Aimee Medina
Special to Niagara Now/The Lake Report

The Niagara Pumphouse Arts Centre may have closed its doors due to the provincewide shut down, but it continues to engage the community virtually.

During the winter months, the arts centre is offering free and paid art classes, workshops and lectures online for students of all ages, thanks to the Resilient Communities Fund grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

The fund was developed to help non-profit organizations recover and rebuild from the impacts of COVID-19 and continue meeting the needs of Ontario communities.

“This pandemic has been so hard on our community but it’s places like the Pumphouse that are getting us through and showing how our communities are coming together,” said Wayne Gates, MPP for the Niagara Falls riding.

“The way they’ve moved their classes, workshops and lectures online to continue to engage our community is so wonderful. These times have been so hard on people and their ability to continue to reach out to our community and provide a learning space and artistic output is so very appreciated during this time. I am so proud to have the province funding their initiatives.”

Adapting some of the art classes and workshops to remote delivery is one of the Pumphouse's major priorities for 2021. Through the Resilient Communities Fund grant, not only art programs, but also events and member services are made accessible online and delivered safely to the community.

When it is safe to do so, in-person programming will resume with updated health and safety protocols.

In addition, a high-quality ultrafine particulate HEPA air purification system will be installed in each room to greatly improve indoor air quality.

More information on the programs is available at www.niagarapumphouse.ca.