Vancouver, the media repeatedly reminds us, is one of the world’s most expensive places to live. Rent increases are displacing hundreds of individuals from their neighbourhoods, and born-and-bred Vancouverites are leaving the city in droves to search for more affordable housing. What makes headlines less frequently, however, is that commercial leases have risen just as aggressively.

Local artist collective and performance space Red Gate Arts Society is continuing to feel the pinch. The community has been in operation since 2004, when a group of artists and musicians rented a large space on West Hastings in an area that had historically been occupied by creatives. In 2011, the price of the lease rose too steeply and the assembly was forced to move. Red Gate was lucky to find a building 10 blocks further east, which has the group has been occupying for the last five years—but now society director Jim Carrico is worried that they’ll soon be outflanked again by the city’s uncompromising development.

“Red Gate is a full-spectrum, non-profit art centre,” he tells the Straight on the line from the Langdale ferry terminal. “The main point is to have affordable studio space, so artists and musicians—particularly those who are younger or have less disposable income—can experiment without a huge amount of pressure.

“Cultural centres like these have never gotten much attention, because it’s a forum for the work that people do in the background,” he continues. “When governments consider institutions that support culture, they talk about the galleries, the theatres, the places where it’s performed and exhibited—but there’s very little thought given to where these people spent the five years or 10 years prior to that, in order to get to that point. Without places like Red Gate, we won’t have the creatives that fill the galleries or the venues. Vancouver’s in a complete crisis at this point. Artists are getting pushed out of the city because of the insane real estate.”

Financing the collective’s month-to-month lease relies on fees from the 60 to 70 artists that work in the space, and the $20-per-year membership paid by around 200 people in the city. Even then, Carrico says, the building wouldn’t last a day without one-off bookings like video and photo shoots, and all the work that volunteers do for free.

To combat that, the organizers added another piece to the financial puzzle by throwing events to create visibility around the work the society is doing, and to encourage others to become a member of the group. This time, it’s the turn of Alley Fest.

“This is the second year we’ve put it on,” Carrico says. “Alley Fest’s main purpose is to showcase all the great musicians and artists who rehearse in the building, or play there a lot. We’ve booked people who represent the space we love. I’ve been involved in the Vancouver music scene for more than 30 years, and I think it’s better than ever right now. There’s so much talent, and so much great stuff being made.”

The event’s music will be split into two portions. Bands like local indie-rock stalwarts Adrian Teacher and the Subs, DIY melodic punk rockers Pale Red, and smooth R&B queen Prado will take over the afternoon, while the night belongs to electronic acts including Wire Spine and Opponent Processes. In true Red Gate spirit, all ages are welcome—a no-brainer for Carrico, who points out that a number of Vancouver’s top creators are under 19.

As well as offering a platform for the building’s long-standing musicians, Alley Fest will host various community vendors who will dress up the front gallery with some of their best works and crafts. In the same space, Red Gate will host its membership drive, with perks that include price breaks for concerts and space in their rehearsal rooms. It’s incentives like those that Carrico hopes will help keep the community running for another year.  

“There’s so much great stuff being made,” he says, “but every week there’s another talented young artist or musician that’s leaving town. Everyone’s hanging on by their fingernails, working out where they’re going to go to next.

“My suggestion that I’ve been pitching to the city to improve the music and arts scene is to create something like a cultural land reserve,” he continues. “It would be analogous to the agricultural land reserve created in the ‘70s, when it became apparent that all the farmland was getting turned into suburban housing. They realized then that areas have an importance over and above their financial value, and made sure agricultural land lasted into the future. This is the same sort of thing. Culture also needs some kind of soil to grow in. It requires an ecosystem, and a bunch of people doing different things that work off each other. That’s where a healthy cultural scene comes from.”

Alley Fest is at Red Gate Arts Society (855 E Hastings) on Sunday (August 27). Tickets are $10 on the door.

Follow Kate Wilson on Twitter @KateWilsonSays