Artist Studios and the Community

Well, I finally went and did it.  I have officially caved in and did the one thing I never thought I would.  I commissioned a piece of art in honour of my basset hounds.   I know it’s a bit silly but among my growing collection of contemporary art there is not one single basset.  A true tragedy, I know.

This commission recently led me to a studio visit with a young up-and-coming Calgary-based artist named Samantha Walrod.  Sam, a recent graduate of the Alberta College of Art and Design, is part of a studio group located in a newly converted Calgary bottle depot and the painter of my basset portrait.  

After a preview of my still-in-progress basset mini masterpiece, Sam and I got chatting about her experience in her new studio space.  The conversion of the depot into artist studios had made the news as an example of how one community dealt with the issues of drugs and prostitution – two things that were linked to the former bottle depot.  Once a potential catalyst for crime, the depot was transformed into a potential hub of creative energy.

The link of creative spaces to community development has been a hot topic lately and was the focus of a recent conference hosted in Calgary by the Calgary Arts Development.  This conference focused on the activities of Tim Jones, the CEO of Artscape in Toronto.  “Artists are powerful agents of change,” Jones stated as part of his keynote speech.  “The challenge, I find, is to reverse stigmas around the arts and to use them to purposefully regenerate areas.  I sincerely believe in city building through the arts.” 

At one point in my career, I was the manager of a studio group and gallery in Belfast, N. Ireland.  Not only was the Queen Street Studios (QSS) the oldest studio group in N. Ireland, it was the largest and heavily riddled with physical and administrative challenges.  My recent chat with Sam and the Creative Spaces conference got me thinking about my old QSS days.

Here are 3 important lessons – both big and small - I have learnt about artist studio spaces:

1) Sustainability:  We all know the story about the crummy, yet affordable neighbourhood that is rejuvenated by the artist types only to be gentrified and made into a high-end, unaffordable condo-ville.  This story exists, of course, because it is true.  As Tim Jones of Artscape pointed out, however, this story can be reversed by purposefully using the arts as the centerpieces for new development and renovations. 

So what does sustainability mean for someone like Sam who’s rightfully concerned that her depot turned studio will be transitioned right out from underneath her?  The answer is an active and engaged connection to the community surrounding the studios.  This can come in the form of a community champion, much like her Community Association who pushed for the studio in the first place.  This particular community association saw that the arts could be used by business as social leverage.  Studies show that arts and leisure activities are what attract people to a community.  They are, in fact, prime economic development and relocation magnets.  Hello artist studio, goodbye crime, hello continuing community improvement.

2) Community integration: So you have managed to develop your studio or creative space, now what?  The key to success with something like an artist co-op in any neighbourhood is to eliminate the idea of ‘us’ and ‘them’.  Think of it as a 2-way, symbiotic relationship between the studio and the community. The more that a studio opens itself up to their community, the more they create synergy.  This can be done by studio-hosted ‘Open Days’ and workshops, for example, which would give community members opportunities to learn new creative skills while generating income for the artists. 

The interesting thing is that artists are often looking for a similar connection to their neighbourhood.  It is a common reality that artists, while being in a co-operative space like a studio, often work in isolation (due to the varying schedules of artists who often have multiple jobs and varying deadlines).  The most useful thing any artist studio can have, in terms of location, is a neighbourhood coffee shop or café.  It’s in these third places and bumping grounds that the most fertile community and arts development happens.  If you don’t have a neighbouring café, think of starting one like The Carrot, a Community Arts Coffeehouse in Edmonton (http://artsontheave.org/thecarrot/).

3) Sense of pride and place:  If there is one thing I have learned, it is that environment affects self-worth.  When it comes down to it on its most fundamental level, a studio group starts with a building – and, more often than not, this building is old and tired.  The challenge is not to let this state of disrepair affect the self-worth of its inhabitants.  Just like how we might define ourselves – for good or for bad – by the attractiveness and safe-state of our own neighbourhoods.  The most successful artist studios that I have seen are the ones whose common areas are clean and bright with areas where people want to linger.  Think of this in terms of how the best communities also reflect this philosophy. 

I am always interested in hearing your creative space stories, challenges, and successes.  So send them on because there is always someone who can benefit from our collective wisdom!  Email me at: jnaclia@aceleaders.ca or post below.

Related Links:

-A current exhibition of Samantha Walrod’s paintings can be seen at: www.newzones.com/dynamic/artist.asp?ArtistID=148

-For an example of Artscape’s latest project see: www.torontoartscape.on.ca/places-spaces/artscape-wychwood-barns

-More info on the Queen Street Studios in Belfast: www.queenstreetstudios.net

-See the Carrot, a Community Arts Coffeehouse: http://artsontheave.org/thecarrot/

 

 

 

Alberta Art Days - check it out!

The last time I checked there were 54 communities celebrating this year’s Alberta Art Days.  That’s a sum of 235 different events taking place in libraries, galleries, and community centers across the province.  Whether it’s a puppet show at the Hinton Library or the Sauerkraut Festival in Innisfail, these events are meant to showcase Alberta’s vibrant cultural pulse.

But what exactly is the Alberta Arts Days, you ask?  Well, let me happily tell you.  The Alberta Arts Days, a Government of Alberta initiative, is a three-day celebration of Alberta's arts, culture, and heritage taking place from September 18-20.  Alberta Arts Days is an important part of 'The Spirit of Alberta', Alberta’s cultural policy.  If you want to learn more about this policy (which I highly recommend), visit: culture.alberta.ca/culturalpolicy. 

I am very excited by what an initiative like this means for the province.  After being in the arts and culture sector for over ten years now as a writer, an administrator, and as a volunteer, I have seen many cultural events take form – both in Canada and in Ireland where I lived for three years.  I have even been involved in the start-up of festivals myself.  I can tell you firsthand that there is inherent value in these events that is far beyond the appreciation of art for art sake.

In a recent study entitled “Developing and Revitalizing Rural Communities Through Arts and Creativity”, researchers Dr. Nancy Duxbury and Heather Campbell discovered that it is often the arts, cultural, and heritage related activities that connect and build a community. They state that: “The nature of arts activity in rural communities – the underlying cultural assets, dynamics, and foundations – inform and shape the nature of community and economic initiatives that interact with them.”  Basically, what they’re saying is that it’s arts, culture, and heritage that often act as our community’s spiritual and emotional glue.

I have found that, in many ways, a puppet show like the one in Hinton is more than simply entertainment for the kids.  Instead, it is a way of bringing families together and studies show that couples that play together stay together.  Arts and culture builds strong families and, as a result, healthy communities.

Leisure activities, like Innisfail’s Sauerkraut Festival, are more than a reason to eat bratwurst and listen to styling German tunes.  These activities contribute to mental health - reducing stress, reducing depression, and contributing to emotional, psychological and spiritual well-being.  These cultural events help people understand their neighbours, environment, and history.  This is what builds both pride in a community and a sense of place.

So there you go!  There are a whole slew of reasons for you to check out the Alberta Arts Days events in your community.  Do it for your peace of mind and as an active exercise for your brain.  Engage with the world and experience new creative outlets.  I, for one, have already planned my Alberta Arts Day weekend.  What about you? 

See this link for event listings in your community: http://www.culture.alberta.ca/artsdays/