Public Input: Welcome to the Oasis

Commercial Drive is well-known for its vibe, its art, and its funk. The colour and controversy stroll side-by-side with all the social clashing assaulting the senses while they might be laughing and enjoying a conversation. Diversity and multiculturalism are the key cornerstone that sets The Drive apart.

With a strong Arts Community concentrated in and around The Drive, there are many opportunities missed to connect in meaningful, and potentially in meaningful creative ways. Arts is often seen as a solitary venture, and yet the artist that collaborates, or those who work in groups discover a deeper growth and development in their character and their work. Community, friends, and family are the very things that hold us up through the tough slog.

So a young woman arrives with a question about an idea worth considering: How can I create a residence / studio-mixed (non-threatening to safety) / gallery where live-in, neighbourhood, and travelling artists can congregate, share, collaborate, create, and grow? This sent the mind reeling over the City of Vancouver's Creative City Culture Plan 2008-2018 and wondering that there might well be approaches that could be followed to create such a space, and to gear it up to be fully-sustainable, self-supporting.

A draft brief overview titled Welcome to the Oasis outlines the basic premise to create such a work / live residence for artists. It needs further editing and honing. This is the perfect time to ask for your input.