Old Calgary Science Centre to become art gallery

The Centennial Planetarium, seen here in file video, will become Calgary's newest art gallery, after an arts group has won preliminary approval of their proposal.

An iconic building in downtown Calgary will enjoy a new life as a public gallery for the visual arts, the city says.

Contemporary Calgary, an arts group which is made up of the Art Gallery of Calgary, the Institute for Modern and Contemporary Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Calgary, was the successful candidate in the Request for Expression of Interest process.

The building, located at 701 11 St. S.W. has heritage status, as well as symbolic and historic value to residents.

The city says they are excited to see this plan progress and will be looking over the proposal in greater detail over the next few months.

Sarah Iley, the Manager of Culture with City Recreation, says the proposal has the potential to enhance arts in the city.

“A sign of a great city is the strength of its cultural life. This Expression of Interest from Contemporary Calgary has the potential to enhance the diversity of arts and culture offerings for Calgarians, the community livability for downtown residents and the world-class experience we deliver to visitors.”

There is no timeline on when the building will be repurposed to house the new gallery.

Administrations will look into other cultural uses for the building in the interim.

The facility, known as the Centennial Planetarium, was completed in 1967.

It served as Calgary’s Science Centre from the 1980s until the Telus World of Science vacated the building in 2011.