The Smithers Art Gallery is now looking for a new manager.<\/p>\n
Nicole Chernish has been at the helm since 2018 but is moving to Kamloops and leaving what she calls her dream job.<\/p>\n
"Smithers has had a massive impact on me, personally, through the art gallery and just the community itself, and I am going to miss this place and the incredibly diverse and accepting community that it is. I think it's really special, and it's I am going to miss it tremendously," she said.<\/p>\n
She said she will miss the people the most.<\/p>\n
"I love putting up a show, meeting the artists, seeing their vision and putting it up in a space, that is fantastic," she said. "Having all the school kids come in and showing them different art forms, and being able to help people learn about art, bringing in the activity sheets that we do for every exhibition, so that people really learn how to engage with the art. I'm going to miss all of the chatting with people as they come in and interact with the artwork, chatting with all the artists. Also working with the volunteers, they are absolutely amazing."<\/p>\n
Chernish said the gallery has evolved over the years and she was happy the former manager left her with a good foundation to work from. She said some of the challenges that have come across over the years turned into opportunities, such as the recent pandemic. She said there was a silver lining to being forced to close their doors and limit access for a short time.<\/p>\n
"During that time, there were a lot of funds that came available for arts organizations, and it allowed us to have time for doing projects and for reaching our next goals, in terms of financial stability, getting on different grant programs, we were able to really accelerate that, and it allowed us to do some really fantastic, huge projects that maybe wouldn't have happened if we hadn't had that time to kind of reflect and grant write and do all those things."<\/p>\n
Chernish said there was one big project that didn't happen, the idea to build a big art gallery combined with a new library.<\/p>\n
The Town of Smithers, Smithers Public Library and Smithers Art Gallery had been working together for many years trying to bring a new library\/gallery building for the town.<\/p>\n
Over the years, the town, on behalf of the project partners, brought forward two grant applications to senior levels of government for funding and both were denied.<\/p>\n
In 2022, Chernish said the art gallery made a tough decision to pull out of the project. <\/p>\n
The project had been under development for ten years as a combined vision of what the community’s cultural facilities could look like. At the time, she said that after two failed funding attempts, the gallery needed to take the time to assess their current resources – staffing, facilities and time availability when considering continued involvement in a new building project.<\/p>\n
Also at the time, Creation Station was born and the need for extra programming space was fulfilled. <\/p>\n
In 2017, the town leased the art gallery a small building on Railway Avenue. Chernish said visual arts programming grew by 375 per cent since they began leasing the space. However, in 2024, the town decided not to renew the lease because they needed it for office space. <\/p>\n
This put the gallery in a pickle, and sent gallery staff searching for new space for the programming needs. <\/p>\n
Chernish said there were 57 visual arts programs at Creation Station in 2024, reaching more than 400 participants. Many of these programs run over multiple days, equating to 140 programming days and 330 hours of instruction. There was concern that losing the space would lose the momentum in a growing arts community. <\/p>\n
But, earlier this year, the art gallery was able to secure a new location. Creation Station will move to Broadway Avenue in the fall. Chernish said this was a huge relief, but the rent is no longer free and so the challenge will now be finding more corporate sponsorships to keep art as accessible as possible for everyone. <\/p>\n
Another project Chernish was very proud to see through was the Northern Indigenous Perspectives exhibit the gallery was able to host twice. <\/p>\n
The gallery had an Indigenous curatorial team, comprising professional artists Rob Davis, Calvin Morberg and Stephanie Anderson. Artists were also paid, which Chernish said was very important and elevates what the gallery can bring in.<\/p>\n
Chernish is looking forward to her move to Kamloops and discovering where she will fit in there. <\/p>\n
Wherever she lands, will be lucky to have her, said Smithers Town Councillor Sam Raven, who is also the town representative for the gallery.<\/p>\n
"Over her years at the gallery, Nicole poured her time, energy, and spirit into making it the vibrant, inclusive, and connected hub it is today. She didn’t just manage the gallery — she transformed it into a space where art and community could truly meet, where everyone felt welcome to explore, experience and belong," she said.<\/p>\n
"Through her vision and determination, Creation Station became a place where hundreds of people — of all ages — discovered (or rediscovered) the joy of art, kindling a passion for creativity and expression, having an immeasurable impact on those who entered that space.<\/p>\n
"Nicole has been a catalyst for so much of what makes the gallery special. Her ability to see potential, to find solutions, and to dream big has left an indelible mark that will continue to shape our community for years to come. She will be deeply missed — but her legacy lives on in every connection she sparked and every creation she made possible."<\/p>\n
Chernish hopes the next gallery manager will bring energy and new vision. <\/p>\n
"We have a really strong board, and I think that whoever comes in is coming because of what we've done to date and the exciting things that we've put in place, and they're going to want to continue that, and so I feel like they're they're going to pick up that mantle and forge forward and find interesting solutions."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nicole Chernish has been at the helm since 2018, but is now moving away and leaving what she calls her dream job<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":134459,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,20,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-entertainment","category-top-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n