With the Kamloops Centre for the Arts referendum on hold, the Artistic Director for Western Canada Theatre (WCT) is optimistic the project will eventually go ahead.

As forms of live entertainment, from sporting events to music festivals, are postponed indefinitely thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, James MacDonald says the proposed Centre isn’t just about the WCT.

“You know this isn’t just about the building it about the survival of the arts in general and it’s about the need for the arts,” he said on the NL Morning News. “I mean that’s the dialogue that I want to talk about and I always have.”

MacDonald says putting the referendum on hold is a good idea, noting he wants a positive dialogue about the potential for the community but not when Kamloopsians are justifiably worried about something else, like a pandemic.

“My optimism about all of this is that when we come out of it we will be looking for opportunities to gather,” said MacDonald.

“Whether it’s in a building or whether it’s in a theatre or whether it’s at the Art Gallery or whether it’s music in the park, you know those sort of community gathering opportunities that the arts present for us are going to be incredibly important when this is all over.”

The referendum was supposed to happen on April 4, which would determine the fate of the $45-million project, which was set to open in 2023.