Studio Space Ottawa (SSO) provides stable, affordable, open, healthy and safe working spaces for practising visual artists. SSO is a place for artists at all stages of their career pathways. This includes the established artist, the-mid career artist, and the emerging artist. SSO fosters an environment where artists can conduct their practice independently while maintaining a high level of artistic professionalism, personal development, and peer relationships.
SSO upholds equal access for artists of all genders, orientations, races, ages, religions, belief systems, and ethnicities. While supporting equal access for people of all abilities, our facilities are not fully accessible at this time.
General Studio Information
Studio Space Ottawa operates as an Arts-Service Organization that rents studio spaces to practicing and professional visual artists. We currently have 40 studios over two floors. The first floor is primarily for ceramics, printmaking, and sculptural practices. The second floor is primarily for painting, drawing, mixed media, analogue and digital photography, textile, and installation practices.
Rates
Our studios range in size from 127 sq ft to 773 sq ft, and are priced from $167 to $1020 per month. Rent includes: heat/ac, hydro, janitorial, toxic waste disposal, access to portable filtration units, WiFi, HST, insurance, 24/7 access, and parking. Artists also have use of the kitchenette, washrooms, wash station, and common area storage. We offer renewable year-long leases.
Eligibility Criteria and Assessment Values
Studio Space Ottawa uses the Canada Council for the Arts definition of a professional artist, which can be accessed here.
Who is eligible to apply for a studio at SSO? Established, mid-career or emerging professional visual artists (or teams):
- whose work is derived from an independent and personal art practice. Hobby and commercial enterprises, for-profit entities, and full-time students will not be considered for studios at this time.
- who are actively pursuing their art practice (minimum of two years). Recent graduates from post-secondary Visual Arts programs/schools, and those who are self-taught, are eligible. Note: Artists who are currently enrolled in a Fine Arts Masters or PHD program, and who are not provided a studio at their institution, are eligible.
- who are working in either painting, drawing, collage, printmaking, textiles, installation, sculpture, ceramics, craft, mixed media, photography, performance art, and/or new media.
- who are committed to using the studio space on a regular basis for the creation of artworks and the development of their art practice.
- who will offer a spirit of cooperation and respect when engaging with members of the organization and all artists from SSO.
- who will participate in our Annual General Meeting (in person or by proxy).
When selecting artists, the Studio Selection Committee will take into consideration:
- Artistic skill and/or technical competence
- Level of creativity and originality exhibited in the work
- Progress, commitment, and/or development in practice
- Involvement in the local artistic community
- History of public presentation of artwork
Additional Considerations
To ensure the diversity of artistic practice within our organization, SSO can prioritize the offering of studios to artists on our pre-approved waiting list according to the representativeness of their practice within our organization.
Application and Rental Process
Please complete and submit the Application Form. You must upload three images of your work. Submissions are reviewed against our criteria and successful applicants are then placed on our pre-approved waiting list.
When a studio is available, it is first offered internally to our current tenants. When that process is complete, the available space is then offered to our pre-approved waiting list. Viewings commence and are facilitated by SSO Board members. Candidates are instructed to follow-up with SSO to indicate if they want to be considered for the studio, or not. Candidates may also express their intent during the viewing. The SSO Board reviews the applications and selects the artist.
All decisions are final and SSO does not provide feedback or updates beyond our initial response. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.