artsPlace is exploring the feasibility of a larger community arts and culture facility in the heart of Downtown Canmore. A space built with purpose that reflects the creativity and character of our mountain town; one that honours Canmore’s past while embracing its future.
To understand what our community needs and wants in a new facility, we need to hear directly from the people who live, work, create, and gather here. That’s where codesign comes in.
Codesign is a creative process that brings together lived experience and expertise, cultural knowledge and technical experience to learn from each other and design something new together.
Rather than asking for feedback on decisions that have already been made, we’re inviting people to be active participants in the design process from the very start.
1. A small circle will work closely with artsPlace over the next 6 to 8 months. Members will meet regularly, dig into the big questions, and keep community needs, hopes, concerns, and aspirations at the centre of the work.
This includes:
- Connecting with the community: sharing updates about the project and creating meaningful opportunities for community members to participate in the codesign process.
- Offering constructive challenge: asking thoughtful questions and testing ideas and assumptions by considering their benefits, barriers, risks, and unintended impacts.
- Supporting decision making: collaborating with others to explore possibilities, identify priorities, and develop practical solutions that respond to community needs now and in the future.
2. A broader circle will bring a wider range of Bow Valley voices into the process. With a smaller time commitment, participants will receive updates and have opportunities to contribute to the codesign process at key points. This will help keep the work connected to the broader community as it develops.
3. An expert support team that consists of:
- Facilitators to guide participants through the codesign process;
- Architects and feasibility consultants to guide the development of the project feasibility report, concept design, and cost estimates; and,
- artsPlace leadership and Town of Canmore administration to support all of the above.
