Arts Habitat Edmonton: Creating Space for the Arts

Al Chapman, the Executive Director of Arts Habitat Edmonton, believes that ​“creative spaces are essential for a healthy community.” As a key partner along with the Edmonton Arts Council and the Edmonton Heritage Council in Connections & Exchanges: A 10-Year Plan To Transform Arts and Heritage In Edmonton, Arts Habitat works to provide accessible and appropriate spaces for artists in Edmonton. 

Since joining Arts Habitat a little over a year ago, Al has drawn on 30 years of experience as an innovative leader in project management, program development, governance, and events management. With a strong focus on strengthening Arts Habitat’s partnerships and opportunities for community connection, Al and his team are quickly gaining momentum in the name of creating space for the arts. Read on to learn more about Al, his vision for Arts Habitat Edmonton, and the forthcoming Edmonton Cultural Infrastructure Plan. 

You’ve been a part of the arts community for a long time. How are you involved in the arts, and what brought you to Arts Habitat? 

I’ve been very fortunate to spend most of my career connected to the arts community in Alberta. I started as a music teacher in rural Alberta and then moved to the public sector for a 20-year career in the Government of Alberta and the Legislative Assembly Office. I also spent the last few years managing projects in the post-secondary and the not-for-profit sectors, and I found that throughout my work and personal life, there has always been a huge connection to the arts community. When I had the opportunity at this point in my career, I really wanted to be in a position that was frontline and make a difference for artists and arts organizations. 

Looking back to when I worked in arts funding, that’s starting in 1999, the discussion of appropriate and available space for the arts was a weekly discussion. This is an ongoing and incredibly important issue that I want to tackle head on at this point, and I really want to make Edmonton a global leader in art space development. 

What does Arts Habitat do? Can you tell us about some of the spaces you manage and how artists can get involved?

First off, we’re a social enterprise that manages, and builds appropriate accessible spaces for the arts in Edmonton and area, and our team supports those spaces and the experiences that are welcoming, safe, and respectful for all people. So, it’s really about building a place where people feel safe and want to create and be part of the arts community. We currently own or lease four ArtsHubs. We have ArtsHub Creative Studios, ArtsHub McLuhan House, ArtsHub 118, and ArtsHub Ortona. Those have all been built or renovated to support activity that benefits Edmonton’s cultural sector. We’re also directly connected to an affiliate hub, which is the Orange Hub, and we actively support artists seeking and using space in that facility. 

Each hub provides artists and organizations an opportunity to access subsidized spaces that are the right fit for their artistic activity. We have witnessed artists and families connecting and building a supportive community within the arts habitat. Providing space that supports and promotes that type of interaction is key to a strong and vibrant arts community and is one of the elements that we’re the most proud of. 

What are some other ways that Arts Habitat connects artists with spaces aside from the spaces you manage?

Creative spaces are essential for a healthy community across the board. That is fundamental for us. Our team deals with many space inquiries, whether they’re for studios or performance spaces from artists and organizations; the volume of inquiries often exceeds what’s available at our ArtsHubs. We then use our networks to connect them with other appropriate spaces and potential partnerships. I think that’s key as we move forward as an arts community. The more community groups, developers, arts organizations, and artists that we can connect, we’ll provide a greater foundation for available spaces to live, create, and perform. Ultimately, we as a team strive to build appropriate and accessible spaces for the arts. We engage the community and advocate for art spaces, and we develop organizational capacity and resilience. 

What is your vision for Arts Habitat and what is next for the organization?

I see us expanding our role as an arts space advocate and trusted adviser. Those two elements, alongside the newly developed Edmonton Cultural Infrastructure Plan, which will be publicized in the coming weeks, will be our guide for this work as we move forward with our mandate and strengthen our partnerships with both the Edmonton Arts Council and the Edmonton Heritage Council. Our organization understands the needs of the arts community and will use our insight to advise and support the City of Edmonton regarding projects involving existing or potential art spaces. Moving forward, we will also lead conversations about the value of and need for spaces in which artists can create, rehearse, exhibit, perform, and live. That important work will involve convening further conversations with the community, others involved, or on the periphery of the arts community about the need for identifying, developing and managing art spaces in the region. Through this work, I think we can shape and influence public policy, investment, and overall support a thriving cultural infrastructure and public spaces for the arts. We really can be a leader in this area, and it’ll be really important for us to guide a lot of this work and support it and champion it. 

About Arts Habitat Edmonton

Arts Habitat leads in advocating for, building, and managing, appropriate and accessible spaces for the arts in Edmonton. They recognize that appropriate art spaces are essential to creating dynamic, sustainable, and entrepreneurial artistic communities and they actively support the arts as a chosen career path.

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