Welcome back to the podcast, brought to you by Arts Network Ottawa.   

In this episode we revisit a panel discussion held in the spring of 2024 during our Creative Continuum Conference (formerly known as Artpreneur Ottawa Conference).   

Through the theme “gardening” participants of the conference were invited to go beyond the view of our local arts community as an eco-system and instead as a garden ... requiring cooperation, cultivation and intentional care.  

In this conversation, panelists focus specifically on the priority of space use and re-allocation in Ottawa. Beyond the urgency of housing insecurity and affordability, access to space is a recurring concern and challenge raised by the arts community. 

We hear from:  

• Harar Hall, co-founder of The MRKT  
• Natalie Carrier, Executive director of the Vanier BIA 
• Jason St. Laurent, the curator of SAW Gallery 
• Monique Fuller, co-founder of the Ottawa Black Artists Kollective (OBAK), host of La Luta Continua on CKCU 93.1 FM and the panel’s moderator 

What can we learn from artist-run and artist-centred spaces, and how can artists best advocate for themselves and our invaluable creative hubs, studios, and venues amidst ongoing downtown revitalization and potential displacement? 

Stay tuned as we tackle these questions now...