On May 10, 2008 the chapel-like building that used to be the Canadian Craft Museum, will begin a new life as the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art and as the headquarters of the Bill Reid Foundation. This stand-alone structure is set jewel-like within the quiet cloister, behind the Shon Tower project at 639 Hornby Street. Vancouver Architect Paul Merrick designed the complex for the Hong Kong-based, Shon Georgia Investments Ltd., on the site where the Georgia Medical Dental Building was demolished in 1989.

From its inception, this lovely structure has been one of Vancouver's most significant “bonused” cultural amenities (see Preview, September 2006). Bill Reid Gallery supporters have raised a substantial sum towards the huge endowment that will ensure coverage of all essential costs (by way of interest generated by the Fund) once the city-assisted lease is over.

The Audain Foundation's $1,000,000 gift (announced in the Commercial News Services press release of March 10) is earmarked for gallery restoration and is a great start. Money does attract money, but only if the cause seems right. Without such fulsome financial support, the Bill Reid Gallery might fade into history as did the Canadian Craft Museum, but from everything I've heard, read and seen, it seems assured that this institution will be important to Vancouver's cultural life in perpetuity.

What will be different about the survival prospects of the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art? Although the previous Craft Museum had a pretty exterior, it was bypassed by many visitors and Vancouverites because the edifice could not be seen from Hornby or Georgia Street. I believe that Bill Reid's international profile is so strong that the gallery (located in the financial district) will quickly become a must-visit designation for all who wish to learn about his life, art, and contributions to the revival of First Nations culture. Such fame is augmented by the four Reid works illustrated on the $20 bill, and the major works of sculpture sited in significant Metro Vancouver locations.

When the “little church” housed the Craft Museum, the high vault of the 8,800-sq.-foot interior and the narrow mezzanine were not amenable for the display of small objects. This Temple to a Teapot could not have been designed more inappropriately. The transformation of an awkward, empty chamber into a multi-purpose, flexible exhibition and events venue, has been on-going for months and will so continue. (See billreidgallery.ca/ and billreidfoundation.org/)

The edifice perched high above Christ Church Cathedral and down the way from the Vancouver Fairmont Hotel and the Vancouver Art Gallery, will soon be a secret no more. It's now the haven of the Raven's Trove of gold and silver jewellery and Reid's gigantic Mythic Messengers frieze – a suitable gift to the foundation from Bell Canada Enterprises which is in the business of communication.

Ann Rosenberg is a freelance curator, critic and author.