Artscape is a not-for-profit organization that
makes space for creativity and transforms communities.
Artscape is a not-for-profit organization that
makes space for creativity and transforms communities.
The new Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre is designed by the award-winning Diamond and Schmitt Architects. Currently under construction, the Centre will offer participating organizations 60,000 square feet of space located at Dundas Street East between Sumach and Sackville Streets.
Explore:
Floor by Floor
Additional Amenitites
Diamond and Schmitt Architects
In Photos
First Floor: “Experience”
Regent Park is one of the most dynamic cultural neighbourhoods in Toronto, but historically has lacked the facilities to showcase its talent. The first floor of the Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre will be dedicated to experience and will include a 400-seat Performance/Event Space, an Outdoor Performance Court and two creation/performance studios operated by COBA – Collective of Black Artists and Native Earth Performing Arts. Imagine music, dance and theatre performances, film screenings, cultural festivals, community events and dialogue on building great neighbourhoods and cities around shared experiences.
Second Floor: “Learning”
Arts-based learning is a proven way for people to discover themselves, build self-esteem, foster intercultural understanding and develop aptitudes that are essential in academic and professional pursuits. The second floor of the Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre is devoted to developing talent in music, visual arts and film, building a sense of place and understanding the history of the local neighbourhood. Learning studios operated by ArtHeart Community Art Centre, Regent Park Film Festival, and the Regent Park School of Music, will ensure that residents in Regent Park and surrounding neighbourhoods have opportunities to expand and nurture their creative potential.
Third Floor: “Innovation”
Together, Regent Park and Toronto are home to thousands of small non-profit, social mission and creative organizations working to make our world a better place. As many as 60 such organizations will find a home in the third floor workspace operated by Toronto’s highly-acclaimed Centre for Social Innovation (CSI). By providing a platform for emerging and established social and arts entrepreneurs who are working to solve challenges in their communities and around the world, CSI Regent Park will be a catalyst for positive social change, discovery, growth, collaboration and transformation within Regent Park and beyond.
Large Performance/Event Space
The first floor of the Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre will feature a 6,000 sq. ft. flexible Performance/Event Space to host performances, community celebrations, festivals, lectures and conferences. The performance/event space is designed to be partitioned into three distinct smaller spaces. It will accommodate up to 400 seats and will be a fully-equipped (sound, lighting, seating and staging), free-span space with an approximate 20-foot floor to ceiling height. The Performance/Event Space will also include an A/V booth, storage spaces and will be supported by a warming kitchen, green room and dressing rooms.
Outdoor Performance Court
The first floor of the Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre will include a 4,000 sq. ft. outdoor community gathering, performance and event space accessible from the interior Performance/Event Space and the newly created Street P to the east.
Artscape Lounge and Main Lobby
The first floor will also include over 4300 sq. ft. of publicly accessible space, comprising the Main Lobby and Artscape Lounge (with café and performance capability), and an outdoor patio. The double-height glass enclosed Artscape Lounge will serve as a community hub and gathering space, and will host such activities as community meetings, art exhibitions, small performances, workshops, private events and receptions. Along with the Main Lobby, this will be where the public begins its interaction with the tenants and the activities happening within the building. The Main Lobby and Artscape Lounge may also function as a spill-over space for larger events during intermissions, conferences and festivals.
Diamond and Schmitt Architects is based in Toronto with a practice that is worldwide. The firm has achieved an international reputation for design excellence with unremitting attention to user needs and innovative and sustainable design solutions. Buildings for the arts, universities, health care, civic and commercial and residential builders are among the projects completed by the practice. Significant cultural facilities include the Shakespeare Theatre, Washington, DC; the Garter Lane Cultural Centre, Ireland; the new Mariinsky Opera House, St. Petersburg,Russia; Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Music Education Centre. The Agnes Etherington Art Centre at Queen’s University, the Kinnear Centre for Innovation at the Banff Centre and community centres such as the LEED Platinum Evergreen at the Brickworks are included in the firm’s significant portfolio. www.dsai.ca/
