Take our quick energy use survey!

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HOW MUCH ENERGY DOES YOUR BUILDING USE?

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WE NEED YOUR HELP!
As an arts/cultural facility we need to understand how much energy your building uses every year!

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
We need to understand how many KW/H your building uses in a year, as per your hydro bill.

We have put together a brief FOUR question survey – your answers will help us advocate for additional resources to assist our organizations in taking advantage of all incentive programs/opportunities available to reduce your consumption = saving you money every year!

Please find your most recent hydro bill and click the link below!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/artskwh

WHY?
In 2014 as part of our Energy Conservation program at ArtsBuild Ontario, we provided small project grants to organizations to complete needed projects that would result in a reduction in energy consumption in their facilities. We also held two Dollars to $ense workshops for our arts organizations to help them identify ways in which they can save money by making ‘green’ improvements in their facility.

ArtsBuild would like to continue our investment in supporting our organizations in making these energy efficient improvements and finding ways to make them affordable. Understanding your energy consumption can help support our case for more resources for our sector.

OTHER EXCITING NEWS
ArtsBuild will be launching a new program in partnership with Community Forward Fund in a few short weeks – stay tuned!

Announcing our new Executive Director and SpaceFinder Hamilton

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ArtsBuild Ontario is thrilled to both welcome Karen Stintz as our new Executive Director and announce the expansion of our successful SpaceFinder program into Hamilton with partner CoBALT CONNECTS.

karen stintzThe Board of ArtsBuild Ontario is excited to welcome former Toronto Transit Commission Chair and Mayoral candidate Karen Stintz as its next Executive Director. ArtsBuild Ontario is the only organization in Ontario dedicated to providing long-term solutions for building, managing and financing sustainable creative spaces such as theatres, galleries, concert halls and museums in Ontario communities.

“I’m very excited to be joining ArtsBuild Ontario and to have an opportunity to contribute to the arts community, particularly in an area where my expertise from government can be a great asset,” says Karen Stintz. “When we talk about support for the arts, the importance of local arts facilities doesn’t often make it into the conversation – but they’re a tremendously important part of bringing the arts into communities across Ontario.”

Karen comes to ArtsBuild Ontario with a wealth of management and leadership experience from both the public and private sectors. In addition to serving as the Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission, North America’s third-largest public transit system, she has years of experience in the public and private sectors, managing and delivering innovative multi-partner programs.

“At ArtsBuild Ontario we’re working to enable creative centres to not only succeed, but thrive. That’s why I’m very pleased to announce today that through our continued partnership with Fractured Atlas, and CoBALT Connects, we’ll be supporting the expansion of the acclaimed SpaceFinder system to Hamilton, Ontario. This is an important next step to the tremendous success of SpaceFinder Toronto,” adds Karen.

SpaceFinder is a first-of-its-kind free online service that enables artists and event planners to find, schedule, and rent available rehearsal , performance and special event space based on a wide range of needs, including date, time, cost and location. When it launched in Toronto in 2014, it was the first service to offer a large-scale solution for both venues and renters by matching artists with unused rehearsal and performance space. SpaceFinder Hamilton will now help arts organizations in that city do the same thing.

“Fractured Atlas applauds ArtsBuild Ontario’s vision for leveraging SpaceFinder to serve Canada. Together we are empowering communities to bypass expensive technology builds, and jump to delivering a valuable service to artists and cultural venues,” says Adam Huttler, Executive Director, Fractured Atlas.

SpaceFinder is one of a number of innovative tools and programs that ArtsBuild provides to arts organizations. In the coming weeks, ArtsBuild will launch additional new programming to support arts organizations and communities in building, managing and financing sustainable arts facilities.

Spring up your next capital project with PLAN IT | BUILD IT

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Have a renovation or addition in store this spring? With warm temperatures right around the corner, weather conditions are becoming more ideal for arts organizations to tackle facility projects of any size.

PIBI_4clr…But a lot of us don’t really know where to start. Have you thought about conducting a needs assessment? Or putting together a project team? Making a solid case for support to your Board of Directors? Usually capital projects are a once in a 10 year deal, so organizations want to make sure they know the ins and outs of their facility project plan and what it really entails.

Any facility project phase, especially in the arts, is a complex and non-linear process. The good news is PLAN IT | BUILD IT was designed specifically for arts organizations and put together by industry professionals with extensive experience in managing complex planning processes, and advancing projects to meet time and cost goals. Oh, and it’s free to use. Arts organizations can easily access PLAN IT | BUILD IT through ArtsBuild Ontario’s website.

PLAN IT | BUILD IT contains four streams to fit any arts organization’s project scale:

  • New Construction: see the entire process and get started on planning a project and building a team.
  • Large Renovations & Additions: guides you through how to manage the changes that accompany large renovations and additions.
  • Small-to Medium-Sized Renovations: a detailed look at small to medium sized renovation projects and guides you through the process so your renovations stay small to medium sized!
  • Operations & Maintenance: see how operating and maintaining buildings for arts and culture deserves just as much, if not more, attention than projects that result in new buildings.

PLAN IT | BUILD IT is really easy to use. It intuitively takes you through the site by dividing content up by phases. That way, you can take your time to make sure you’ve covered each step to ensure your capital project is a success.

So while you’re planning your next renovation, addition or just looking to maintain your building’s operations, make sure you check out PLAN IT | BUILD IT first.

RL_1clrYou might also like our Resource Library for all things related to building, managing, greening and financing arts facilities.

 

Presenter Profile: Rick Gosine, VP Project Development and Marketing, The Dalton Company

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Rick Gosine, VP Project Development and Marketing, The Dalton Company

Since our LEARN IT | BUILD IT | MANAGE IT workshop is led by four recognized topic experts, we thought you should get to know them.

Rick Gosine, Vice President of Development and Marketing at The Dalton Company, is the first presenter you’ll hear in our two day workshop. Rick offers his expertise on planning and executing building projects in his presentation Building New Facilities: Delivering Projects on Budget and on Time.

Rick has been with The Dalton Company since 1992, beginning his career with the firm as a project coordinator/estimator. His hands-on experience has given him a special expertise and understanding of the construction industry.

In his role as Vice President of Project Development and Marketing at the Dalton Company, Rick has responsibility for all strategy, development, partner relationships and go-to-market activities for Dalton’s portfolio of services. He is also responsible for the business development of building opportunities within institutional, public and commercial projects. Creating and sustaining close, valued client relationships is one of his primary goals.

plan it build it logo smallOne resource Rick refers to in his presentation is ArtsBuild Ontario’s step-by-step guide PLAN IT | BUILD IT, which breaks down planning and executing capital projects into manageable steps. It’s easy to use and intuitively takes users through each phase of their capital project so organizations can confidently move forward with their building projects.

The Dalton Company provides professional building services, which include all the functions needed to manage a project from beginning to completion. Their award-winning work includes the National Ballet of Canada, Roy Thomson Hall, the Granite Club and the Young Centre for the Performing Arts.

You can hear Rick’s presentation at our next LEARN IT | BUILD IT | MANAGE IT workshop in Chatham-Kent at the Chatham Cultural Centre on March 23.

Read more about our LEARN IT | BUILD IT | MANAGE IT workshop series.

Some Love for SpaceFinder Toronto…

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SFTO HeartIn the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we’re sharing some of the reasons why we and our users LOVE SpaceFinder Toronto.

Greater revenue potential. “As we celebrate our 10th anniversary year as a self-sustaining research and performance space, SpaceFinder Toronto has increased our rentals by 25% in only a couple months and connected us with new renters from various artistic disciplines. SFT’s greatest asset is its fluid administration system, which has helped us cut back on our work load and allowed us to continue serving the artists of our community.” – Kate Nankervis, Co-Artistic Director, Hub14

Getting noticed and sharing resources. “SpaceFinder Toronto has been an unparalleled resource for Cahoots Theatre Company in getting our name out there and sharing our resources with not just the artistic community, but the broader community of Toronto as a whole. We’ve had more people walk through our doors and utilize the creation studio for a wide array of uses than we’ve seen in years – we are very grateful to be part of this excellent initiative bridging communities and reshaping the landscape of space for the greater public good.” – Jivesh Parasram, Creation Studio Facilitator, Cahoots Theatre Company

Over 150 search criteria. “We are loving SpaceFinder Toronto! Their database and search engine are great resources that help connect us with the customers who need exactly what we offer.” – Vikki Velenosi, Artistic Producer/Manager, The Box Toronto: Studio and Theatre

New audiences. “The Array Space provides an affordable home to a large arts community and it’s the space rentals that make this possible. SpaceFinder brings new people into our space… A few weeks ago a mother from Trinity Bellwoods rented The Array Space for her daughter’s ‘Sweet 16’ all-girl DJ party. They loved our great disc collection, dance floor, projectors and new theatre lights — and we loved the sweet neighbourhood hookup. Thanks SpaceFinder!” – Sandra Bell, General Manager, Array New Music Centre

SpaceFinder Toronto is a state of the art online venue finder that helps arts organizations showcase the venues they have available for rent, and helps renters of creative space easily find what they need.

If you’re interested in bringing SpaceFinder to your community, email Lindsay MacDonald, Director of Programs, at lindsay@artsbuildontario.ca.