Artists Deserve Great Spaces!

In November the CAO asked artists to respond to a brief survey, as we seek to answer a need for affordable sustainable artist studio spaces in the Ottawa area. To achieve this goal, we wanted a clearer understanding of the requirements of local professional artists of all disciplines pertaining to their work environments.

The CAO's ContainR Project was launched in 2008 as a vehicle to address a perceived need in the local arts community for artists' work and live/work space. We have since opened up our examination of space to include not just the use of shipping containers for arts builds, but also the retrofitting of existing buildings. We plan to use results from this survey in order to build our case and ultimately a comprehensive business plan.

211 artists responded representing various artistic disciplines including visual arts, crafts, media arts, theatre, literary arts, dance and music.

64% of respondents were not satisfied with their current studio situation, most citing inadequate space. The main issue is the size of space but lack of storage space and the need for proper ventilation were frequent concerns amongst respondents.

Some other findings were:
On average, the monthly rent that artists would be willing to pay for a studio is $306. The ideal studio would have an average 482 sq ft of floor space, while most artists would be content with a studio space of approximately 326 sq ft. Interestingly, 326 sq ft corresponds closely to a one shipping container (8 x 40 ft).

Most respondents (69%) would prefer studio spaces within central urban Ottawa neighborhoods such as Centertown, Lower Town and the Byward Market, China Town, Old Ottawa South, Hintonburg, and Westboro. The West End also had a strong showing with 12% of respondents wanting a studio space in that area of Ottawa.

Many questions had open-ended answers, although this does not help statistically, we received exceptional and candid responses. The core sentiment was a need for professional spaces that address issues of health and safety while also providing room and atmosphere to feed art creation.

Thank you to all who contributed to the survey. The results will go a long way to informing how we progress with our ContainR Project. We will keep you informed of developments as they happen.