. Volunteers to staff the gallery must be recruited.
6. A hanging system must be purchased and installed.
7. Training and information sessions must be scheduled and delivered.
8. Funds for a lighting system and a keycard security system need to be raised.

So if you've been waiting to see whether we actually got our gallery back before volunteering, the wait is over. Now is the time to join ARIEL or renew your membership.  Now is the time to volunteer.