By Meghan Power
Typically, Inside Out produces two or three original productions a season, along with another two or three shows where they bring in national and international artists to showcase the breadth and depth of the Disability Arts scene. “Over the last number of years we have really embraced our place in our Indie theatre community, largely by hosting productions at our (now former) venue in Eau Claire Market. When the market announced it was permanently closing we knew we had a huge task ahead of us.”
Funding from Calgary Arts Development (CADA) was a big support in helping Inside Out to find a new venue and continue their day-to-day operations. But, also, it was so much more than that. “During the pandemic and its many uncertainties we were very much in a day-to-day, reactive mode. Having the CADA grant afforded us the time and space to sit in our thoughts, to connect with our community, to dream big and talk about what’s really important to us; not just what physical needs we have, but how to infuse a new arts space with our very human-centered values.
“We had a lot of needs and wants in mind for the space we were looking for. Some things were quite straightforward, like physical accessibility. The trickier box to check was finding somewhere that ‘felt like us.’ After a lot of hunting we found our new venue down in the Beltline — still centrally located but in a neighbourhood that feels fun and alive.” The entire Inside Out team appreciates that in their new neighbourhood, they have neighbours. “In Eau Claire we were surrounded by mostly empty storefronts, now we’re shoulder to shoulder with music clubs, breweries and restaurants, and people out and about in their city!”
Inside Out also took the time to gather feedback before scouting new locations. They spent time listening to their community and learning what they wanted (and didn’t want) in the new space. Very consistently they heard that folks were keen to get out of downtown and that downtown was a generally un-inspiring place to create art together.
In the end it came down to two very different spaces: one that was really big and open and had all square corners. “We could’ve easily moved in and built a theatre and been on our way,” says Col. “But, when I walked into the second location, I had an immediate feeling of having found our home. Mostly because it isn’t a conventional space; it’s a bit weird. There’s funky corners and little cubby holes and gigantic windows and all kinds of things that get us excited. In the end we figured that if we went with a square theatre we’d be encouraging square plays, but if we built a weird theatre we’d encourage weirder art, so that’s what we went with.”