ArtsHub Ortona to Open Its Doors in Autumn 2024
Edmonton, AB – ArtsHub Ortona, a purpose-built arts facility in the Rossdale neighborhood, is set to open its doors to the public in the Autumn of 2024. Under the management of Arts Habitat Edmonton, the facility intends to serve as an affordable non-market creative hub for professional artists and arts organizations to develop their work and foster a collaborative network that welcomes the greater community to visit, explore, and participate within its doors.
Working alongside the City of Edmonton on the Ortona Armoury Building Rehabilitation project, Arts Habitat Edmonton is excited to bring back this remarkable arts facility to the Rossdale neighborhood and the greater artist community. Throughout the rehabilitation, Arts Habitat Edmonton advised on the space requirements to ensure the facility would feature a range of amenity spaces such as exhibition space, individual and collaborative residency studios, performance rooms, and event space.
Arts Habitat Edmonton is excited to lead Ortona’s vibrant arts community into the future. “Our organization is dedicated to advocating for purpose-built spaces that are appropriate and accessible to artists and the arts community,” says Ken Chapman, Chair of the Arts Habitat Edmonton Board of Directors, “We have been entrusted with the City’s vision to create a lively local ArtsHub that will expand the opportunity for arts in Edmonton, and we are honored to steward this important project.”
The Ortona Armoury was built in 1914 as a stable stop for the Hudson’s Bay Company (Canada’s Historic Places, n.d.). As community needs changed, the building’s purpose evolved for new activities (Canada’s Historic Places, n.d.). It was reinvented for businesses, the Navy, and the military, and renamed the Ortona Armoury in 1965 in commemoration (Canada’s Historic Places, n.d.).
In the twenty-first century, the building’s character attracted the like minds of artists (Integrated Infrastructure Services, 2023). To preserve its charm, “In 2004, the building was designated as a Municipal Historic Resource which legally protects it from demolition or alterations to the structure” (Integrated Infrastructure Services, 2023). As the building aged, the City determined the asset required interior rehabilitation, to allow the space to continue to be a safe sustainable hub serving the arts for generations to come (Integrated Infrastructure Services, 2023).
“We are excited to unveil ArtsHub Ortona to Edmontonians and provide spaces where the greater community can come together and celebrate creativity,” said Raj Nigam, General Manager of ArtsHub Ortona. “The Arts Habitat Edmonton team awaits completion of the building’s construction; we cannot wait to welcome everyone.”
ArtsHub Ortona is a true gem in the Rossdale neighborhood, and the Arts Habitat Edmonton team is looking forward to opening its doors in Autumn 2024.
Subscribe to the Arts Habitat Edmonton newsletter to stay informed about project updates. If you have questions or inquiries, contact info@artshab.com.
About Arts Habitat Edmonton: Mandated by the City Council in 1996, Arts Habitat Edmonton exists to advocate for, build, and manage appropriate and accessible spaces for the arts in Edmonton. As a non-profit social-purpose enterprise, Arts Habitat Edmonton invests in cultural infrastructure that creates direct and indirect benefits for any community, including improved quality of life, increased economic activity, and enhanced competitiveness in attracting people and investment. Arts Habitat Edmonton currently owns and operates ArtsHub 118 and ArtsHub McLuhan. For more information on Arts Habitat Edmonton, visit https://www.artshab.com/.
Reference List
Canada’s Historic Places. (n.d.). Hudson’s Bay Company Stables / Ortona Armoury. Retrieved December 18, 2023, from https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=2978
Integrated Infrastructure Services. (2023, December 18). Ortona Armoury Building Rehabilitation. The City of Edmonton. Retrieved December 18, 2023, from https://www.edmonton.ca/projects_plans/parks_recreation/ortona-armoury-building-rehabilitation-project