RAiN at the Fire Hall

Rodman Art Institute of Niagara (RAiN), Thorold, ON

Echoing: Susan Barton-Tait, Natalie Hunter & Corine van Hoeve (installation view)

Rodman Art Institute of Niagara Opens Temporary Art Space in Thorold

For six decades Rodman Hall Art Centre presented award-winning exhibitions, inspiring educational programs, and developed an art collection with over 2000 works by important Canadian artists. When Brock University sold Rodman Hall in 2019, a group of passionate art supporters and community leaders formed Rodman Art Institute of Niagara (RAiN) to build on Rodman Hall Art Centre’s legacy of artistic excellence in Niagara region.

This summer, Rodman Art Institute of Niagara launches RAiN at the Fire Hall. Utilizing the currently vacant Old Fire Hall No.1 in downtown Thorold, RAiN has created an innovative creative art space playing off the mid-century industrial architecture and utilizing the former truck bay and offices as exhibition spaces and a hands-on Art Lab.

The fire hall is slated for renovation in early 2027 and will re-open in 2028 as the new home for the Thorold Museum and Cultural Centre. For the next five months, RAiN will occupy, transform, and animate this industrial building as an innovative and somewhat experimental creative art space, designed to engage, inspire, and educate. During this period art work from the Rodman Art Collection will share space with a temporary exhibition program that responds to the industrial building, the industrial heritage of the region, and work drawn from the collection. This exhibition program will be supported by art programs and activities that will welcome participation and invite the community to discover art in the heART of Thorold.

Corine van Hoeve, Brick Pigment 09, 2026 from Echoing: Susan Barton-Tait, Natalie Hunter & Corine van

RAiN at the Fire Hall is both an experiment and response to the precarity facing so many arts organizations today. When Rodman Hall Art Centre lost its home of over 60 years, it raised questions regarding sustainability, the role of public art galleries, the responsibility of collection stewardship, availability of funding, and how art galleries can and should meet the needs of our communities and society as a whole. Rodman Art Institute of Niagara is not alone in asking these questions, but for RAiN these questions come with a sense of urgency.

RAiN at the Fire Hall demonstrates how arts organizations can successfully transform the vacant spaces that dot our urban and rural landscapes; and how placing the arts in unexpected places can create new relationships and opportunities for engagement with community. We hope that this experiment will create broader dialogue around the way we present and care for art and the spaces we do this in.

For the next five months Rodman Art Institute of Niagara will activate the Old Fire Hall with programming designed to support artists and creatives in the Niagara region, showcase our collection, and foster connections between art, artists and the community. We invite you to visit us and explore and support a growing art and creative scene in Niagara Region.

On view in our galleries through September 13, 2026:
Echoing: Susan Barton-Tait, Natalie Hunter and Corine van Hoeve
Teaser: Selections from the Rodman Art Collection

John MacGregor, Untitled, 1991, acrylic on paper from the Rodman Art Collection in Teaser: Selections from the Rodman Art Collection

Upcoming Programs and Events:

Creative Conversations
Join us July 9 at 7pm for our first Creative Conversation. This monthly conversation series, held the second Thursday of the month, will kick-off with a panel discussion and conversation between the artists in the current exhibition Echoing: Susan Barton-Tait, Natalie Hunter & Corine van Hoeve. Admission: Free. Suggested donation $5.

Studio Program
July 18, 10am to 3pm, A Day of Exploration and Creativity with Susan Barton-Tait, Natalie Hunter & Corine Van Hoeve. Details and Registration at rodmanart.ca. Watch socials for a list of upcoming art classes and workshops.

Art Lab
A free drop-in art space designed for creative exploration and experimentation open during regular gallery hours.

Art Baby
A weekly program launching Friday, July 10 at 10am. For early budding artists (0 to 2 years) and a caregiver, Art Baby, presented in partnership with Someday Books in St. Catharines, combines storytime featuring works by Canadian children’s book authors and illustrators with a related, age-appropriate art activity. Members: Always free. Non-members: Suggested $5 donation.

Art is Ageless
Our creative weekly drop-in program for adults 55+ kicks off Tuesday, July 7 from 10am to 12pm. This program is partially supported by the Rotary Club of St. Catharines. Members: Always free. Non-members: Suggested $5 donation.

Teen Art Studio
A creative weekly drop-in program for teens 13 to 18 years of age launches Friday, July 10 from 3 to 8pm. This program is supported in part by Wise Guys Charity. Young Artist Members: Always free. Non-members: Suggested $5 donation.

Wednesday Family Art Nights
Held in conjunction with the Thorold Community Market, each week RAiN offers free family art making activities at the gallery from 5 to 8pm.

Art Shoppe
Sometimes art galleries just have too much art. The Art Shoppe allows visitors to take a piece of RAiN home!

Twilight Art and Vintage Market
Want to sell your original fine art, craft, or share your vintage and pre-loved treasurers. The grounds around the Fire Hall will come alive every third Thursday for our Twilight Art Market and fourth Thursday for our Twilight Vintage / Pre-loved Market. Visit website or socials for vendor info and application and join us from 5 to 9pm to shop for original art, hand-made goods and vintage finds.

Summer 2026 exhibition and programming support has been generously provided by the Ontario Arts Council – Exhibition Assistance, Tourism Partnership Niagara, and the Government of Ontario.

Rodman Art Institute of Niagara (RAiN) is a public art gallery dedicated to the public’s appreciation and understanding of the visual arts. In partnership with the City of Thorold, RAiN is taking over a de-commissioned mid-century Fire Hall in Downtown Thorold and reinterpreting this as a temporary creative art space.

For information and media inquiries, contact:
Angela Brayham, Director / Curator
abrayham@rodmanart.ca

Rodman Art Institute of Niagara
16 Towpath Street
Thorold, ON L2V 2P6
rodmanart.ca

Facebook @rodmanartniagara
Instagram @rodmanartniagara

Gallery Hours:
Wednesday & Thursday, 11am – 9pm
Tuesday, Friday & Saturday, 11am – 5pm

Rodman Art Institute of Niagara is partially accessible.