An Exchange for the better?

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/12/2011 (5329 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ragpickers Anti-fashion Emporium — the popular Exchange District vintage clothing and costume store — recently announced it will be vacating its McDermot Avenue location at the end of January and trying to find a new home. The reason? A substantial rise in its rent.

While the Exchange District continues to develop with condo conversions, new restaurants and expanding college campuses, for artists who already call it home, this effort to bring more life to the downtown might be the force that drives them out.

“I’ve been in my studio in the Silpit Building (at 70 Arthur St.) for 15 years. My rent is over three times what it was when I moved in,” said Tom Lovatt. “I don’t know many artists whose income has tripled in that time frame.”

The increase in rent means Lovett, too, will be looking for a new home for his studio.

“As an artist, it means my time here is coming to an end because I can’t afford the rent increases of the last few years. Is that somebody’s fault or just the way things are?

“It may mean that the space I occupy will go to a business with a better cash flow than mine, and that may be a good thing for the landlords and the Exchange, but it will certainly change the character of the area from what it has been,” he said.

Jordan Miller, director of Cre8ery Gallery & Studio, housed in the second floor of the building at 125 Adelaide St., has also been affected by an increase in rent. While the says the increase was only slight per square foot, when you rent an 8,800-square-foot building, “the little bit turns into a whole lot over 12 months.”

“With the economy being low, the art sales across the board have been less and less, making it next to impossible for artists and gallery owners to survive,” said Miller.

“Over the past few years I’ve seen older galleries close and new ones pop up. Each time a new one starts, I wonder how long they will survive.”

Miller says the rejuvenation of downtown and the Exchange District, particularly the influx of new businesses, is making it increasingly challenging for artists to find studio spaces downtown. Though the businesses are bringing more traffic to the area, Miller wonders if people are coming for the art.

“We are losing studio spaces and rent is going higher in part to the number of new businesses who are taking over the Exchange. Building owners see success and their eyes and wallets grow bigger. I guess their thought is we must be making a lot of money and can afford an increase.”

However, for most, that’s not the case.

“A lot of us, we’re not making money and we come to the Exchange because of the old buildings, the affordable rent and the artistic spirit that lives here,” said Miller.

Some artists, like Lovett, believe the artistic spirit is getting lost in the area’s success.

His personal beef with the development of the neighbourhood? It’s been turned into a party zone.

“Bars are great, but when the only thing that animates an area is another drinking establishment, there are bound to be problems,” he said. “Ever notice the number of smashed shop windows in the Exchange? Not the shattered glass, but the plywood covering what used to be a window?”

An employee at Ragpickers, who only gave her name as Yuri, said the store desperately wants to stay in the area. “We’ve been here for so long, and are a staple in the Exchange District. If the rent were to stay the same we would be staying here.”

Yuri said she understands gentrification is inevitable, but “the Exchange District is changing so much, I feel like so many businesses are going under because they can’t afford the rent increase.”

There are some artists, though, who have been able to reap the benefits of the area’s development.

Christian Worthington, whose studio is located at 3-374 Donald St., believes the change might not be such a bad thing.

“I really have no complaints,” he said. “But I’m one of the few artists who’s actually benefitted from the rejuvenation of the Exchange. With all the condos going up, I’ve sold a lot of work to the residents. I know that’s not the common experience, though. It’s been good for me personally, but I know the collective experience is that there’s a bit of stress and anxiety about what’s happening.”

“It (the atmosphere) feels different, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s bad.”

Worthington said he knows people who are working on the development of the neighbourhood as well as members of the arts community who feel threatened by it.

“I’m sort of caught between two worlds,” he said. “It may not be fair to portray the developers and the condo owners as not interested in the arts community. The reason why they move down here is because they find the arts scene exciting — they want it here. For a lot of the people who are buying the condos, that’s why they moved down here.”

“It’s changing. I don’t think it’s bad, but it’s changing. The neighbourhood feels different,” said Worthington.

Dani Finch is a Creative Communications student at Red River College