About Us

Ottawa ain’t so bad. From New Edinburgh to Old Ottawa South to Westboro and beyond, artists, musicians, boutique stores, and culture abound. In fact, Apartment613 suspects the town’s staid and serious reputation may be nothing more than a convenient cover for its wild and crazy alter ego. Committed to connecting people to their neighborhoods, the site is a place where we can learn and talk about new and exciting people, places, and goings on.

We hope Apartment613 will be a platform for participation and community building. Everyone is welcome, so come on over!

Who we are

Apartment613 is a volunteer-run not for profit organization. Our main activity is apt613.ca, an award winning blog dedicated to uncovering the best of Ottawa’s arts and culture. All of our editors, photographers and contributors contribute their time and talents for free to help spread the word about all the great events happening in our city. If you’d like to help out, please visit our contact us page to find out how you can get involved.

History

Apartment613 was conceived in October 2008 at the Manx Pub over a few too many pints of beer. A group of eight friends plus a mysterious Colombian were remarking that while Ottawa had an active arts and culture scene, it took the right connections and a bit of work to get plugged in. We decided to do something about it. After three months spent debating whether or not to go with a sans serif font, the official site went live in January 2009. We held our launch party on 6/13 at Raw Sugar Cafe – the first of what we hope will be many more awesome birthday celebrations.

A core group formed and we were lucky enough to pick up some dedicated and talented writers along the way, many of whom were professionally trained journalists. Along with some casual contributors, we’ve managed to form a motley crew of intrepid volunteer reporters who will stop at nothing to uncover the newest restaurant opening or mind-blowing party.

In August 2010, the blog officially incorporated as a not-for-profit.

In October 2012, Apartment613 won gold for best blog in the 2012 Canadian Online Publishing Awards (community initiative category).

It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it.

The Team

Boring Administration-Type People

Alejandro Bustos - Editor, International Man of Mystery

Diane Bond - Visual Arts Editor

Chris Cline - Editor, Average White Guy

Karen Diepeveen – Editor, Chief Financial Officer

Ryan Saxby Hill - Editor, Evil Mastermind

Francois Levesque - Editor, Token French Guy

Katie Marsh - Editor, Woman of all seasons

Yasmin Nissim - Contributor Coordinator, Ninja

Trevor Pritchard - Editor, Grammar Czar

Althia Raj – Editor, Token Journalist

Jessica Wells – Events Coordinator

Technical Support

OAK Computing is a boutique software development company founded and managed by a team of 3 young technologists who believe in doing things the right way. The OAK team is responsible for the design and maintenance of Apartment613.

Columnists

Andrew Snowdon - Theatre Reviewer

Contributors

Laurent Robillard-Cardinal