A new type of café is opening in 2017 in a large foreclosed house in Chinatown. The Art House Café will help underground artists create, exhibit and sell their work.
Wires are exposed on the floor, the inner walls are not yet standing and everything is covered in dust. When you enter the big house on Somerset Street, it is difficult to imagine it becoming a café in less than two months.
But owner Josiah Beaton and artistic director Geneviève Bétournay seem to have a clear vision of how it will look: the bar counter on one side, the chairs and tables and most importantly the paintings hanging on the walls.
The house will be divided into four rooms. Visitors can have a coffee in the main room while looking at the artworks exhibited on the walls, while other local artists’ pieces will be displayed in another room available for purchase. A quieter sitting room will be reserved for artists who plan to stay for a while and the final room can be rented by artists as a workspace or to hold workshops.
Beaton imagined the Art House Café after witnessing some of his friends struggling to find places to publicly display their art.
“They were having problems either with having space at home or finding encouraging people to work with or finding a place to sell their work,” he explained. “So I had a place where all of this can happen, where you can come and make art as well as sell it and celebrate it.”
Bétournay is an artist. She is also the president of Studio La Mouche, a boutique that sells local art in the Ottawa community. She joined Beaton’s project because she understands the difficulties artists face.
“The first thing I can think of is space. I know people who live in a small apartment and who have a little girl, so they can’t leave their things laid out, it gets in the way,” she said. “Another big problem is that very often artists can’t make a living with just art income. So if we can make it easier for them to get income from their art, then they can spend more time on it.”
Beaton said it may also be difficult for artists to promote themselves.
“In my experience, the people who are really good at perfecting their craft are not as good at selling it.”
The Art House Café aims to help artists. The workshop can be rented at an affordable price: $25 for the first hour and $10 for each hour after that. Some equipment, like paint or tools, will also be at the artists’ disposal in the room.
In addition, the house will be a place where artists participating in the Art House membership program can sell their art on a regular basis. Bétournay said it is also a hub where artists can make connections with graphic designers and photographers who can help them promote their work.
Bétournay said she feels that Ottawa is missing this kind of venue. “There were some spaces like that, that are not here anymore and left a void.” Some other cafés, like Oh so Good Desserts in the Byward Market, feature local artists’ pieces for sale, but none of them are able to provide artists with a workspace.
A handful of artists already told the partners they are interested in a membership, like Susie Shapiro, who is a local photographer. When she learned that the Art House was opening through Facebook, she was really excited.
“I think it can bring more exposure for artists. It’s also a place where they can meet and learn and feel that there is a community,” she said. “I think we need more places like that.” She said she hopes the Art House can help her make more revenue from her photographs.
Others artists have offered to volunteer for the Art House. “The response has been amazing so far” said Bétournay. “We feel welcome by the community. I think we are surrounded by people who care.”
The Art House Café will open in Jan. 2017 on 555 Somerset St. West. The first event, a DJ night the second Saturday of every month, will begin in February.