The Reach Gallery Museum Abbotsford will get a new look this fall.
A renovation project to move the archives and open up the reception area has been approved by council.
The changes will cost less than $15,000 and will come out of the existing Reach budget.
The plan is to move the archives to the south program room allowing a larger space in the reception area. The need arose when the Reach began hosting “Class A” exhibits.
Regulations state no food or alcohol may be served in the gallery when a “Class A” exhibit is being shown. That limited reception space to the small front foyer.
Suzanne Greening, executive director of the Reach told council corporate rentals had gone down since the food and alcohol restriction was put in place. That represents a loss of income for the Reach.
The renovation is merely a small step in a 10-year plan that Greening shared with council.
She is proposing the possible expansion of the gallery to include a black box theatre, larger archives, supports rooms and even a restaurant and gift shop.
Greening said more than 52,000 visitors have gone through the Reach since it opened in September of 2008.
With three years experience behind it, Greening said it was time to look at the future of the facility.