Moving Project

Summary

articule has the opportunity to join together with other artist-run centres to purchase the building on 4001 rue Berri in the Montréal neighbourhood of Plateau, which is currently home to OBORO, GIV, & Ada X. With the assistance of multiple grants, the building is planned to be renovated over a 5-year period to meet wheelchair accessibility standards and create unique spaces which correspond to the needs of several partnering centres. The expected move-in is for 2029.

Timeline

In late September 2023, articule was approached by OBORO, GIV, & Ada X and invited into the 4001 Berri project. The group was looking for multiple partners interested in setting roots in the new space and sharing resources between centers. The other organizations invited to become co-owners were MainFilm, SBC Galerie, and Centre Turbine. Since then, articule has been part of weekly meetings between all of the potential partners to discuss the feasibility of the project, determine the financial details and stability of the proposal, and determine how the organizations intend to work together and share resources.

The Rainbow Committee was re-activated in early November 2023 to explore the question of whether or not articule’s membership would like to move to this new location and become co-owners of the building with partnering organizations.

The Rainbow Committee organized the following activities and events in order to gather the opinions of the membership:

  1. An online survey (open from December 2023 - February 2024)

  2. A hybrid Town Hall meeting on February 24th, 2024 at 5PM

  3. An online Conclusion Meeting on March 19th, 2024 at 6:30PM

In order to respect articule’s horizontal structure and our Base of Unity, the Rainbow Committee set out to consult as many members of articule’s community as possible. We hope to offer transparency and informed consent throughout this ambitious consultation on the future of articule.

Survey

In December 2023, the Rainbow Committee published a survey about the moving project in articule’s newsletter. We collected 34 responses during the three months the survey was available on our website and social media. The survey was closed in February 2024, and the results were compiled into an Info Package. You can read a copy of the survey which was sent out below.

Town Hall Meeting - February 24th, 2024

The results of the survey and a detailed overview of the proposal were presented during the Town Hall meeting. The event was held both online and in-person in order to be more accessible. During the Town Hall, the membership discussed in detail all of the opinions and comments about the project which were raised by the survey results. The agenda of the TownHall, results of the survey, and details of the proposal can all be found in the Info Package below.

Continued Participation & Reflections

The Rainbow Committee is continually assessing whether all of the steps taken to consult the membership were successful. If you have any thoughts about this, or would like to express your opinion on the moving project in general, please feel free to contact administration(at)articule.org or give the gallery a call at (514) 842 - 9686. The Rainbow Committee encourages the continued engagement of the membership in this process.

Conclusion Meeting - March 19th, 2024

The next step was to compile all of the notes and opinions expressed during the Town Hall into one Summary document. The Summary document was presented during an online Conclusion Meeting held on March 19th 2024 at 6:30pm. The objectives of this meeting were to review the process of the last few months and reach a final decision that represents the will of the membership. A final resolution to join the 4001 Berri project was created, which outlined all of the conditions stipulated by the membership. This final resolution is to be signed and adopted by articule’s Board of Directors.

The agenda for this meeting, summary of the consultation process, and proposed final resolution can be read here.

Final Outcomes

From all of the consultations, it is evident that the membership is in agreement to join the 4001 Berri project and become co-owners of the building. According to what was expressed at all stages of the consultation process, a final resolution was co-created with the membership with conditions of acceptance.

As soon as the final resolution is ready, it will be added to this webpage.