Dave Hayden is the owner of Parentheses Gallery and Art Projects, which is designed as an affordable space for artists to show their work. “I’ve never thought about it as an investment,” Hayden says.

Co-operation key for Gottingen arts community

When surgeon Dave Hayden decided to open an art gallery, he knew he wanted it to be on Gottingen Street.

“I think it is just unique in Halifax and all around, because it has such a diverse population base. We just wanted to be here and support the area as well,” Hayden says.

He got his opportunity in December 2011, when he set up in Plan B, a merchants’ co-operative at 2180 Gottingen St. Buoyed by the response, Hayden and his partner, Kevin Lewis, decided to rent their own place nearby a year later.

Parentheses Gallery and Art Projects launched in April, focusing on urban art. The private gallery is designed to be an affordable space to exhibit work by north end artists, as well as work by non-locals.  “I’ve never thought about it as an investment,” Hayden says.

Hayden says many art and cultural spaces in the area seem to share a co-operative philosophy. He points out that Propeller Brewing Company rents its second floor as a studio. “They are feeding each other. I thought, I want to be part of that,” he says.

Arts hot spot

Gottingen has long been a hot spot for the arts.

There’s the Eyelevel Gallery, which has been at various locations in the north end and downtown since 1974. The gallery gets funding from all three levels of government, and is run by artists. It moved to Gottingen in 2004.

“We moved to the north end primarily because many of our members have historically lived and/or had studios in the area,” says Eyelevel director Katie Belcher.

The Mi’cmaw Native Friendship Centre has been used as an art space since 1973. Alteregos Cafe & Catering and MP Megan Leslie’s office have hosted artists in the last few years.

“Everywhere eventually becomes a gallery, because there are so many artists here,” says Clare Waqué, managing director of The Bus Stop Theatre. The lobby of the theatre has served as an art gallery since 2010.

Plan B emerged on Gottingen two years ago, on Halloween day, subletting spaces for artists. The area in the back is used as an art gallery and space for events, such as shows and book launches, for $35 per evening. Owner Bob Chiasson says the shop hosts at least seven to eight bands a month.

“It’s been used by members of our community to host their own events,” Chiasson says. “Because it is so cheap, we’ve become to some groups of musicians almost indispensable.” The space has also been used by bands from Vancouver, Florida and Washington state.

David Fleming, executive director of the North End Business Association, says the north end arts scene is very grassroots. In downtown Halifax, he says, professional arts organizations are bigger, some own property, and “generally speaking feature boards with influential people on them.”

More people, more entertainment

View Gottingen Street: hot spot for art and music in a larger map

Plan B’s Chiasson grew up on Gottingen. He remembers when people were scared to come to the street and there was only one show every couple of weeks. Now, he says, people want “to be part of  it” and there are five different shows in an evening.

Mary Ann Daye opened The Company House, a bar and arts venue, five years ago. She says Gottingen Street is becoming even more of an arts and cultural hub. In fact, many arts organizations have moved to the area in the last few months, including the JazzEast and Music Nova Scotia.

“There is definitely a growing trend of people looking for entertainment in their neighbourhood. I live in the area and rarely head downtown for anything anymore,” Daye says.

Gottingen also attracts people from other neighbourhoods, she says, because some shows are only happening there. “That’s when we get calls about parking.”

Victor Syperek noticed the changes on Gottingen, too. He reopened The Marquee Ballroom, which had closed in 2008, and plans to launch a restaurant and brewery. “I believe that the time is now for this end of the street. There is no reason why it shouldn’t be as busy as the rest of Halifax,” Syperek says.

He’s even considering knocking the current building down and putting up an apartment building, with room for stores and entertainment on the ground floor.

Chiasson is positive about the changes on Gottingen. “The new buildings will bring a new vertical neighbourhood. It densifies the population here and it is good for all the businesses locally. That means that there will be more need for services and businesses. It’s awesome,” he says.

Future looks artsy

The presence of Parentheses on Gottingen is a signal that the art market might grow, says Robin Metcalfe, director/curator of Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery. “You can create a micro ecology if you get two or three similar institutions in the same area. It (Parentheses) was in Plan B, now it is close to Plan B. So, it might be a zone where people might go to shop for different things, like arts or curiosities,” Metcalfe says.

But success means higher rent, and prices are not as low as they used to be. Michelle Strum, owner of Alteregos and chairperson of the North End Business Association, says the challenge is to find affordable places to maintain the “community vibe.”

Strum would like to see small commercial spaces in the new developments rented to art startups, or even subsidized somehow. “We really want to keep the culture of a partnership and people being able to do that,” she says.

Hayden is a bit concerned about the increase of rental prices on Gottingen, but he is hopeful that the changes will happen slowly so people can still find a way to “balance” themselves out and continue to support each other.

“I would love to see this part of the city become like … Queen Street West in Toronto, or the Chelsea District in New York,” he says.

In August, Parentheses was listed as one of the top 11 emerging commercial galleries in Canada by Blouin ArtInfo, an influential magazine on contemporary art. Since then, Hayden says, there has been growing interest in his gallery from both artists and other galleries.

Credits: Story, photos, video and map by Karla Mendes

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