July 28, 2026

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for your patience as we were unable to respond more quickly due to a cyber attack on the PAG website on Saturday that is being investigated by the RCMP.

We know that recent social media posts about our Collection have raised real concern and confusion within our community, and we want to address it directly.

We hear the anger many of you have expressed and we feel it personally because we hold you in the highest regard. We recognize that we should have communicated with you in

advance, before this became a topic on social media, about the process we’re using to review the items that have been donated and the reality that not every item can be kept.

As you may know, a Public Art Gallery has a responsibility to collect and care for a specific type of art based on their mandate. Those works, that have been accepted into the Permanent

Collection, were never part of this sorting process. The items we were reviewing were ones that had been previously assigned to the fundraising category. While we did share some of the

challenges the Collection Committee was up against in the 2025 Annual Report, that was presented at the AGM last month, we do acknowledge that the gap in communication about

the process is on us, and we are sorry for the controversy it has caused.

We also know there are always at least two sides to any story, and we hope you’ll be open to hearing ours as we work to clarify some of the misconceptions and misinformation that have

been circulating. Last winter, the Collection Committee, comprised of six members who have extensive experience and education in art history, curatorial practise, art education, library

science and fine art collection, discovered hundreds of items throughout the Gallery that were part of the fundraising category. The Committee spent months sorting and evaluating each piece based on:

● Quality (was it damaged in any way)

● Type (print or original)

● Identifiable artist name (who was the creator)

● Provenance (the history)

● Cost of reframing if needed

● Had the piece been previously offered but not sold at auction

● How many items of a similar genre were being considered

Based on the evaluation process all items considered suitable for fundraising have been kept. These decisions were not taken lightly. For every piece that we had to let go, at least one other

has been kept for future fundraising, and there are many more still to be reviewed. The sheer volume of work to be sorted suggested the gallery had never undertaken this important step in

the management of donations. We simply do not have the space to safely and responsibly store a large quantity of work.

We are aware that our choice of donation recipient has raised concerns for our community. Please know that we donated the art to a location that would ensure the pieces received

maximum exposure. It is our hope that those who see value in the works that were donated will take them into their own homes. Going forward we commit to exploring other avenues when

making those choices. Above all, we are committed to respecting all the art entrusted to our care and to sharing a transparent process that ensures a sustainable organization. It is our

sincere hope that we can regain your trust. We welcome challenging conversations as they encourage us to review our values and remain connected.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

If you have further questions or comments, please reach out to the

Board President, Leslie Whatmough, at president@pentictonartgallery.com

Board Secretary Kathi Irvine at secretary@pentictonartgallery.com