Keep the Portrait Gallery in the Capital
Paul Couvrette to take a portrait of Ottawa-Gatineau Residents
May 12, 2008, OTTAWA – NDP MP Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre) announced today that he will host a public rally to show public support for keeping the Portrait Gallery of Canada in the Capital on Friday May 16. Dewar is joined by Ottawa photographer Paul Couvrette and the Canadian Artists’ Representation/Le Front des artistes canadiens (CARFAC).
“Friday May 16 is the final day of submissions for the portrait gallery location. This is our opportunity to gather together and show the cabinet that people in the National Capital Region and across the country want the portrait gallery to stay in Ottawa” said Dewar. “I invite everyone who cares about this project from the arts community to the tourism industry, from my colleagues in parliament to the City Hall, to come together for Ottawa”.
World-renowned Ottawa photographer, Paul Couvrette, will take a portrait of community members attending this historic event. Couvrette will donate this portrait to the Portrait Gallery of Canada. Canadians from across the country will be invited to submit their self-portraits online.
CARFAC affiliates from across the country have indicated their support for keeping the gallery in the capital. Even Allison Argy Burgess of Visual Arts Alberta Association – the only other province with bids for the portrait gallery – has said: “The Nation’s Capital is where a National Portrait Gallery belongs”.
Dewar is urging local media in Ottawa and Gatineau to publicize the event announcement so that our community can send a strong message to the cabinet before the final decision regarding the location of the portrait gallery is made.
Details of the event:
Friday May 16, 2008, 12 noon to 1 pm
NCC InfoCentre Terrace, right across from the Parliament buildings on Wellington Street
For more information, please contact:
Kiavash Najafi, Office of Paul Dewar, MP (Ottawa Centre): (613) 995-1794