New Vancouver Cultural Hub Opens Its Doors
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Four Vancouver arts organizations have opened a new cultural space called The Post at 750. Located at 750 Hamilton Street, it's a downtown home for an exciting new cooperative arts organization, and a vibrant and much-needed creation space for the arts community at large.
The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, Touchstone Theatre, Music on Main Society, and the Documentary Media Society (DOXA Documentary Film Festival), are the founding tenants of a new, custom-renovated space in the heart of downtown Vancouver.
The space will be a collaborative working environment and a hub for resource sharing, social-profit partnership, creative endeavour, cultural animation and public outreach.
With significant contributions from the City of Vancouver, the Government of Canada, and several private donors, the four groups together raised the $1.8 million required to outfit the office and studio spaces of The Post at 750 to serve the needs of each group, as well as the broader artistic community. Features include open office space, two multi-purpose studios, flexible temporary office spaces, a shared reception area, a large communal kitchen and lounge areas – each full of natural light and crisp design features.
The two studios are an especially important addition to the community’s cultural assets. Proper rehearsal spaces in downtown Vancouver are in short supply for professional theatre, dance and music practitioners. Both studios will be available to external users throughout the year.
According to Katrina Dunn of the venerable Touchstone Theatre, gentrification, constant disruption and inferior working conditions often prevent artists from reaching their full potential. “It’s hard to find consistency when you are always being moved out by increasing rents etc. or paying for places that aren’t really suitable. There’s this myth that artists need grit in order to create. Gritty rehearsal spaces do not make for better art.”
With start-up equity support from Vancity, the cooperative has engaged a facilities coordinator to oversee the day-to-day operations of the space, including securing and managing bookings. Revenues from renting the studios, meeting rooms and hot desks (desks that can be rented out or re-designated as needed), are part of the facility’s business plan. They provide a sustainable source of revenue, and address the lack of suitable rehearsal space in downtown Vancouver.
The space will officially launch on Tuesday, March 31, 2015 with a community open house from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
