Law and the arts have always seemed to exist on opposite poles of the intellectual spectrum, but an idea for a new arts centre in town is combining the two in an unexpected way.

Marianne Garrah, patron of the arts in Jasper and the senior member of the non-profit arts foundation “It Only Takes A Dream,” wants to turn the old, vacant courthouse on Patricia Street into a dedicated space for the arts. The actual courtroom (and the lawyers’ offices and other rooms) where judges, lawyers, and criminals used to sit could be turned into a space where painters, actors, dancers, musicians, and sculptors can practice their crafts. 

“This is the Banff Centre 80 years ago,” said Garrah. “We’ve got to start somewhere and this is the beginning.”

Garrah formally presented the plans for the arts centre to Jasper Town Councillors at their August 17 general meeting. 

“Because of our unique situation - being in the National Park - the space will draw the attention of artists and patrons inside our community and out,” wrote Garrah in a letter to council.

Garrah has big plans for the arts centre. She wants to bring in teachers from Grant MacEwan University and the University of Alberta. There are plans for brown bag lunch lessons so regular people can sit down with visiting artists to talk about their craft. Theatre for kids, writing workshops, and Filipino and Italian song and dance projects are all in the works. In short, Garrah says while the Jasper Artist’s Guild in town focuses mostly on visual arts, she wants her arts centre to be a place for visual arts and for all other arts beyond that.

“The sky is the limit, there’s just so much we can do,” said Garrah.

First though, she just needs money. In total, she asked council to give her arts centre $28,692, the amount she believes she’ll need to cover the first six or seven months while the centre gets off the ground and can cover its own costs. The money will mostly go toward covering the rent. While the province is willing to allow Garrah and her arts foundation to use the courthouse, they have provided it on a cost recovery basis lease. It means that the foundation essentially has to pay rent to use the courthouse — $2,391 a month.

Garrah told council that any amount they could give her would help the fledgling centre out.

Town council did not vote on Garrah’s proposal for the arts centre and is still taking the matter into consideration. She was thanked for her time and for her efforts on planning the centre, but no commitments were made.

Garrah said that if the town rejects her request, she’ll continue to pursue other grants and sources of money. Garrah told council that she needs this money because she doesn’t have the start up funds to ‘get the doors open’ to the arts centre. Garrah also told council that once all of the arts programs are up and running, she expects the arts centre to be able to pay its own way. The pottery and oil painting lessons, the novelists in residence, the bands around town looking for a practice hall, all of these things will bring in money for the centre, expects Garrah.

“It’s unrealistic to think that when we open the doors, we’ll have a kitty of $20,000 to play with right away,” Garrah told council. “It’s funding in the gap that we need.”

Possible noise pollution from the courthouse/art centre, due to its close proximity to town administrative buildings and the new courthouse were also raised with Garrah. She was asked if it would be possible to have musicians practicing in the courthouse without disrupting business as usual. Garrah said that she believed it would be. She said the courtroom had been soundproofed and she doubted anyone playing music would affect anyone else outside of the arts centre. If it did, she was willing to create hours for musicians that were outside of normal work hours.

Promoting the arts and culture within the community through municipal spending is one of the goals laid out in the Jasper Community Sustainability Plan. Garrah added that Family Outreach Services is located in the same building and what better way to reach out to families than by surrounding them with the arts. 

“Art is a pillar of a successful life and it’s not strong enough in this community,” said Garrah.