Indefinite Arts Centre CEO Jung-Suk Ryu was photographed at the centre which is above the remaining old locker room and lobby area of the Fairview Arena on Saturday, February 15, 2020. The centre is trying to secure funding for a redevelopment of the community arts space following the arena roof collapse two years ago. Gavin Young/Postmedia
Nearly two years after the collapse of the roof at Fairview Arena, a community arts centre that still calls the building home is hoping to raise money to build a new, accessible facility for serving disabled artists.
The Indefinite Arts Centre has been operating out of its current space, partly connected to the Fairview Arena, for over a decade. But Jung-Suk Ryu, CEO of the centre, says damage from the roof collapse has had a significant impact on the more than 300 artists who use the space each week.
The building’s structure is eroding, water is pooling in various areas and part of the space is exposed to the elements, creating indoor temperatures that can drop well below zero. The situation recently led the building’s insurance provider to access it as high-risk, making premiums skyrocket.
“The collapse has created quite a long-lasting after effect,” Ryu said. “In some parts of our building, on the lower level, you can actually take a fork and scrape the wall and you can actually see some of the innards of the building … it’s having an effect on us almost every day.”
The centre is expects to launch a campaign soon to raise the $21.5 million required for the new facility, called the National accessArts Centre. They’ve already secured some seed funding totalling about $350,000 from the Calgary Foundation, Canadian Heritage and the Government of Alberta but hope to garner broader community support.
“It’s critically important that those who have a passion and a sense of purpose related to art have a place to express that art,” said Gerry Chipeur, who is chairing the fundraising efforts for the building redevelopment.
“Everyone in Calgary I’ve talked to is committed to ensuring that there’s access for all, regardless of their position. The idea of equal and open access to art for everyone, even where one faces some accessibility challenges, is critically important, and without it, we’re a poorer place and a poorer society.”
The price tag would cover a new space on the site of the former Fairview Arena designed by Dialog, a local architecture firm that had a hand in creating the Calgary Central Library. If things go well, Ryu says, groundbreaking on the project would start in six to eight months.
A new space would help accommodate artists currently on waitlist to start with the centre, he said. Most people who use the space has a physical or developmental disability, and Ryu hopes all Calgarians will be able to use the new development.
“It’s not about ticking the boxes, it’s about world-class accessibility and it’s about ensuring that there is no element of separation or segregation between someone who is able-bodied and someone who is not,” he said. “It’s about focusing on creating something that absolutely barrier-free, universal in design and puts the artist who has a disability at the heart of that design.
“Our hope is the entire city of Calgary will see it as a cultural asset.”
Twitter: @jasonfherring
