Check out these easy tips to improve your SpaceFinder listing!

Is your creative space on SpaceFinder?

SpaceFinder helps close the gap between underused space and renters looking for space to rent. Promote your available rental times, increase rental revenues and connect with new renters by listing your space on SpaceFinder!

1. Add Photos to your Listing

Photos are one of the most valued features in a space listing and they help renters imagine their event, workshop or rehearsal in your space. Try to select photos that have high contrast and colour, show renters using your space, and show off your space’s unique features!

Whether you are using photos taken with your smartphone, or have professional photos, renters want to see your space! Have a great video tour of your space? Add that too!

2. Include Rental Rates

Rental rates are often the most important thing to a renter looking for space that fits their budget. In fact, rates are one of the top search criteria used by renters! If you haven’t entered rental rates for your space, it won’t appear when renters search by rate.

SpaceFinder’s rates form allows you to showcase a range of rental rates, and offer discounted rates to not-for-profits and members! Check out these handy links and customize your rates form to fit your needs!

3. Promote Empty Time Slots

Uploading your online calendar makes it easier for new renters to discover your underused space! Promote up-to-date available time slots by syncing your online calendar with SpaceFinder. All it takes is uploading a link to the digital calendar you use (Google, Outlook, iCal, etc) to manage your rentals.

Need help fine-tuning your SpaceFinder listing? Contact eilidh@artsbuildontario.ca!


ABO Blog: Philadelphia’s Sacred and Creative Spaces Uncovered

 Through support from the Metcalfe Foundation and project leadership of Trinity St. Paul’s and Faith and the Common Good, ArtsBuild Ontario and the Toronto Arts Council travelled to Philadelphia to see how their sacred spaces are evolving to also be creative spaces. Our aim was to investigate how sacred spaces are working with arts organizations to transform their facilities into spaces that also serve the creative community.

Philadelphia was our first city stop in exploring communities outside of Toronto that are adapting or repurposing sacred spaces for artistic use. There are already some examples within the province of sacred spaces working alongside arts organizations in one shared facility. But we wanted to explore how other communities outside of Ontario are approaching this model, how they are thriving and what challenges they are facing. From site visits and meetings with both sacred space administrators and arts organizations, our goal is to better understand where our sacred/creative spaces are headed, in Toronto and across Ontario. We wanted learn how arts organizations and sacred spaces are operating in the same space, exercising respective mandates, and sustaining their practices.

It is not new news that artists and arts organization are actively using sacred spaces for their work. More and more, we are seeing arts organizations hosting performances, rehearsals, workshops and meetings in churches – the space is often available and creatives need it.

Philadelphia has a number of historic structures, including many churches that span from one to two hundred years old. The population is dense and diverse throughout the city’s neighbourhoods. As parish numbers decreased, some churches opened up their doors to other community organizations as well as local arts groups. Other church buildings have become adaptive reuse spaces for artists and arts organizations.

Philadelphia is also the home base for Arts in Sacred Places – a branch of Partners for Sacred Places that brings together artists and arts organizations that need space for rehearsals, studios, performances, offices and other functions with congregations and houses of workshop who have unused or underused space. Through past work with scared spaces in Philadelphia, Arts in Sacred Places took us to a number of churches that are operating both as functioning parishes and arts spaces. They also showed us a few adaptive reuse creative spaces of former churches that have been renovated for arts organizations and entrepreneurs.

While we saw a number of sacred spaces in Philadelphia, we wanted to share three spaces that stood out to us during the trip.

Christ Church Neighborhood House
The Neighborhood House was built by the Christ Church parish in 1915 to serve the residents of the industrial Old City. Eighty years later, local artists seeking unusual, flexible and affordable space discovered the building. Today the Neighborhood House serves cross-disciplinary performing artists, offering subsidized performance and rehearsal rentals. They have a 2000 square foot theatre, a Great Hall, sanctuary, and meeting room available to rent. They have over 50 artists and ensembles using their space each year.

Fleisher Art Memorial
Fleisher Art Memorial is made up four heritage buildings including the St. Martin’s College for Indigent Boys and Church of the Evangelists. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Fleisher Art Memorial has fully adapted a church, college and two roadhouses into a nonprofit community art school. The school has studio spaces available to rent, exhibition space which displays student and community works, and a sanctuary that actively houses art programs. The sanctuary is a striking space, with the original walls, stained glass and pulpit  in place from 1884-1886.


Calvary Centre for Culture and Community
The Calvary Centre for Culture and Community is the operating body of the Calvary United Methodist Church. Located in West Philadelphia, the church has positioned itself as a community hub, serving over 5,000 members each year. The church is still active, but after congregation numbers began to decrease, they opened their doors to artists, community organizations and other religious groups to use their facility. They currently use the Chapel as rehearsal and worship space for Jewish, Muslim and Christian groups. Meanwhile, their sanctuary holds a fully erected black box theatre where their resident theatre company rehearses and performs. The rest of the facility provides ample space for rehearsals, twelve steps groups, refugee groups and so much more.

These are just three examples of sacred spaces evolving into creative spaces, and yet they remain diverse in how they operate and who they serve. The biggest commonality in all the spaces we visited in Philadelphia was the strength and sustainability that arts organizations and sacred spaces found in partnership with one another. Rather than go at it alone, we saw churches leverage the space they have by inviting artists and creatives to make a home in their facility – and in most cases, both are helping each other to fulfil a mandate to serve their communities with the arts. We also saw some great examples of former churches that have become adaptive reuse spaces for artists and creatives.

We will be on the road again to other cities outside the province to see how their sacred spaces are incorporating arts and culture within their walls. Following our research, a final report of our findings will be shared with the public.

We look forward to sharing highlights from our next trip in the New Year – stay tuned!


Learning Series Returns to York Region!

 

Register today for our Space Rentals Workshop Series!

We know many organizations rely on rental revenues to support their creative operations. That’s why ArtsBuild Ontario is proud to present the Learning Series – a collection of learning opportunities for arts facilities around ArtsBuild’s core programs, including SpaceFinder! This webinar and workshop series will help support arts organizations and their creative spaces.

We are excited to bring the second of a two-day series of workshops back to York Region!

Managing Risk in Space Rentals
Wed. November 15 | 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Cost | $20.00 + HST
Location |  Elgin West Community Centre, Woodland Room
(11099 Bathurst Street | Richmond Hill, ON L4C 0N2)

What does it mean to manage risk in your rental space? What is your organization’s attitude toward potential hazards?

In this half-day workshop, we will cover what arts and creative venues need to know about operational, financial and legal risk when it comes to renting out space.

Our Managing Risk in Space Rentals workshop is open to all arts and creative venues currently offering space rentals. This workshop also serves as a useful tool for smaller/newer rental spaces expecting to grow and expand.

This is the second workshop of a two-part series of workshops on the topic of space rentals hosted by ArtsBuild Ontario in partnership with WorkInCulture.

Register Here!

Have questions about the Learning Series? Contact eilidh@artsbuildontario.ca!


Announcing the ABO Vendor Directory!

…Now accepting vendor registrations!

ABO is excited to announce the soft launch of our newest online service – the ABO Vendor Directory!

The ABO Vendor Directory connects service providers (YOU!) with the creative sector! The ABO Vendor Directory allows arts organizations and creative spaces to find the vendors and service providers they need to support their creative spaces. This can include everything from engineers to contractors, to lighting and janitorial services!

The ABO Vendor Directory provides vendors with an opportunity to reach a unique audience of creators and their spaces. Vendors who have or are interested in working with this unique sector can highlight their services to arts organizations – who are actively looking for professionals to support their needs!

Why did we create the Vendor Directory?

We created the vendor directory because many arts organizations have expressed a need for an online resource to find professionals to support their organizations and creative spaces. Our goal is to make it easier for arts organizations to find the professionals they need, and for vendors to serve the sector.

Please share the news about ABO’s Vendor Directory widely with your network!
Have questions about the site or need help signing up? Contact Eilidh Fisher at 519.880.3670 ext 101 or vendor@artsbuildontario.ca.

 
Read more! 


Energy Case Study: Canadian Automotive Museum

ENERGY CASE STUDY

CANADIAN AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM

In 2016, ArtsBuild Ontario offered a one-time grant for energy conservation projects, as part of our Energy Conservation Program. We were pleased to offer the grant to eight arts organizations, all taking on a new renovation or project that would result in lowering their monthly energy use.

One of our grant recipients was the Canadian Automotive Museum located in Oshawa, Ontario. They completed a lighting retrofit project in the lobby and gallery in their museum. Several months after completing the project, we followed up with Executive Director and Curator Alexander Gates to see how the lighting retrofit has reduced their energy use and affected the space.

WHY TAKE ON A LIGHTING RETROFIT PROJECT?

In 1963, the Canadian Automotive Museum made its home in a century old former car dealership building, located at 99 Simcoe Street South. Over the years, the museum has taken on building projects to maintain and upgrade the facility to accommodate its ever-growing roster of programs and exhibitions. The museum has taken on previous energy conservation projects, including the installation of a white roof that reduces heat retention in the building in the summer months. Part of the lobby area was also renovated in 2015 where a portion of the lighting was replaced with LEDs.

Lighting improvements in the remaining lobby space and gallery became a project area for the museum as a result of visitor feedback. Patrons noted that the museum looked dark inside, as the former floodlighting highlighted the vehicles on display, but left visitor pathways in the dark. The museum deliberated on how to create a brighter space while cutting down on energy costs.

A lighting retrofit with energy efficient LED lights proved to be a successful and cost effective alternative to the traditional floodlights. “LED lights use a lot more light, less heat and have better quality lighting that is actually better for the exhibits. Incandescent and florescent lights tend to bake the objects and can fade materials,” notes Alexander. Adding higher wattage bulbs would only create more heat and use more electricity, so the museum looked to LED track lighting as a solution. The museum worked with a volunteer who is an electrician to pick out a cost effective system for the project.

      

 

 

 

 

 

Before: Hallway lighting in 2015                              After: Hallway lighting in 2017

IMPACT IN THE SPACE  

The lighting retrofit resulted in an improved experience for visitors by brightening walking areas. Prior to the retrofit, the museum’s car collection was the lighting focus of the gallery space. While the cars had the spotlight, visitors were left slightly in the dark as they walked through the exhibition. “We want people to have light on them too, so they can do activities like a puzzle or worksheets; not sitting in the dark while the cars are being lit. So now there is definitely a warmer feeling in the space,” shares Alexander. The LED track lighting resulted in a fully lit space that improved the appearance of the kids’ space and visitor areas.

The new LED track lighting has amplified the appearance of the museum’s displays – especially the cars. Objects were previously lit in the front and sides, which created shadows and caused a lot of reflection, making it difficult to take photos. Now, the new LEDs provide even lighting and actually bring out the true colours of the vehicles on display. “The vehicles had been viewed only indoors prior to the lighting changes, and were presumed to be the colour black when in fact some are very dark blues and lavenders.”

OVERALL SAVINGS ON ENERGY AND COSTS

The museum replaced its previous incandescent lights with LED lighting in the gallery and lobby spaces with a goal to reduce the number of kilowatt-hours used in the 25,000 square foot facility. The incandescent lighting fixtures used approximately 10,000 watts; this LED retrofit would see usage reduced to 1500 watts. In addition to lowering energy use, the museum’s electric bill has decreased by 35% compared to the year before as a result of this lighting retrofit and other energy saving initiatives. The new LEDs have so far saved the museum $2,000 in hydro costs.

In addition to building projects, the Canadian Automotive Museum cuts down on hydro by turning off the lights when visitors are absent. “One thing we try to very cognizant about is turning off the lights when we don’t have visitors,” mentions Alexander. “I want to let others know that it actually does make a difference to your bottom line to have all the lights on in the gallery when no one is there.” The museum operates during peak periods of electrical usage, running Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The entire team of staff and volunteers makes a point of turning the lights off when there are no visitors, such as during the first 20 minutes of the day.

UPCOMING ENERGY PROJECTS

The Canadian Automotive Museum is taking on additional energy saving projects this year. With plans to improve the façade of the building, the museum is planning to install metal cladding with a layer of insulation around the facility. They will replace exterior doors that will also contribute to lower energy use. The museum is in need of an HVAC system replacement, and in the middle of a fundraising campaign to support the project. All these projects combined with current energy saving initiatives will continue to reduce the museum’s overall energy use and hydro costs.