Artcentral: what next? (need input)

[octothorp]

A bit of background: my wife and I have been long-time tenants in ArtCentral in downtown Calgary, and we're committed to being there for several more years. If you went to the space when it was first opened six years ago, it had a fantastic feel to it, and First Thursdays there were an important night on the Calgary scene. Over the years, it's changed significantly, as many of the great original tenants have left, vacancies have lasted for far too long, and new tenants were brought in, who don't exactly match the original vision of an arts focused space.

And change isn't necessarily for the worse, but it does feel like ArtCentral has a bit of an identity crisis. Most of the long-time tenants are very pessimistic about their future there, mostly because of slow sales and foot traffic. Our landlord is quick to talk about this as a result of the economic climate, but for most of us there, it has more to do with the building being unable to keep its original vibrancy and energy. However, the landlord is looking for feedback on what it can do to change the current direction of the place.

So because I know this forum has a lot of posters who are very in touch with the Calgary cultural scene, I'd love to get input on how ArtCentral can become relevant to downtown culture again.

Basically, I'd want to hear your vision for ArtCentral: what should it become? What sort of tenants should it attempt to attract? What events should it host? I'd be interested in hearing models you've seen in other cities that might work here. Or maybe you feel that ArtCentral is just a fundamentally flawed concept; that's a valid opinion too, so post and tell me why you think so.

[O-tacular]

My wife and I are both ACAD grads. She had a 3 month scholarship for a studio space in Art Central last year. Unfortunately due to a multitude of reasons she did not get to use the space very much. Speaking as someone who used to attend the Thurs night openings I can say they were great. But you're right about original tenants (like Looks Could Kill) leaving and there being a void left over. I guess my perception of many of the studios and store fronts is that they basically try to be tourist shops. The problem is that there is no true studio space that's off limits to the public. Everything is an advertisement for the lunch hour DT office crowd (who no offense mostly prefer bland Group of 7 rip off crap). It seems like Art Central is just a step from becoming one of those 'art' novelty stores you see in Banff.

[polishavenger]

I have only been to Art Central a couple of times, so Im not sure how much they leverage the incredible center courtyard space. If I remember correctly there was a water feature in the middle. This space should be open for artists to perform on an ad hoc basis to create an interesting vibe. I could see music, performance art, and theatre type activities going on there.

[octothorp]

Thanks for the input, O-tacular. That's sort of the way we see it. The marketing-to-tourists thing is definitely a problem. There just isn't the repeat business from tourists. I think the only way it's going to become a tourist destination is if it's somewhere that locals like.

It's an interesting point about there being no studio space that's off-limits from the public. I hadn't really thought about the there being a need for that. I do think that it needs to think about how it can serve artists better.

I sort of see it going two ways:
1) Fully commit to the 'art' vision and really make itself indispensable to the local art community. Have more of an emphasis on studio-space, workshops, and artist showcase events. Some sort of curated arts market that involves more than just the tenants would be great too; in the summertime it could conceivably stretch into the open rooftop space next door.
2) Become more of an eclectic shops area, but make the shops interesting and useful. It would be a great space, for example, for a small gourmet grocer, in the model of Valta Bison; or a specialty bookstore like cookbooks. They need to be destination stores that people will go to, not stores that depend on casual traffic wandering into.

Polishavenger: yes, there's the opportunity for it to be used more as a performance space, it's definitely not being utilized fully; they've talked about having live music every Saturday. We did have an event a while ago where Land's End Chamber Ensemble used it, and their lead (who's also the principle violinist of the CPO) said that the space actually had great acoustics. It would be very interesting to have a theatre group use the space occasionally. When ACAD has their annual fashion show in ArtCentral, they make great use of the central courtyard, with the fashion show taking place up and down the central staircase, while the audience stands around the perimeter.

[cityscape_enthusiast]

Hi Octothorp,

I sent you a private message in regards to your above postings.

Thanks.

[O-tacular]

I guess if I had to boil down the problem with Art Central into one sentence it would be this: You can't run a supposed art centre / studio like you would a normal profit based business. There's a reason the arts are subsidised.

[greenboy]

I often used to stop by and have a walk around when I lived downtown and loved the original concept but haven't stopped by for at least a year. I also made it a place to bring visitors from overseas etc when showing them around town and they loved it. Personally I was always looking for something cool but affordable but felt a little priced-out of some of the gallery spaces. Then wondering around the small studios I rarely saw anyone in there actually working that I could buy something from that may have been more accessible price-wise.

[Radley77]

I have added ArtCentral to my facebook, I had no idea all the events that have been going on there.

As for shopping there, I think I am kind of the same as greenboy. When I first moved to Calgary I couldn't afford it, and now that I'm more mature I could afford it, but really haven't thought to go back.

I am curious if there could be more stuff at a lower price point... more photography perhaps, an option for art rental service (or subscriptionstyle membership service) instead of buy, or establishment of a resale market?

There are perhaps other things that could be done to enhance the market including offering public seminars on a Guide to Calgary's Art Market for novices. Or having a sales representative on behalf of Art Central clients that goes and tries to get larger personal collector and corporate accounts.

As a novice, I'm not sure what services are offered by ArtCentral and find art somewhat intimidating.

[kora]

You could rebrand it a little by bringing something new to Calgary. Artcentral is one of the finest commercial spaces I've seen anywhere in the world, and certainly the best in Calgary. It is unique. But I would also make it feel more open to all people of Calgary. It kind of has an exclusive vibe, meaning people think it's too expensive even if it may not be.

Maybe you could bring something like a world music venue to Calgary. Calgary's kind of lame like that ..... not really a global city yet. In any case, we need a "Calgary first" in ArtCentral, whatever it is you decide to do.

[Jimby]

Art Central is a great place, a great space, and a great location which is summed up in its name.
I think the problem is no one wakes up in the morning and decides they have to go buy art at Art Central that day.
Perhaps more restaurants and and bars or a looser interpretation of what art includes - home decor and furnishings?
Anyone going for coffee can take the stairs up to the coffee shop and not have any need to venture further into the facility which means fewer browsers going by the interior stores.
From the street, there is no enticement to enter the building. The way it is designed, it is kind of closed in on itself, not welcoming from the outside.
Also the Plus 15 to Hanover and adjacent rooftop public park are features which should be used to draw day time traffic from Suncor and beyond.

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by Jimby

Art Central is a great place, a great space, and a great location which is summed up in its name.
I think the problem is no one wakes up in the morning and decides they have to go buy art at Art Central that day.
Perhaps more restaurants and and bars or a looser interpretation of what art includes - home decor and furnishings?
Anyone going for coffee can take the stairs up to the coffee shop and not have any need to venture further into the facility which means fewer browsers going by the interior stores.
From the street, there is no enticement to enter the building. The way it is designed, it is kind of closed in on itself, not welcoming from the outside.
Also the Plus 15 to Hanover and adjacent rooftop public park are features which should be used to draw day time traffic from Suncor and beyond.

Which is why I'm much more likely to head out to the Market Collective at the Anthill building once every 6 weeks or so, than browse a 'mall' of art.

[octothorp]

Thanks for all the input, there's some really good feedback. There's a couple points I want to address:
o-tacular: it's an interesting point about arts needing to be subsidized. I honestly don't know about the funding situation for various tenants. Some I suspect receive arts funding; others use a model of using the space to run a for-profit business and a typically not-for-profit gallery out of the same space, which I think is a potentially good model, if there's the right interplay between the business and the gallery. The art portion is essentially subsidized, but not through public sector funding.

Greenboy: I think working artists was a draw early on that you don't see there as much, although there's still a couple. One of my favorite early tenants was a very talkative ceramicist who had everything from pottery wheel to kiln right in his studio, and was happy to talk to anyone about what he was doing. And I've always wished we had a working letterpress or printing studio in the space.

Radley: The Calgary Cultural District has walking tours on first thursdays that are at least an introduction to the galleries located within the cultural district. I'm not sure how good an introduction to the art scene in general they are, as I've honestly never had the time to do one on first Thursdays!
In regards to your question about art rentals, I believe Axis offers that.

Kora: the exclusive vibe observation is true. I'm not sure what the best way of getting through that issue is. Maybe bring more of the experience out of spaces and into the central area, so that people can get over the psychological barrier of going into spaces.

Jimby: Big agreement about finding someway to use the adjacent rooftop. I have no idea of the logistics about it, but it really is a unique space within Calgary's downtown and I'd love to see ArtCentral find a way to utilize it.
There is an increasing number of home-decor and furnishing options within ArtCentral already, I'm not sure how business is going for them. But I'm all for increasing the definition of what art includes. I think the flower shop is a great example: it has strong visual appeal that fits with other shops in the building, it brings people to the building that wouldn't necessarily come there, and it seems (I have no idea on this except observation) to do quite well. Other compatible tenants would definitely be welcome.

DizzyEdge: Market Collective is awesome, and as you say it's a very different experience from ArtCentral, but I think ArtCentral could look at Market Collective and definitely learn something about creating a really vibrant experience.

[kw5150]

You know there is a 60 storey office tower nearby that will be at full occupancy faily soon right?

Maybe a large lunch place where you can purchase the art hanging on the walls? Then lunch goers may get inspired to look at more galleries an shops. How about a roof-top wine and martini bar where you can see the sunset on the bow glazing? I stole the idea from the post above.......