Hamilton is experiencing huge growth, but its bursting arts community remains unsupported, disconnected, without a focal space for artists and communities. Meanwhile, the last few years have seen a reckoning in the arts sector, making arts institutions worldwide scramble to re-think. Old models are broken. New systems are required.

Industry, working with partners that span the performing arts, hospitality, wellness, and civic engagement, are leading a push towards the creation of a new kind of performing arts hub for Hamilton, a space based on contemporary values, perspectives, and goals.

This group has just completed a pre-feasibility study with consultancy Bespoke Collective towards the building of such a space. This included extensive research, data collection, workshops, and interviews with arts and community leaders locally, nationally, and around the world. It also involved a public survey that received more responses than similar surveys in Toronto and Brampton. The response has been huge. The need for this space is real.

Industry wishes to re-imagine an underused building(s) into a new type of community and performing art space whose very existence is a form of activism, a contemporary place rooted in innovation, social practice, and sustainability. We aim to:

● Provide artistic freedom and flexibility to move, create, experiment, innovate — with as many supports as possible.

● Speak to the issues of the day, especially when it comes to social, racial, sexual, gender, environmental, and disability justice.

● Offer a new type of community art destination shaped by Hamilton’s local arts scene and by visiting artists from around the world.

● Be a place to share ideas and art, have conversations, enjoy artistic lifestyles, and foster professional, personal, and intergenerational connections.

● Cultivate a culture of care, belonging, and fun for artists, audiences, and communities.