Activate Free Space for Artists in Toronto
Making Space for 2021
The final project we wanted to introduce you to as part of our PROVOKE Campaign is called Space Project.
Space is at an unprecedented premium in Toronto. As real estate becomes increasingly expensive, cultural spaces become harder to acquire and operate. It’s becoming even harder for artists to afford rehearsal space, which means fewer artists making less work, at a lower standard of living.
Through our Space Project, we’re developing a sustainable method of offering creative space to artists, free-of-charge. Through unique cross-sector partnerships, we’re activating temporarily empty space across Toronto. More artists will be able to create work and dedicate the money they save to pay themselves and their collaborators.
“What I love about Why Not Theatre’s Space Project is that they’re filling empty spaces in
Toronto with artists that desperately need access. They are trusting artists to manage
their time and develop their craft as they see fit. Why Not’s commitment to giving artists
space is not about one project, but their praxis as a whole.”
Patricia Allison
Space Project Pilot Participant
A Pilot for the Future of Space
We’re in the midst of testing the Space Project model. By the end of the pilot, through partnerships with Crestpoint Real Estate Investments Ltd, Canadian Urban Institute, the City of Toronto, and more, we’ll have supported 350 artists with 17,500 hours of free space, valued at over $900,000. And by accessing space that is already sitting empty, we’ll have run the whole pilot for less than $65,000.
Your donation will help run innovative programs like this, saving artists hundreds of thousands of dollars in the coming years while making use of underutilized spaces.
Help us change the story. For good.
Are you an artist in search of space in 2021? In the coming weeks, we’ll have more details on how to acquire creative space through Space Project.
Click here to be notified as soon as we have more information.
