Feeling a little blue and a lot happy

QNAC 1The arts council may be feeling a little blue, but they are also feeling very happy. This summer, the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre on Airport Street was treated to a facelift. The “Studio” building, the smaller of the two buildings on site, received a fresh coat of blue paint and white trim on the doors and windows. The colours were chosen to match “Big Blue”, the large unheated shed used for set building, arts storage, and rehearsals, and as a rain venue for Music in the Park.

QNAC 2When the property was first gifted to the arts council nearly ten years ago, the building was a pale beige and the doors a bright industrial orange. The council gave the Studio a hit of artsy colour with royal purple doors and burnt orange trim, proudly proclaiming the new location of the arts council.

The council decided on the most recent makeover for two reasons:

1. New, insulated bay doors were installed on the Studio building two years ago, and their baked on white primer received positive comments from both members and passersby. Big Blue’s bay doors were primed white to match. However, this fresh paint job made the rest of the exterior look shabby by comparison.

2. Over the years many visitors expressed confusion over the two buildings on the arts centre lot. Even with its large sign, many did not know that “Big Blue” was part of the arts centre, but assumed it was a separate enterprise. For years, members, neighbours, and visitors have suggested painting the two buildings in the same colour to make it more obvious that the two buildings were connected.  It was cheaper to paint Studio blue than both buildings an entirely new colour!

Watch for the next stage of  the Quail`s Nest facelift. In the works: applying some artwork to all bay doors, supplying irrigation conduit to the front of the property, and landscaping (and possibly xeriscaping) along the sidewalk.

Thank you Cameron Ogilvie for your excellent paint jobs (inside and out)! He`s not just an artist on canvas!

Thank you also to Barry Jeffery for repairs to the Studio Building fascia.