St. Catharines Downtown Association

OK, so we're getting a performing arts thingy in downtown St. Catharines.

Should be great. Looking forward to it.

Count Sheridan College student Elizabeth Seidl among those pumped about it.

But the St. Catharines native, who's in her final year of interior design at Sheridan, had one concern.

What happens to the students who graduate from Brock's school of fine and performing arts?

Frustrated by the lack of work spaces and affordable rents, do grads continue to leave St. Catharines?

From such real-life dilemmas do academic papers arise.

For her Final Design course at Sheridan, Seidl is working on a plan that involves converting an old downtown building into affordable living/work space for emerging artists.

The concept calls for six bachelor apartment-sized units for residents as well as common studio and storage space.

And the building she's selected for conversion?

The Wally Wemnant Carpet Market store at Geneva and Court streets.

As you may have read, Wally Wemnant is closing. Weally, it is.

With that in mind, Seidl approached owner Larry Whalley to see if he would be amenable to her having access to the building -- tape measure and sketch pad in hand.

Turned out to be an easy sell. Whalley's son is an accomplished sculptor and teaches art at the University of Regina.

The store provided a serviceable template for Seidl, a 30-year-old Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School graduate.

While a retail outlet in its most recent incarnation, a portion of the building was initially used, starting around 1910, as Gilmore's Garage. The Canada Bread Company operated out of there for about 10 years in the 1930s and 1940s. In the latter half of the 20th century, the 18,000-square-foot structure housed various businesses specializing in home furnishings.

Point is, knock out the false ceiling and you've got yourself a nice mini-warehouse for which to imagine floor plans.

In Seidl's mind, those plans included space for a wood shop, ceramics and sculpture studio, painting and drawing studio, print making studio and digital media lab.

The six residential apartment units, the rents for which would be government-subsidized, would only be available under short-term lease, six months to a year.

"By limiting the time in which a tenant can inhabit the space, the intent is to push into production those that are really passionate about art-making as a career," Seidl's paper states.

Allowing recent grads to develop their art and become established in the local arts community, adds Seidl, "will serve to enhance its vibrancy and improve the local economy."

The work/living space concept is supported by Niagara Artists Co. strongman Steve Remus.

Bricks and mortar are one thing, said Remus, then there's the community of artists.

For the arts scene to become a true economic driver as envisioned by various deep thinkers in the community, Remus said there must be places for artists to live cheaply and to hone their craft.

As noted, this is an academic paper. Emphasis this term was on the design proposal; next term it's more about practical implementation.

Still, Seidl hopes the idea is taken seriously in the community.

The location doesn't have to be the Wally Wemnant building. Any large space near the performing arts thingy will do.

What's important is that Brock students feel there's a place for them here after graduation.

"I always felt I had to get out," said Seidl, who took fine arts at York and McMaster universities, "and I think that's a bad feeling for people growing up in a city."

The excitement that the arts centre and the relocated school bring to the downtown and St. Catharines has the potential to change that perception, provided work opportunities and living arrangements are there, too.

"You should be able to stay and not be looked down upon for staying," she said.

Please see story in The St. Catharines Standard by D. Herod at:

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2232470