There aren’t many arts hubs as thriving and successful as Toronto’s 401 Richmond. The century-old tin can lithography factory was saved from a wrecking ball in 1994 and slowly redeveloped into the thriving colony it has become, housing both for-profit businesses and artist-run centres. On every floor, down every hallway there’s art, art and more art.
The 200,000 square foot building, which runs nearly the length of a city block, from Peter Street to Spadina Avenue, was purchased in 1994 by Urbanspace Property Group, whose founder, Margie Zeidler, is seen at left with the Toronto Arts Council’s William Huffman. This Saturday (November 27) and December 18 from 12:30 – 2:30 pm, Huffman is leading tours of this remarkable arts hub for anyone interested in seeing first-hand how the strands of Toronto’s arts community knit themselves together.
Last month, I interviewed video artist and Reel Asian programmer Heather Keung who has spent her whole career so far at 401 Richmond. Straight out of OCADU she went to work at Images Festival before moving down the hall to Vtape and then down one floor to Reel Asian.
“It’s a small community so it’s easy to plug into,” Keung told me, “especially in a building like this. It’s a fairly easy network to access what with the different festivals, the media art centres, production centres and distributors; we see each other on a daily or weekly basis. When I bring people from Hong Kong for a tour of the building they simply can’t believe it, the energy, the activity, the buzz of the place.”
There’s always an impressive art installation to greet visitors at the front door on the Spadina side of the complex: at the moment Luis Jacob’s From Stream to Golden Stream, 2006, is on display (above). For me, the work instantly conjures Michael Snow’s Flight Stop in the Eaton Centre but Jacob’s artist statement draws parallels between “the characteristics of pigeons (for instance their homing skills, their sense of location and group formation) and traits in artist networks.” In this setting, Jacob’s birds symbolize the vibrancy and activity found within artist communities.
And it’s not just flocks of artists and birds that you’ll see on your tour Saturday — if you’re lucky you’ll bump into Gomez, a chipper Skye Terrier who introduced himself on Monday as he wandered down the first floor hallway all by himself, apparently following his master, studio owner Warren Beck, left.
Huffman and I hadn’t gone another 50 yards before we bumped into the friendly yet supremely unassuming Margie Zeidler, a woman who will likely end up with an award named after her or maybe even a statue built in her honour, that’s how much she’s admired by the city’s arts community.
But Zeidler mostly shrugs off the accolades: “Technically this is not a philanthropic project,” she says of 401 Richmond, “the building pays for itself. We bought it for very little money and we’ve managed to keep costs down, which has been key. The intention was to see if we could do something that was not driven by government money — I strongly believe governments have important roles in funding the arts and health care, etc., etc. But we wanted to see if we could do something that didn’t rely on government aid, run a for-profit business that still makes a contribution.”
The model has been so successful that Urbanspace took a similar plunge in 2002 with the redevelopment of the 100,000 square foot Robertson Building at 215 Spadina Avenue where the Centre for Social Innovation houses more than 170 non-profits, social enterprises, artists, activists, and social entrepreneurs over two of the structure’s four floors.
Huffman typically starts his 401 tours at Open Studio, an impressive combination gallery/workspace that is Toronto’s only non-academic, multi-method print studio; members and non-members can book the workroom to use the screen printing, intaglio, relief and litho equipment. “We’re the only place outside the schools that does all four,” says Director Heather Webb, below with Huffman.
Open Studio also does print sales and on Thursday, December 2, from 6 – 9 pm, they’ll be hosting their annual fundraising Artist Proof Sale and Open House with workshop demos and prints priced between $50 and $300. From December 9 – 12 the entire Richmond Street complex opens its doors for the 401 Artisans Marketplace.
Other highlights on Huffman’s Saturday tours include stops at Gallery 44, Vtape and Trinity Square Video, among many others. You may not love all of the visual art you’ll see along way but some of it is certain to captivate.
As we wind up our meeting with Zeidler I ask her to name her favourite part of the 401 Richmond experience: “It’s the people,” she says without hesitation. “We’ve been lucky, we’ve had all these wonderful people who have come together here over the years. It’s fun coming in, it’s fun hanging out.”
WHERE/WHEN: BRICKOLAGE Monthly Tours at 401 Richmond Street West, November 27 and December 18, 12:30 – 2:30 pm; free.
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Great Article. Just wanted to add that 19 artists from 401 Richmond are opening up their studios to the public Dec 10 and 11th at the same time as the Artisans Marketplace.
401 Richmond Artists Open Studio
This is a FREE event. Maps available at the door.
Opening Reception: Friday December 10, 6:00 – 10:00 pm
Continues: Saturday: Dec. 11, 12:00 – 6:00 pm.
Event Organizer & Contact:
Gareth Bate: contact@garethbate.com, 416-530-0057 (H)
Facebook Invite:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=175506149133202
19 Artists
Fourth Floor
436 Pavla Quinn
436 Jirka Tomiska
436 Aurora King
Third Floor
356 April Hickox
387 Gretta Gibney
387 Kris Knight
394 Kristen Fahrig
394 Sheilah Wallin
Second Floor
216 Lynn Kelly
216 Beth Roher
217 Janine Lindgren
217 Olga Battaglia
253 Jacquie Green
260 Winnie Truong
276 Betsy Canfield
278 Marian Wihak
Basement:
S17 Gareth Bate
S26 Janet Bike Girl
S28 Rocky Dobey
Very interesting and we are proud of you.
This is a nice piece. Just wanted to mention though Warren isn’t Gomez’s owner. Gomez’s owner (think his name is Mike?) and Warren share a studio in the VMAC wing. They’re just buddies.
Gomez visits Vtape almost daily; great lil guy to have around.