Gallery Gachet to hold emergency meeting on huge funding cut

After 23 years as an artist-run exhibition and studio space devoted to the mental-health community in the Downtown Eastside, Gallery Gachet (88 East Cordova Street) has been told that core funding from the B.C. Ministry of Health is being cut. Last week, the organization was given 90 days’ notice of the impending loss of almost half of its overall budget.

The news arrived during a September 2 meeting with the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, which has determined that Gallery Gachet’s functions “lack formal connections to the health care system” and so are not part of the authority’s new focus on “clinical” services in the Downtown Eastside.

Gallery Gachet is holding an emergency public meeting at 6 p.m. tonight to discuss its future.

In its current facility, the organization oversees 3,000 square feet of public-access arts space and hosts workshops, artist talks, and residencies.

“We strive to provide a focal point for dialogue amongst outsider/dissident artists,” Gallery Gachet states on its website. “Through artistic means, we aim to demystify and challenge issues related to mental health and social marginalization in order to educate the public and promote social and economic justice.”