Experimental group Boyscout Killers perform at La Petite Mort Gallery wearing its signature masks.
Gilda Furgiuele, a photographer from Ottawa, has been working along with her colleague Sean Rioux to create an umbrella organization for artists in Ottawa.
“Ottawa is full of creativity and artists. But we don’t have financers who are willing to give the city an exposure in the market,” says Furgiuele.
They launched Ottawa Indie Co-op at a meet and greet event held at the Arts Court on Daly Avenue on March 25.
Furgiuele, the director of this co-op, calls it a “big hub for the arts,” which aims to bring the Ottawa arts and culture scene together.
Ottawa Indie Co-op is not the first initiative of its kind in the city.
Ottawa is home to other co-ops, including Independent filmmakers co-op of Ottawa, which provides low cost equipments and grants to independent filmmakers and Enriched Bread Artists, which works towards the development of visual arts by offering affordable studio space to artists.
But Furgiuele says Indie Co-op stands out in the crowd because it is about inclusion.
“There is no separation of mediums,” she says. "It’s where all art forms come together.”
It is also different in that it is more of a social networking website for local artists. Local artists create a profile on the site of Indie Co-op that facilitates interaction between them and gives them a platform to promote their events.
They do not organize events for the artists themselves, but are planning to organize bi-monthly contests, polls and art parties.
Boyscout Killers (BSK), a musical band from Ottawa, used the Indie Co-op website to promote the performance they produced at Mercury Lounge on March 31.
The band has been actively performing in Ottawa for two years.
“I’m getting used to playing for a small crowd,” says Mathieu Coates, a member of BSK. “But it also does upset me sometimes.” He says it has been hard to reach out to audiences in Ottawa.
Toronto and Montreal have visibility as culture hubs, but Ottawa cannot compare itself to these cities.
The reason for this is that Ottawa does not have arts facilities and lacks adequate infrastructure, says Peter Honeywell, executive director of Council for the Arts in Ottawa.
In its 2009 budget, the city of Ottawa committed $400,000 to its Arts Investment Strategy to meet the emerging community needs.
Ottawa is competing for audience, fundraising and corporate support, says Honeywell.
If you look at the arts industry as a financial market, the issue boils down to accessibility, which is a result of the high price tag that accompanies visual art forms, says Furgiuele.
“People in Ottawa are conservative spenders,” she says. People do not go to a gallery, pick up a photograph and invest in an artists’ work, says Honeywell; they instead buy cheaper alternatives from Wal-Mart or other stores.
Mike Plante, another member of BSK, says they play electronic and industrial music, for which there is a bigger demand in other cities like Toronto and Montreal.
This is why a lot of artists move out of Ottawa. Retaining its artists is the key to improve the arts in Ottawa, he says.
“The industry is not big enough in Ottawa to compete. Hence, artists have to help each other to make the industry grow.”
The fact that Ottawa is an untapped market could help fulfill the aspirations of local artists, says Furgiuele.
To keep the crowd, new mediums and technologies need to be recognized and there should be more support for freelancers, says Coates.
“I want to perform in front of thousands of people one day,” he says, "but I know that won’t happen in Ottawa.”