A newly revamped Brackendale Art Gallery will open in early 2024.
The fully renovated art gallery and performance venue will host weekly live music, movie nights, performances, art workshops and a café that will be open daily. The new BAG, helmed by Jon Rigg, Jess Rigg, Dorte Froslev, and Adrian Blachut, is seeking public input on arts and culture events that locals would like to see at the iconic gallery.
The team at BAG has also launched a new Support the BAG membership drive and are seeking community’s support for the newly renovated arts and culture centre. Those who buy a lifetime membership will also receive a Bell of Brackendale, made in the BAG workshop from recycled material.
“When Thor and I dreamed of finding a future for the BAG without us, we clearly weren’t dreaming big enough. We hoped against hope that someone would come along with the heart and the savvy to take it on but knew it would take a miracle,” Dorte Froslev wrote in a newsletter.
“Well, miracles do happen – and in a big way! Adrian, Jess and Jon and their large network of enthusiastic friends bring a wealth of skills and experience to this daunting undertaking. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?”
Dorte said they have a much clearer vision of what they are getting into. “Watching the transformation that will take the BAG onto its new life is a huge pleasure. It will be different because the times are very different, but the heart will be the same, and it is my hope that the BAG community, new and old, will support and love the New BAG the same way they have for the past 50 years.”
Founded by the late maverick artist Thor Froslev in 1973, the BAG served as cultural hub and a meeting place for residents and artists. Former Mayor Patricia Heintzman, a friend of Thor, wrote a long feature in the Squamish Reporter about Froslev and his life.
BAG was first listed for sale in 2015 and was purchased last year by Adrian Blachut and Jessica Rigg, the owners of the defunct café, Zephyr.
