In 1982, the Grand Forks Area Arts Council hosted the Kootenay/Boundary Regional Juried Art Exhibition in an unfinished space beneath the newly constructed library. Following the success of this first exhibition, it became clear that a more permanent art gallery was required.
With the encouragement and support of City Council, an enthusiastic Arts Council, and founding Director Richard Reid and Curator Beverley Reid’s untiring contributions in concept, design, and construction, this location became the home of the Grand Forks Art Gallery. Following the official opening in June 1984 this site served the community for the next twenty-four years, hosting more than four hundred and fifty exhibitions and developing a permanent collection.
In 2008, the Grand Forks Art Gallery moved to its present venue in the 1911 provincial courthouse building. Since then, GFAG has grown to be the Boundary Country’s Public Art Gallery. As the gallery has evolved, it has maintained the founding spirit of creativity, commitment to accessibility, and artistic rigor which Richard and Beverley brought to Grand Forks.