Grenfell College's campus will soon experience another growth spurt, with the addition of a new, state-of-the-art building. The West Coast Exhibition Centre got underway Sept. 12 with the turning of the first sod by Memorial and political leaders. On hand for the event were Premier Roger Grimes; Minister of State for ACOA Gerry Byrne; Grenfell College Principal Adrian Fowler; as well as Environment Minister Bob Mercer, MHA for Humber district.

The West Coast Exhibition Centre, as an affiliate of the provincial Rooms cultural complex, will showcase the province's artistic, museum and archival treasures. This $4 million state-of-the-art facility will be about 1,400 square metres in size and will include environmentally controlled exhibition and storage spaces, a workshop, studio space for visiting artists, and a high quality multi-media lecture theatre. The centre will showcase works of art, museum exhibits and archival exhibits and support the academic programming of Sir Wilfred Grenfell College.

The building will be located on the campus of Sir Wilfred Grenfell College in Corner Brook, directly across from the Fine Arts Building. The centre will also be connected to the Fine Arts Building by a pedway.

The West Coast Exhibition Centre will support the mandates of the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Provincial Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Sir Wilfred Grenfell College. The facility will draw on the collections and resources of these institutions and agencies to curate and mount exhibitions, to undertake public education initiatives and to host regional, provincial and national traveling exhibitions.

The Corner Brook facility will be operated by Memorial University and will complement existing cultural attractions such as the Corner Brook Museum and Archives, the Arts and Culture Centre and the many commercial art galleries, as well as the numerous festivals and community museums on the west coast of Newfoundland.

The Exhibition Centre will further enhance Grenfell College's programming in the fine arts, humanities, social sciences and community education. It will provide fine arts students with enhanced opportunities for exposure to the work of professional artists and enable the college to expand its community outreach programming in the arts.

“The Exhibition Centre will be a magnificent addition to our campus,” said Dr. Adrian Fowler, principal of Grenfell College. “It will significantly increase our capacity to provide first-rate educational experiences at Grenfell College – more interactions with visiting artists, additional high quality teaching space and a venue designed to host traveling exhibitions. It will also enable us to respond more effectively to the artistic and cultural needs and aspirations of the broader community.”

The project is on schedule for completion in December 2004.