Art exhibitions are going to have a much tougher time crossing the country, according to a group of cultural leaders who gathered in St. John's Monday to mourn the end of a federally funded art-transport service.

A federal program was used to transport this exhibit from Lethbridge, Alta., to a gallery in St. John's.
(CBC)

Last year, the federal government announced it was cancelling its Exhibition Transportation Service as of April 1, 2008.

Gathered at The Rooms, Newfoundland and Labrador's arts and culture complex on Monday, gallery directors, artists and patrons said the cancellation will result in fewer opportunities for Canadians to see art.

For instance, an exhibit titled Time and Space — featuring the work of three western Canadian artists — opened at The Rooms on Sunday. Using ETS, shipping the artwork from Lethbridge, Alta., to St. John's cost $3,000. Organizers estimate it will cost three times that amount for the exhibition to return home using a private company.

"Basically, at this point, I would not take a show like Time and Space to St. John's," Josephine Mills, director of the Lethbridge University Art Gallery, told CBC News.

"With the added cost, the money has to come from somewhere. And where will it come from?"

Megan Williams, director of the provincial art gallery at The Rooms, said it will now be more difficult for Canadian art to be seen widely.
(CBC)

Artists and smaller galleries in regions like Atlantic Canada will be among those most hurt by the cancellation of this program, said Megan Williams, director of the provincial art gallery at The Rooms.

"It's not just having shows in St. John's," Williams said.

"It's getting the work of Newfoundland artists, getting travelling shows out of Newfoundland so we have the visibility."

Created in 1976 and administered by the Canadian Conservation Institute, the non-profit service transported artwork between public art galleries and museums across Canada at a reduced cost, allowing venues to share programming more easily.

Drivers specially trained to handle rare artworks drove four climate-controlled trucks from location to location. The service also had a large storage facility in Gatineau.

Since the government's announcement in 2007, curators, administrators, artists and a variety of related groups have protested the decision called on the Department of Canadian Heritage to reverse its decision to cancel the program, to no avail.