Fall 2023 COVID-19 Safety Measures

As we enter into flu and respiratory season, in light of the ongoing prevalence of COVID-19, but taking into consideration BC's public health measures, we are keeping a policy where masks are encouraged at the gallery.

We continue to choose to take a slow approach in order to support those most affected by the impacts of this pandemic (physical and mental)—including people with disabilities, those who are immunocompromised, young kids who can't yet be vaccinated & their parents, and those struggling emotionally to re-emerge for many reasons. We welcome you all to the space and hope that through our programming and safety measures, Access can be a safe and regenerative space for you to visi

Our dance party fundraiser, Night Howl, will not require masks to be worn, however we invite you to incorporate them into your costumes if you can! We will absolutely will not tolerate any shaming of others for choosing to wear masks to keep themselves and each other safe. It is incredibly important that you not attend Night Howl if you are feeling unwell, or have been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. We'd rather work with you to ensure your ticket is either refunded or redirected to another fundraising opportunity, than have you feel that you can't stay home.

In general, we are maintaining the following procedures:

    • We will still encourage masks to be worn at all times while in the gallery
      • often the gallery has only a few visitors at a time, so it can feel reasonable to hang out without masks. The staff will mask if we choose to, and will mask if you ask us to. 
      • we'll continue to provide disposable masks should you forget yours at home when you visit, but we encourage you to bring your own when you're out and about. Our neighbours Massy Books also require masks!
      • We understand young children may not be wearing masks, and welcome them to the gallery of course! 
    • We ask that you please do not attend the gallery or events if you are feeling unwell
    • We will continue to have hand sanitizers at the front door
      • We respectfully remind you to wash your hands, and use good hygiene practices in order to keep common items such as doors, as safe as possible for our staff and visitors. 

    We will continue to assess recommendations from the provincial and federal public health and make updates to our safety measures as needed.