Arts organization unveils plans for new $12M facility
The National accessArts Centre (NaAC) has come forward with plans for a new multidisciplinary home for artists with disabilities in the heart of Calgary's West Hillhurst community.
The proposed $12 million-dollar facility would be constructed in a parking lot beside the former Scouts Canada building, and feature a multi-purpose presentation venue, a visual arts gallery, community rental space, and outdoor gathering areas.
"We're proposing a design that is artist-focussed and focused on the needs of artists with disabilities," said Jung-Suk Ryu, president of NaAC. "This facility will take into account the physical, sensory and other considerations that impact an artist with a disability," he added.
Currently, NaAC supports over 350 artists living with mental and physical disabilities. Ryu said the proposed new facility would be capable of supporting a far greater number of burgeoning and established artists, while making Calgary a global destination in arts and culture.
"What makes this project so unique is that no other facility of this kind exists in North America, and when we get approval to move forward it means that Calgary will become the national capital of a very important sector of our arts and culture ecosystem," said Ryu.
"Calgary will become the most accessible arts and culture city on this side of the planet."
Parking lot that is site of proposed accessArts performance space in Calgary, Aug. 2, 2021
COLLAPSE OF FAIRVIEW ARENA ROOF SPURS PLANS
Plans for a new NaAC facility started in 2018 following the collapse of the adjoining Fairview Arena in the south of Calgary. In November of 2020, the City of Calgary revealed plans to demolish the structure given the state of disrepair following the roof collapse.
The proposal for the new facility includes 60 per cent funding from federal government programs with the remainder to be generated from a public-facing capital campaign.
Ryu said NaAC hopes to break ground by the end of the year, and open the proposed facility by the end of 2023.
Further information can be found at accessarts.ca.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Canada's favourite sport to watch is hockey, survey shows
The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs have already delivered a fever level of fan excitement in Canada.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.