What is Pale Fire?
Pale Fire is a retail art gallery that opened in September, 2022. It hosts five exhibitions annually, each eight weeks long, of contemporary visual art. It is free to the public. The gallery also hosts opening receptions for its exhibitions, as well as artist talks, film screenings, performances, poetry readings and book launches. All of these events are free and open to the public. The gallery is also available to rent for private events.
Who owns and operates Pale Fire?
Pale Fire is owned, programmed and operated by Amy Kazymerchyk. She has been contributing to Vancouver’s visual art ecology since 2008. Previous to opening Pale Fire, she was the Curator of SFU Galleries’ Audain Gallery, the Events and Exhibitions Coordinator at VIVO Media Arts Centre, and Programmer of DIM Cinema at The Cinematheque. She has a Masters in Curatorial Studies from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Media Arts from Emily Carr University.
What is a non-traditional liquor primary license?
In 2023, the City of Vancouver inaugurated a distinct liquor primary license for businesses whose primary income is not beverage or food service. This includes art galleries, hair salons, book stores, interior design stores and clothing stores etc. The license is primarly intended to enhance hospitality for the business’s clientale.
Why are we applying for a non-traditional liquor primary license?
We are applying for a non-traditional liquor primary license so that we can serve alcoholic beverages alongside alcohol free beverages at our events. We have been obtaining special events licenses to serve alcohol at our events since September, 2022. We are pursuing a full-time license to stream-line our hospitality operations and decrease the overhead expenses of our events. Alcohol will only be served to patrons who are visiting the gallery to view art or attend our events. It will only be served when the gallery is open, which is Thursday, Friday, Saturday between 12–10pm. Service hours will primarily be between 7–10pm on these days. The service of alcohol will not be advertised on the exterior of the gallery, nor will it be visible from the street.
*NOTE: Our application states that we are applying for a license to serve from 12pm to 12am, seven days a week. We were advised to request such broad hours to offer our business flexibility, however, we will not be open those full hours.
If you have any questions pertaining to our application, don’t hesitate to contact Amy at 604.349.5693 or amy@palefireprojects.com