“So I think the reason why Centretown is such a great place for
creative business is because of the spirit of Centretown. I’m someone
who’s very spiritual and I believe that there’s always something
deeper beyond what we see. And that something deeper beyond what we see in Centretown is inherently creative.
It is very real, it’s story-driven.
And all of my business locations have been in Centretown.
In fact, I didn’t realize that until this conversation right now, as
we started at the corner of Bank and Lisgar and the Bible House, it
was a collaborative space, that’s my first space. My second space was
at the corner of Somerset and Bay. And now I’m at the corner of Bank
and Somerset.
So for me, Centretown is my creative home.
I don’t live in Centretown. I live in the country, but I drive here
for the inspiration that I need and the spirit and the soul that I
need in order to create the way that I do.
There are times when I think about maybe not being in Centretown,
being somewhere else.
And every time I go visit a place or I think about being in another
place, it goes back to— what if we’re in a business park? What about
the spirit of the place? If we’re out in the country where I live,
what about the spirit of the place?
This is an art community.
You walk around and you see the graffiti on the walls, you see the
murals, you see businesses that you don’t see 10 blocks that way. You
see courage and a spirit of entrepreneurship that’s gritty and, and
scrappy.
That’s why we’re here.
I think we need to as an art community, start having more
conversations around what it means to not be a starving artist. And
that’s actually the future of the studio. We are going to start to
create engagements for artists to talk about these things. I’m going
to start hosting conversations and workshops and learning and
training. Because I’ve had to learn that skill in order to keep a
creative agency and a studio open in this city.
And to do it at this scale— I’m not saying it’s the biggest studio in
the world, but there aren’t many studios in Ottawa that are 6,000
square feet. And on Bank Street, it’s a significant investment every
month. It’s always scary, but I think it’s necessary. And I think I
want to try to find different ways to animate this space.
I really want to hear voices in this space.
Not just see people shooting, but hear voices. And I want to see
people solve problems in this space and become the artist that they
want to be. And I also want to learn from them. And I want to be a
part of sharing what I know as well.” @stu.dio2020
