A Handbook for Vancouver Artists Seeking Affordable Studio Space
Creators: name: Poon, Mona
Publisher: name: The University of British Columbia
Year: 2016

description: Post-industrial cities experience physical changes as they transition from manufacturing-based economies towards knowledge- and culture-based economies. Vancouver is no exception. In Vancouver’s post-industrial period, combinations of both market and planning forces have converted land use from industrial and commercial to residential use, causing an increase of housing close to the Central Business District (CBD), or downtown area. The new buildings included increased amenities and design features that also increase the price of housing. As more and more new housing develops, artists are sometimes directly displaced from their studios when the buildings they occupy are sold to developers for strictly housing use and artists are evicted. More often, artists are indirectly displaced when they are unable to afford the new rent in a renovated building, or the local everyday amenities become too expensive. In these cases, artists are forced to move further away from the CBD, or face drastic increases in rent to remain in the same area. This problem will only be exasperated with time as housing prices have surpassed pre-recession levels and continue to climb. The average income of the Vancouver artist is $27,100 CAD, compared to $35,000 CAD for all BC workers, and $47,299 as the median household income in Vancouver. Artists are at a disadvantage financially as they cannot afford to compete for living and working space with other Vancouverites in terms of price. The City of Vancouver, individual artists and other organizations have strived to make affordable studio space possible for artists. The City runs several initiatives such as an Artist Studio Award program and owns artist studios that are leased to the CORE artists’ co-operative. Other individual artists have banded together and secured space by forming their own studio co-operative with the help of outside organizations. Some centres have also focused on sharing common space on a rental or membership basis. To better understand the context of this issue in Vancouver, the City recently commissioned a study that produced the Cultural Facilities Priorities Plan 2008-2023 with the help of the local arts and culture community. This study has identified that increased capacity building in terms of networking as well as facility skills is needed to further advance the progress on this issue. To assist in tackling this issue, this project examines eight studies from other cities that have used innovative methods to ensure that affordable studio space is available for artists. Through an examination of the Cultural Facilities Priorities Plan as well as careful analysis of books, journals, newspaper articles, websites, policy documents and interviews, this study has found some measures that have been recently taken to address the lack of affordable artist studio space in Vancouver. However, some problems still persist including a lack of communication and co-ordination of existing information for artists on this issue. Also lacking is effective partnership between different groups interested in affordable studio space for artists. Funding is another problem as the British Columbia provincial government does not have any formal programs for arts and culture infrastructure support, even though the highest relative concentration of artists in Canada are located in Vancouver. Hill Strategies’ analysis of the 2006 Census found that artists comprise 2.35% of the population in Vancouver, compared to the second-highest concentration of 1.87% in Victoria and concentrations of 1.60% in Toronto and 1.53% in Montreal (Hill, 2009). An emphasis should also be placed on creative approaches to securing long-term spaces for artists as short-term projects may only have a limited effect and could lead to increased gentrification in artist neighbourhoods. A review and update of current policy and zoning bylaws would enforce compliance at development permit and construction stages so that appropriate studio spaces for artists are created. A postoccupancy review of artist studios is also required to ensure that they are actually used by artists for the production of art.