The Art Newspaper

High Art

By The Art Newspaper. From In The Frame
Published online: 17 July 2010

Pot protestors at the Vancouver Art Gallery

Dope might be damaging works of art stored in the basement of the Vancouver Art Gallery, according to a member of the museum's acquisitions committee. David Allison reportedly told a public information session that “[marijuana smoke] wafts in from the front steps. So here I am in this room surrounded by Emily Carrs and Group of Seven pieces and all these amazing, amazing contemporary artworks that we have in our possession as a city and as a citizenry, and there’s dope wafting through the air.” The gallery is apparently a well-known meeting point for pro-marijuana events. Gallery director Kathleen Bartels, who aims to relocate the museum to larger premises elsewhere in the city, told Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail that the works are protected.