Gallery 101
Photo: Zoë Ashby

Gallery 101's new location taps into
Centretown's new vibe
By Nichole McGill

There's a new vibe along the Centretown stretch of Bank Street. Once the home of the empty storefront and the stroll of the questionable, Bank Street north of Queensway, is now the domain of the authentic urban hipster, new condo owners, and flamboyant characters who push Ottawa's staid reputation.

It's now also the newest 'hood of Gallery 101, one of the older non-profit artist-run centres in the city. The new gallery space, its fourth incarnation in its 28 year history, is positioned above one of the rare "for lease" storefronts on Bank, half-way between Somerset and MacLaren streets with a surprisingly subtle sign on the glass door.

At the Oct. 26 vernissage of the gallery's first exhibit in the new locale, the carnival atmosphere touched both the street and gallery space – rotating cherries of police cars, flashes of gold sequins on micro-miniskirts, pedestrians overtaking the cordoned off street – and that was before climbing up the one storey into the bright two room space with a revolving door crowd.

Still the new 1,400 square foot space, which includes an airy 1,100 square foot gallery space and 300 square foot office area, is significantly smaller than the two storey building that the Gallery occupied at 236 Nepean Street. That property offered two levels of gallery space totalling 1,800 square feet alone. Gallery performances sometimes spilled out unto Nepean Street. It also boasted a basement which was handy for storing the gallery's considerable collection amassed over its nearly 30 year history.

"The biggest thing we're missing here is the basement and storage," says gallery director Leanne L'Hirondelle, who also notes that some gallery materials have already been donated to the city archives.

The greatest impact is that smaller size will affect future Gallery 101 programming.

"We can't have two complimentary shows at one time as we did at Nepean," notes L'Hirondelle. "We also will have less work displayed in group shows." Still, she calls the Bank Street location, "the best we could afford for the money" and that it boasts a decent-sized area for a gallery space.

The artist-run centre that focuses on visual and media arts has had four homes over its 28 year history. It first opened in 1979 in the Glebe at 101 Fourth Avenue. To accommodate more performance art, in 1987, the gallery moved to a second storey space at 319 Lisgar Street, now home to Invisible Cinema (see Luba Szkambara's article below). The Nepean Street location was the gallery's third home but when the property was slated to be developed into condos, the gallery had to look for a new locale.

L'Hirondelle looked at locations from Hintonburg to the Byward Market before deciding on 301 1/2 Bank Street.

"We were forced to move into a smaller space," concedes L'Hirondelle. "The whole area has been gentrified and gentrification has its price. The rents have risen dramatically in cities all across Canada. Arts grants haven't reflected that reality."

Still, if opening night was any indication, the gallery will get the off-street traffic they desire. L'Hirondelle says plans are in the works for adding more noticeable gallery signage on Bank Street itself, adding a resource centre within the gallery and making use of the outdoor patio space that overlooks an alley and a parking lot.

"Time will tell," she says.

Nichole McGill is a former full-time arts journalist, former CAO Secretary and current author.