Studio Space Ottawa has officially expanded their ability to support local artists, thanks to a $102,500 grant from the provincial government’s Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF). The money from the grant was used to build 10 new artist studios and amenities such as a shared washing space.
Anna FrIan, a founding member of Studio Space Ottawa, says she remembers applying for the grant in June 2023, thinking it would become another rejection email, and was shocked when they were approved in October instead.
“For us it’s a huge expansion: we added 3,000 square feet with 10 studios. So it’s allowed us to serve more people who have been on our waiting list for a while.”
Construction for the new studio spaces began in January 2024. By opening day on March 1, the nonprofit had already garnered enough interest to fill the available leases, and then some.
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“Artists always find a way to work anyways, but just to have that much affordable space, I think it will encourage the visual arts community … to continue their art practices,” FrIan says. “Some of the artists who came in were recent graduates from art schools. There was another artist who had recently lost his place due to redevelopment. So I think it’s just encouraging for these artists to know there is another place they can go to.”
FrIan says Studio Space Ottawa now hopes to add new technologies to its spaces for further creative possibilities.
“It would be all contingent on funding, but we’re talking about creating an innovation space which would be a multipurpose room so that our artists could collaborate and perhaps have access to equipment, like 3D printers or laptop or other pieces of equipment.”
Learn more about Studio Space Ottawa, located at 2477A Kaladar Ave.
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