Vancouver risks becoming a 'city without art' as studio spaces become harder to find, artists say

Artists in Vancouver say they are struggling to find permanent spaces to create their art amid rising rents and increasing development. 

Some local artists are questioning the future of art in Vancouver if the displacement for artists and creators continues. 

The Eastside Culture Crawl Society, now known as the Eastside Arts Society, produced a report in 2019 highlighting the growing number of displaced artists. It called on the city to implement policies to protect and expand spaces for artists. 

The report estimated 400,000 square feet of artist production space was lost over the previous 10 years. Since then, an additional 50,000 to 60,000 additional square feet of artist space has been lost, according to Esther Rausenberg, art director and executive director of the Eastside Arts Society.

"Like with everything else in the city, affordability, development is a big issue," Rausenberg told CBC's The Early Edition on Monday. 

"A lot of the artist studio spaces are on commercial and industrial lands. A lot of these spaces are in two, three-storey kind of cinder block buildings, and those are coming down as we're seeing higher developments on those buildings."

Rausenberg says part of the problem is that the developments are not rezoning developments, so they don't have to apply community amenity contributions that help with the building of facilities such as affordable housing, parks, child care, and arts and culture spaces.

Industrial areas a hub for creativity, says artist

Among the lost artist spaces is The Old Foundry Building on Vernon Drive.

Sculptor Oliver Harwood says a year ago, he and other artists in the building were asked to leave to make way for a new commercial building.

"We really rely on the old warehouse, the old industrial areas in order to thrive as artists, so this was a big loss for us," Harwood said. 

He says it took months for artists to find new spaces. In his case, he searched from Squamish to Langley before finally finding a place in East Vancouver.

"We have just recently got word that we might have one year left in this space and then have to move again," he said.

Rausenberg says it's important for creators, particularly those like sculptors who used specialized equipment, to have workspaces that offer some stability. 

"Artists don't want to be and can't be picking up shop in a little suitcase and moving from one venue to the next," she said. "Those are temporary solutions."

City has tools to preserve space, says artist

Rausenberg says more needs to be done to prevent Vancouver from becoming a "city without art."

Rausenberg says the society is developing a new Eastside Arts District initiative aimed at preserving artist spaces and developing new ones.  

She said the city has tools to preserve space, such as density bonusing, which allows for additional floor area in exchange for amenities, as well as community amenity contributions and tax relief. 

Alix Sales, senior planner for the City of Vancouver, says the city is looking at ways to create space for artists, including density bonuses. 

Sales says the city provides $1.5 million a year in infrastructure grants. It also provides 1.3 million square feet of cultural space at low cost to artists and arts organizations.

She says the displacement of artists is a global phenomenon, and she hopes Vancouver can avoid the fate of large cities such as London, New York and Paris. 

"Artists don't live in those cities anymore or work there," Sales said. "They have to work outside those cities because they can't afford to be there."

Harwood says artists contribute to the fabric of a city, and he hopes to remain in Vancouver. 

"I know from my colleagues we love to be in the city, and we want to stay here. 

That's not the question. The question is just finding the space to be able to stay."