Vancouver warehouse set to be converted into artist studios, production space

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      A city-owned warehouse on Industrial Avenue will be converted into artist studios and production space as part of a new facility expected to incorporate both established and emerging artists.

      The 21,000-square-foot building will be called the Arts Factory, and will incorporate the Great Northern Way Scene Shop and the Arts Factory Society.

      Elia Kirby, who manages the scene shop, said the facility will include 10,000 square feet of artist studios and a 10,000-square-foot scene shop. The building will also feature some offices, a board room that will be available for bookings, and “hot desks” that can be rented by artists.

      “We’re really excited about it,” he told the Straight in a phone interview. “We think it’s going to be a tremendous asset to the cultural community.”

      The Great Northern Way Scene Shop provides scenery and fabrication for projects including theatre, dance, and opera, and has worked with arts organizations such as Bard on the Beach and the Vancouver Art Gallery. The group will relocate from the Great Northern Way campus, where it has been located since 2003, to the new site in April.

      Kirby noted an open call for applications will be made for the studios. The society will be looking primarily for professional artists with industrial practices, such as people working with wood, metal, steel, dyes, or fabrics. 

      Kirby said the budget is still being finalized, but expects the cost to rent a studio will be in the range of $1.50 to $1.75 per square foot a month.

      He added one of the organization’s goals is to provide a grassroots space for emerging artists.

      “We don’t want this to become a space where it’s just established artists,” he said. “We really want to be available to equity co-ops, people that are right out of school. They lose the resources of the university or the college that they’re at, but they still have ideas, and they want to get that really vital first project up and off the ground.”

      Kirby noted the need for studio space in the city is “tremendous”.

      “In the month of August, there was 30,000 square feet of artist studio space that was lost to redevelopment, and that kind of thing is just happening non-stop,” he said. “And sometimes it happens in great big swaths where you can talk about it, and sometimes it’s just very, very marginal, where people just lose space or they give up and they can’t keep a practice going at the same time.”

      Mayor Gregor Robertson also acknowledged the “huge need” for affordable artist space in Vancouver.

      "The mix of an established arts organization with new, emerging artists is an exciting opportunity, and we're thrilled that the City can partner on this new facility by leasing what was an underused building,” Robertson said in a news release today (January 17).

      Kirby said the offices at the new site could potentially be ready by March, and he hopes the artist studios will be available by May or June.

      The building at 281 Industrial Avenue was one of three city-owned sites that were part of an initiative announced in June 2012 to lease vacant industrial space for artist studios. The Arts Factory was among 10 proposals that the city received in response to a request for expressions of interest for the Industrial Avenue warehouse. According to the city’s news release, it did not receive interest from groups “with a viable business model” for the other two sites at 2625 and 2629 Kaslo.

      The Red Gate arts collective was also among the groups that had applied to lease the warehouse on Industrial Avenue. Jim Carrico, who managed the former venue on West Hastings Street, told the Straight in an interview last week that the group has made an offer on a new site and is waiting to hear back.

      According to the City of Vancouver, the new facility at 281 Industrial Avenue is expected to accommodate up to 100 artists.

      Comments

      6 Comments

      lars gunnerson

      Jan 17, 2013 at 6:17pm

      At least robertson can do more than building homeless shelters.

      Chantal

      Jan 17, 2013 at 7:19pm

      Don't forget that the city didn't deliver on its promises for Artist space just up the street at 7th and Scotia. Now there's going to be a pub, brewery, office space ... and only a tiny bit of arts space! Much less than what was promised. These changes were all under Robertson's watch. Yes, lost artist space.

      Gerry

      Jan 19, 2013 at 6:53am

      City of Vancouver sure has allot of extra money..

      Misty

      Mar 29, 2013 at 9:05pm

      I would love to know how to rent space here. Can anyone help me. Please email me at Misty@mistytripoli.com

      this would be for dance.
      thanks,
      m

      Emily

      Jun 10, 2013 at 12:55am

      Hi,I'd really like to negotiate renting out some space.I'm going to be a student at Emily Carr University this September and want an open space to work on project ideas I have! Anyone who knows any details please email me! emily.iwasaki.barton@gmail.com

      Donald Dawson

      Jun 13, 2015 at 12:36pm

      Hello,
      I am looking for 1000 square feet of ventilated space to start a metal material fabrication studio for hobbyists students who have lost the ability through cuts to school and post-secondary programs to improve their practical capabilities. I will be using blacksmithing, welding, sheet metal and other materials fabrication processes to inspire any age, physical capabilities and imagination. My background is from the theater arts to an engineering technical career.
      Pleas email me at,
      donald.dwsn@gmail.com