Historic Clay District to undergo major restoration
Andrea Klassen Medicine Hat News
Just in time for its 100th birthday, Medicine Hat’s Historic Clay District is getting a major restoration.
Construction on a new events space and gallery is already underway at the Medalta Potteries site, which celebrates its centennial in 2012. The project is funded by a $3 million grant from the Government of Canada’s “Community Adjustment Fund,” which the district received in 2009.
The new centre, which will host major exhibits as well as community and private functions, is a partial reconstruction of Medalta’s 1927 production building, which was destroyed by fire over a decade ago.
Barry Finkelman, executive director and general manager for the historic district, says Medalta’s current events space, known as Building 13, is already a popular gathering place.
“It's an alternative to the shiny, polished ballrooms of various hotels and such,” he says. “There's a very strong historical draw. It offers the experience, and also the exhibits."
Once the new event centre is completed in September 2010, Building 13 will undergo its own excavation and restoration. The project will see the foundations of the building’s beehive kilns unearthed, and the creation of a major gallery which will act as a main entrance to the Historic Clay District.
Medalta’s Artist in Residence Program (MAIR) got its own expansion this year. For the first time, the program will include a year-long residency, as well as a number of month- long and seasonal offerings.
Aaron Nelson, an artist in residence as well as MAIR’s creative director, says the year-long residency will give emerging artists a chance to learn skills they need to succeed in the art world.
"We're hoping to capture those artists that are coming out of schools, or in the first few years of their career and almost provide them with a safety net,” he explains. “With the facility, we're able to give them business training and specialized courses to help them in their careers."
The expanded residency program is also attracting attention internationally. Nelson says he’s already working with a Chinese and a Korean artist who are interested in coming to the city this spring.
"I see China being a big one,” Nelson says, pointing to the high number of Chinese artists working in ceramics.
"The Chinese, they're just hungry for new experiences, as far as the fine art practices.”
Because MAIR is one of the only residency programs in the world operating on a museum campus, Nelson also says he’s expecting to see artists from Europe and the United States
NEWS PHOTO EMMA BENNETT Jim Etzkorn, of Prince George, instructs a beginners clay program at Medalta Potteries on Feb. 3, 2010. Etzkorn is part of the artists in residence program.
head to the Historic Clay District in the coming years.
“People are really excited about what's happening here, for sure,” he adds.
And, Finkelman adds, it’s not just artists who are discovering the district. The number of visitors to the museum site is on the rise, he says, especially those from Alberta and Saskatchewan.
“In the last year a lot of Albertans have been discovering Alberta... They’re taking day trips and they're exploring their community,” he explains. “And Alberta is a very easy community to get around in."
Once current construction projects are completed in 2012, Finkelman says he hopes to see restoration work begin at the Hycroft China site.
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REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA 2010 ■ Celebrating our Community — 41
53787300•03/30/10
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