Action Labs and the Core Leadership Circle

Tackle urgent issues, driving sector-wide change

Photo: Jamaal Khaleefa

Arts Ottawa is engaged in strategic conversations with public and private partners in relation to emerging cultural infrastructure development opportunities across the city.

This work focuses on ensuring sector-informed input is considered in broader planning processes by advocating for clear, consistent data collection and evaluation measures to be embedded throughout.

The goal is to build a practical evidence base that helps the sector better understand the logistics and feasibility of opening and sustaining arts-led spaces, including what is realistically achievable for smaller organizations and what conditions support long-term sustainability in independently run arts spaces.

This stream of work supports a longer-term horizon goal of positioning the arts sector to be ready to engage with, respond to, and help shape major civic cultural infrastructure as these opportunities emerge across the city.

Research, Advocacy & Planning

The State of the Arts Map is an evolving research tool designed to strengthen Ottawa’s arts ecosystem by making its assets, resources, and opportunities more visible and connected. The map will identify and document creative infrastructure across the city, like studio spaces, learning environments, and community hubs, while capturing key information about their features, uses, and the resources that flow through them.

By providing a clearer picture of what already exists and where gaps remain, the project helps break down silos, foster collaboration, and improve access to spaces and resources. The result is a more connected, informed, and resilient arts community, better equipped to support growth, advocacy, and long-term sector development.

A collaboration with Memetic Media and Carleton Immersive Media Studio (CIMS) Lab.

State of the Arts Map

Learning Cohort

Launching in fall 2026, this Learning Cohort supports people who are working toward creating physical arts and culture spaces. Through mentorship, resources, and peer learning, participants will receive practical support as they take the next steps toward bringing their vision to life.

In exchange, participants will contribute to a shared learning process by documenting key aspects of their journey, helping capture what it actually takes to create and sustain an arts and culture space. Through guided reporting, the cohort will track challenges, costs, timelines, relationships, and decision-making processes involved in developing a space. This information will create valuable knowledge for the sector, helping identify barriers, gaps, and opportunities while strengthening support for future arts and culture space projects.

The 300 Sparks Street Pop-Up is made possible through the generous support of Crown Property Management Inc, who recognize the placemaking and engaging power of artists. This summer activation, led by Cre8, provides artists with a platform to showcase their work as well as bringing more creative life to our downtown.

This pop-up will also serve as a live feasibility study. By observing how the space is used, including foot traffic, visitor engagement, and operational realities, the project will help build a clearer understanding of what it takes to activate and sustain arts and culture spaces in downtown settings. This dual purpose allows the initiative to both animate the street in the present and generate valuable insight to inform future placemaking and space activations.

Sparks Street Storefront

A storefront activation on Bank Street will transform vacant commercial space into a public-facing arts venue. Aligned with the ACE District vision the project will increase the visibility of arts and culture while bringing new energy to the street.

The initiative benefits landlords by activating vacant spaces, creates opportunities for future tenants, and helps revitalize the downtown core by bringing community engagement and restoring energy, creativity, and foot traffic to one of the city’s main streets.

Vacant Storefront activation

Arts Ottawa’s Learning Labs are a key part of our commitment to building capacity across the local arts sector. Through professional development opportunities, knowledge sharing, and collaborative learning, the program supports artists and arts organizations in strengthening skills, expanding networks, and responding to evolving community needs.

By investing in continuous learning, the Learning Labs help build a more resilient, connected, and sustainable arts ecosystem, enhancing the capacity of individual artists, organizations, and Arts Ottawa alike.

Learing Labs

Happening now in Shared Ground:

ACTION LABS IN PROGRESS:

→ Shared Ground Initiative (click to learn more )

→ Social Impact Evaluation in the Arts (click to learn more)

Arts Ottawa is listening closely to the local arts community. We are working to understand how we can collectively address the opportunities, challenges and priorities the sector is facing, that shape the sector’s role in city building.

Arts Ottawa held three Collaborative Strategy Sessions to pilot a Core Leadership Circle (CLC) in late fall 2025. Community advisory members, partners, and sector leaders—those actively engaged in addressing challenges around spaces, local economic development, and impact measurement—shared experiences, tested ideas, and explored ways to coordinate collective action. By convening this CLC, we began building stronger connections across the sector to ensure Arts Ottawa’s work is informed by and reflects the realities of, Ottawa’s arts community. During our Collaborative Strategy Session on November 27, 2025, Ava Marguerite, one of our CAMs, joined to observe the session and share their experience and key takeaways as an Arts Correspondent.

You can read the full article here.

From these conversations, we and the CLC identified three Strategic Priority Pillars. Arts Ottawa is reframing these as interconnected components of Ottawa’s civic infrastructure.

Physical Infrastructure: Artists need clearer pathways to engage with physical spaces, along with practical guidance on civic systems (planning development, zoning), and capital projects.
Knowledge Infrastructure: Capturing and communicating sector impact is critical. Currently, data and storytelling are fragmented, and participants emphasized the need for simple, shared tools to make this work more effective.
Economic Infrastructure: The sector is exploring ways to strengthen local economic development by supporting fair work, local ownership, equity, and long-term sustainability. Effective coordination and shared messaging are key to making this possible.

Together, these layers create the infrastructure of cultural life — physical, economic, and social systems that sustain creativity and civic connection.

Through this work, Arts Ottawa’s role in the sector has become clear: we serve as a backbone, convener, knowledge hub, and capacity builder, centering equity and representation. Looking ahead to 2026–2027, we will focus strategically on these core roles, engaging in project leadership selectively to maximize collective impact, support sustainable and coordinate sector growth.

More about the Core Leadership Circle

The Core Leadership Circle acts as a catalyst for activation, formed around each of our Action Labs. These purpose-driven groups bring together individuals, organizations, and advisors from both within and beyond the arts to support, shape, and champion the work being done. Each CLC is dedicated to exploring a key issue in the arts, offering insight, strategy, and connections, and is dissolved once that phase of the work evolves. Through its leadership, the CLC will help guide outcomes from Action Labs such as Shared Ground (which explores the potential of underused spaces as cultural hubs) and the Arts Ottawa Awards (which celebrate and elevate the contributions of local artists and cultural leaders).

More about Action Labs

Action Labs are central to how we address key issues in the arts community. Each Lab focuses on a specific topic identified as important to artists and the community by our CAM. They may take the form of research groups, planning teams, advocacy hubs, or spaces for idea-sharing and collaboration. Each Lab is supported by a Core Leadership Circle, a group that helps guide the work and ensure its impact is shared with those who can drive broader change. Labs are formed in response to clear needs and conclude once their objectives are achieved, such as completing a project or sharing insights with the community.

A Dual Approach to Change

Project-Based Labs: These labs are designed to achieve specific goals, such as organizing a campaign or launching a new initiative. They have defined timelines and objectives and disband once the project is completed, or the goals are successfully met.
Issue-Based Labs: These labs focus on ongoing challenges or policy-related issues. While they often operate on longer timelines, their purpose and impact are regularly reviewed to ensure they remain relevant and effective.