Save 901 Main Studios

Save 901 Main Studios!

As well as being a cultural cornerstone in Vancouver, 901 Main serves as a convenient gateway to the many studios participating in the Eastside Culture Crawl--which is the densest cluster of visual art studios anywhere in Canada.

Our building has been a studio building since 1972, and has established a reputation as a studio building mainly through participating in the Culture Crawl.

Sadly however 2007 may have been the last time that this venerable old building at 901 Main Street played host to such a joyful occasion. Not long ago, a major development company, Amacon, purchased the building. Amacon plans to re-develop the building into a luxury condominium complex, and as a result all of the current artist tenants--some who have been here for 17 years --will be forced to move.

We are not, in principle, opposed to urban re-development. Nor are we opposed to the developer per se. However, what we are vitally concerned about is the rapidly diminishing amount of affordable rental space left for working artists in Vancouver. While this is not a unique problem to Vancouver, other cities such as Seattle and Toronto have recognized the need to support artist accessing affordable studio space, and have come up with creative solutions.

Recently we have formed a committee to raise public awareness about this issue, in the hope that we can find a way to retain the building for its current use. At the moment we seek to co-operate with governing officials, the developer, and any other interested parties to explore alternative options. This might include an attempt to purchase the building, to form an artist’s co-operative, either with private or public funds, and to work with the local government to push for a policy to protect existing artist studios.

At the present we have not worked out what the best possible solutions might be. However, we have drafted a petition calling upon city officials to work with us not only to address the immediate problem facing 901 Main Street, but to consider the broader implications as well. We believe our situation is merely the tip of a very threatening iceberg. We foresee a tidal wave of re-development that may threaten our arts community. We believe that the loss of artist workspace will be a detriment to Vancouver both culturally and financially. Thus, beyond the issue of saving 901 Main Street as a studio building lays the matter of developing an enlightened government policy for preserving and promoting art in the city.

Thank you for the time and attention you have given to our issue. Please forward this to anyone who is a Vancouver resident, who you think might sign our petition.