Artpoint Gallery, a non-profit artist co-operative located in Calgary’s historic Ramsay-Inglewood neighbourhood, will be saved from the brink of insolvency if a Notice of Motion initiated by Joe Ceci, Alderman for the area, is successful when it goes forward to City Council on April 26, 2010.
The Artpoint building (1139 11 Street SE) was acquired by The City of Calgary and will eventually be demolished when the future southeast leg of the CTrain begins construction (anticipated in 5 to 15 years). In lease negotiations with the City, Artpoint’s rent was recently increased from approximately $33,000 to approximately $64,000 to reflect market rates, unintentionally placing the society in financial peril. Current City policy dictates that The City of Calgary Administration does not have leeway to negotiate below-market leases without direction from City Council.
The notice of motion from Alderman Ceci requests that City Council direct Administration to develop a policy, in consultation with Calgary Arts Development and other community stakeholders, that will allow City Administration to lease City-owned buildings that are slated for future demolition to non-profit arts and culture organizations, individual artists and other non-profit uses at rental rates that are significantly below market. The intent of this new policy is to address the ongoing need for affordable space to support the work of Calgary’s cultural sector (including individual artists whose median annual income is reported at $14,500 in 2006 in a study by cultural research firm Hill Strategies). Under such a policy, Calgary would be able to realize the “triple-bottom line” benefits that these otherwise unproductive spaces could provide when put into use by artists. The triple-bottom line policy framework includes the social, economic and environmental outcomes of policies and decisions.
“The shortage of affordable art space in Calgary is well known. The situation with Artpoint is a perfect example of an area where The City is in a position to make a significant positive impact for Calgary’s cultural sector by creating clearer policy to ensure existing spaces are used to their full potential,” says Terry Rock, President & CEO of Calgary Arts Development. “Artpoint has a great track record of success, including support of emerging artists, and had been taking prudent steps to ensure they had a secure long-term location. If passed, this initiative will enable Artpoint to thrive, which benefits artists and Calgarians generally, while providing a blueprint for similar initiatives in the future.”
The notice of motion directs Administration to report back to City Council no later than December 31, 2010. In the meantime, The City is requested to provide interim financial relief to Artpoint by changing their rental rate to its previous amount of approximately $33,000 per annum, retroactive to the date the new lease was signed, until Calgary City Council makes a decision on a new policy, at which point a new lease with Artpoint may be negotiated.
**About Artpoint Gallery & Studios Society:**
Artpoint Gallery & Studios Society is a non-profit artist-run studio gallery supporting and promoting visual arts and art education in the Calgary community. It is one of the largest artist run cooperatives in North America. Our renovated building in historic Ramsey-Inglewood is home to 23 studios and 3 galleries featuring works by over 45 members and visiting artists. Works range from traditional portraiture and photography to contemporary paintings, miniatures and large scale wood and iron sculptures. Visit [http://www.artpoint.ca](http://www.artpoint.ca) for hours and location.
**About Calgary Arts Development:**
Calgary Arts Development champions the arts as a key driver of Calgary’s quality of life.
Calgary Arts Development plays a leadership role in realizing the potential of arts and culture in Calgary. As the city’s designated arts development authority, we are a central hub that learns about, promotes,connects, advocates for, and leads strategic initiatives in the arts to animate Calgary as a vibrant cultural centre. Calgary Arts Development allocates municipal funding for the arts provided by the City of Calgary through granting programs that support operations and innovation for more than 100 arts organizations in Calgary.
Visit Calgary Arts Development for more information about our activities and initiatives.
**Media contacts:**
Terry Rock, President & CEO
Calgary Arts Development
Ph: 403-264-5330
Jacqulynn Mulyk
Artpoint Gallery
Ph: 403-852-2787
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“…to report back to City Council no later than December 31, 2010.”
This is too long. Businesses would never wait 8 months for a report on an issue that was supported by the corporate vision. See imagineCalgary. See the Melbourne Principles. See Triple Bottomline.
Terry Rock is right. Encourage incentive driven policy on the occupation of unused/underused spaces. Make supporting Community Building Orgs a priority. Remove performance barriers. Add sense of urgency.