Artscape Daniels Launchpad, a first-of-its-kind hub for creative entrepreneurship located within the Daniels Waterfront – City of the Arts complex (130 Queens Quay East), has officially opened its doors to the city’s artists, designers, and creators.
Artscape Daniels Launchpad is designed to support and inspire creative experimentation, learning, connection and collaboration in a one-stop hub that provides unparalleled access to an ecosystem of support and 30,000 square feet of state-of-the-art facilities. Included within this facility are creative and technical studios featuring cutting-edge tools and equipment; co-working and event spaces; a fully-equipped Digital Media Lab; and specialized creative entrepreneurship programs, services and resources. By clustering these essential elements together under one roof, Artscape Daniels Launchpad is creating a new model for creative entrepreneurship, with the goal of fostering a community that will support and empower emerging and established artists, designers and creators to forge thriving, prosperous careers. Like other Artscape projects, Launchpad will operate as a not-for-profit social enterprise.
“The value of everything today is more and more about creative ideas and less and less about materials and labour and yet many artists and designers are finding it harder and harder to make a living,” said Artscape CEO Tim Jones.
The Artscape Daniels Launchpad spaces were designed by architecture and interior design studio Quadrangle. “A great new interior isn’t something that artists and designers expect when they think about where they create. We wanted to change that perception with distinctive interiors that inspire creativity and professionalism in equal measure,” says principal and project lead, Caroline Robbie. Quadrangle took a broad and eclectic design approach to create a cluster of individualized spaces, each with its own distinct theme and personality. Its public areas include a gallery, meeting rooms, and Sugar Hall, a 6,200-sq.-ft. space with unobstructed views of Lake Ontario, which will be used for learning programs, rehearsals, performances, conferences and events. The members only area will provide artists, designers and creators who are members access to: fully-equipped state-of-the-art Creative Production Studios for Textile + Fashion, Fine Metal + Jewellery, Woodworking, Digital Fabrication and Electronics; the Digital Media Lab (Opening in December) — a 2,800-sq.-ft. production space where members and non-members can access sound and video recording facilities, Audio/video VFX Studio, editing suites, a green room, and a photography studio; and the Creative Commons co-working space. Artscape will move its administrative headquarters into the facility.
Artscape Daniels Launchpad will also serve as a home base for Artscape’s specialized creative entrepreneurship programs, services and resources. These are delivered by a community of facilitators, coaches, mentors and industry leaders providing support and pathways to empower creators across 19 different disciplines to collaborate, plug into new business opportunities and grow thriving creative businesses. Resources and services offered include: grant & loan sourcing, funding pathways and start-up capital; business planning; navigating within the start-up ecosystem and associated trade and service organizations; and industry and corporate partnerships.