Grandview-Woodlands (GW) Community Planning Dialogs
Just got back from the City of Vancouver’s planning workshop for the Grandview Woodlands (GW) Neighbourhood. My new neighbourhood! This workshop was focused on the arts and culture aspect of the hood. It was a great opportunity to contribute and help shape the City’s plan for this great neighbourhood.
I encourage you if you live this great neighborhood to read the literature for this community plan and get involved/participate in these great workshops that the City is putting on. Tonight was a world cafe format with three rotations.
Here are my notes from tonight, please forgive the brevity…
GW has twice the neighborhood average of cultural workers than anywhere else in the city. There are a lot of artist who live here! This place would not be what it is without them and their art.
Art creates community creates art.
However, it’s tough to be an artist anywhere, but especially here. Mostly because of the high cost of space and the lack of venues to perform, exhibit and sell your art.
Where are the venues to integrate, practice, exhibit, and grow as an artist? Many of these types of venues are expensive, leased spaces that have a final interest only in the bottom line. Why aren’t there more city facilities, like community centers, that focus on art practice, and integration? These should be spaces where educators, and experienced artists can get together with developing students to teach and provide valuable real life lessons. A space where community can be created, without having to worry about exorbitant monthly lease costs. A true Community Center for the Arts.
First rotation: Presentation Spaces
Facilities are crumbling because of the cost to operate them. They need to be able to diversify and the City needs to make that easier and legal. Otherwise facilities need to be subsidized to survive.
Ideas focused around smaller spaces that are available to all. Small stages in parks would be cool. Something that can be booked through a simple city calendar or shared through a lottery.
New venue can be pop-up presentations spaces that are temporary. Presentation spaces can be combined with other neighbourhood events like markets, festivals, etc.
Second rotation: Creation and Production Space
Seeing a bit more conservatism coming to the area. Too much red tape to site and open studio spaces.
We need new models for affordability in studio use. Shared studios, lottery for shared studio space. Coops and subsidies for spaces in different forms.
An incentive for industrial buildings to have studio spaces.
Is it possible to have city owned properties or grants to offset costs.
Is there a possibility for non market studios? It’s hard to maintain studios as studios in the long term. They eventually turn into other uses.
Formation of a society to represent artists like an association. The Arc Artists Association can be a catalyst!
How about a live/work coop? Where the coop filters the portfolios and ensures that the spaces are truly used by deserving artists.
Artists Working out of a home, should be allowed to advertise with a sign. See City’s Work craft bylaw.Increase the profile of the artists in the community by allowing sandwich board signs outside their homes.
We need to keep track of studios over time. Data is important to ensure we maintain existing stock.
Can we take advantage of the back alleys? Garages can be studios if they were setup to get people through there.
Third rotation: Creative Commercial Businesses Including Suppliers and Services
What about an artists supply coop store?
You can also form a virtual supply trading website.
Is there an opportunity for the city to purchase the block on Pandora and Victoria? Form a coop and operate a large studio rental facility, equipment sharing, service sharing.
Vancouver Opera just moved into the area in a new facility of rehearsal and productions space. Welcome to the neighbourhood, check them out!
Look into the Arts Club. They diversified with a bar. So did the RIO. Seems that you need to sell liquor to make a go at it these days. Nothing pays l Ike sin.
Why can’t you live, work and retail in a residential zoning? Multi use zoning should be allowed. Single use zonings are a thing of the past. Businesses don’t operate like that anymore. Great examples in Germany.
Diversification and community, collaboration.
He do we ensure that the changes coming preserve the character of the neighborhood?
Making residual business supplies available to artists. Urban Source model (on Main).
Sign out!
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