EDMONTON, November 16, 2018
The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, today announced $1.5 million in support from the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund for two cultural infrastructure projects that will help revitalize and strengthen the Quarters Downtown Edmonton, a vibrant, diverse and inclusive community.
As part of its 20-year plan to renew the neighbourhood, the City of Edmonton is repurposing municipally owned buildings that will be made available through a competitive process to not-for-profit arts organizations for redevelopment as cultural amenities.
The City will receive $750,000 for a project to renovate and retrofit a 6,945-square-foot, two-storey structure built in 1962, to be used as an Indigenous contemporary art centre and gallery, under a long-term lease by the Ociciwan Contemporary Arts Collective. This facility will become Edmonton’s first collective-run centre with a focus on contemporary art, providing a space for Indigenous artists to gather and work, and a place for mentorship of Indigenous youth and emerging artists.
Additionally, the City will receive $750,000 for another project to retrofit and renovate a 7,240-square-foot, one and a half-storey structure, built in the mid-1950s, creating a community-driven arts centre to be occupied under a long-term lease with the Quarters Arts Society. Once construction is complete, this facility will provide flexible rental spaces for local artists and organizations that currently do not have access to affordable creation and performance space in the neighbourhood.
