The new site of the Edmonton-based Art Gallery of Alberta, seen in fall 2009 still under construction, will officially open its doors in January 2010. The new site of the Edmonton-based Art Gallery of Alberta, seen in fall 2009 still under construction, will officially open its doors in January 2010. (Jim MacQuarrie/CBC)The National Gallery of Canada will be sending some of its art westward as part of a deal with the Art Gallery of Alberta, organizers announced in Edmonton on Wednesday.

Under the three-year partnership, a main floor space in the new AGA building that will open in January will be set aside for special exhibitions presented by both institutions. Displays could range from several newly acquired artworks to large, full-scale exhibitions.

"We're going to be presenting our collection — some of the best things in our collection — here in this gallery," Marc Mayer, director of the Ottawa-based National Gallery, told CBC News in Edmonton on Wednesday.

The National Gallery has organized touring exhibitions since 1919, but the partnership with Edmonton will be a more focused collaboration.

"This is more of a relationship, and we're thinking about Edmonton when we're planning the program for specific exhibitions, specifically for this audience," Mayer said.

National Gallery of Canada director Marc Mayer travelled to Edmonton to help unveil the cross-country partnership. National Gallery of Canada director Marc Mayer travelled to Edmonton to help unveil the cross-country partnership. (CBC)"Really, the whole point is to share the collection as broadly as possible, with as many Canadians as possible."

He also expressed enthusiasm about presenting art in the new AGA facility, "a spectacular new building that, by the way, raises the bar for museum architecture in Canada."

The new joint exhibition program will begin Jan. 31, the first day of the AGA's two-day, admission-free grand opening celebrations.

First up will be the exhibit Francisco Goya: The Disasters of War and Los Caprichos. It will showcase the Spanish maestro's famed print series The Disasters of War of 1810-23 (edition of 1863), which captures the violence of the conflicts between Spain and Napoleon's France, and a rare bound edition of his print masterpiece Los Caprichos, from 1797-98 (edition of 1799).

The exhibit will remain on display until May 30.

"We want to reach out beyond the borders of Edmonton and engage the entire community and province," AGA executive director Gilles Hébert said of the deal. "Hosting and curating exhibitions that feature incredible works of the National Gallery of Canada's collection will help us do that."