Shared Ground

Focused on developing, managing, or revitalizing creative spaces, this cohort explores social-purpose real estate principles, cultural space management, and community readiness. 

Supported by: Arts Build Ontario, Carleton University’s CIMS Lab, and Ottawa-based arts and culture leaders. 

Goals & Outcomes: 

• Understand diverse cultural space management models 

• Learn sectoral trends in cultural space development and land adaptation 

• Gain confidence in civic engagement, land-use planning, and downtown revitalization projects 

• Contribute to open-source data and geo-spatial mapping projects 

• Collaborate with Cohort 1 on impact evaluation frameworks for cultural spaces 

Downtown Ottawa is on the brink of transformation—and artists, creatives, and cultural leaders have a vital role to play.  

In response to the call for a downtown that is vibrant, resilient, and inclusive, Arts Ottawa is convening artists, community and business leaders, and creative thinkers to imagine what’s possible when arts and culture are embedded into the fabric of our city.  

This initiative is part of a broader vision to explore - and take action on - sector readiness for cultural space developments, and reframing underused spaces. This action starts at Place de Ville, a unique former cinema connected to the Lyon LRT station.   

Key Outcomes

• Spark conversations on leadership for cultural land use and space creation 

• Sector-readiness insights, identify what supports or services are needed in the short term 

• Engagement of diverse voices in community leadership 

• Test results of replicable arts-forward activation model 

• A draft activation model for 300 Sparks

The Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG), engaged by the City of Ottawa, is leading the development of a downtown Arts, Culture, and Entertainment (ACE) District. This year, OAG will create a framework, brand, and implementation strategy for the District.

Outlined as a key initiative in A Living Capital: Downtown Ottawa Action Agenda (May 2024), the ACE District aims to revitalize the core by fostering placemaking, cultural initiatives, and strengthening Ottawa’s creative economy.

Shared Ground will help guide and inform this work.

Shared Ground in the media: 

• Newly formed Arts Ottawa wants artists to be involved in office conversion discussions, Ottawa Business Journal 

On June 25th, Arts Ottawa will host the first event under our new initiative, Shared Ground—a day of learning and collaborative design, where we’ll begin shaping a collective vision for arts sector readiness.

Our learning day will be hosted at “Place de ville” —a unique pace connected to the Lyon LRT station.

Together, we’ll map, prototype, and model sustainable, arts-forward space activations through community visioning and participatory design. Learnings will inform an upcoming charette focused on transforming vacant urban spaces into cultural assets. This day also launches the Community Leadership Circle, calling-in leadership to contribute to  Shared Ground as it identifies strategies and pathways to bridge the gap between artists and revitalization projects.  

We will explore how we can future-proof arts spaces as places for community gathering, creativity, and collaboration—grounded in cultural co-design, community expertise, and the power of imagination in city-building.

Kwende Kefentse Memetic Media (he/him)  Kwende Kefentse is a creator, researcher, administrator and cultural innovator based in Ottawa. His 20+ year career bridges the worlds of creative practice, the research and development of cultural industries, and civic leadership / city building. Most recently he was the first Executive Director of CKCU-FM, reimagining the station's operations post-pandemic, focusing on technological modernization and community reconnection. In his former position as Cultural Industries Development Officer for the City of Ottawa he led the development of Ottawa's Renewed Action Plan for Arts, Heritage, and Culture (2013-2018) and the Ottawa Music Strategy (2018-2020), among other critical city-wide cultural initiatives. He serves on the Boards of the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition, Ottawa Film Office, and Carleton University Art Gallery. As DJ Memetic of the TIMEKODE collective his productions have received critical acclaim from international outlets like Vice Thump, Radio Nova, and Wax Poetics. He has been requested as an opening performer for luminaries like Nas and Barack Obama. Kwende has earned a Masters of Research (MRes) from UCL's Bartlett School of Architecture focussed on modelling the spatial dynamics of cultural production in the music industry. In 2025 Kwende is establishing his consultancy Memetic Media, and launching the TIMEKODE CoLABoratory, a dynamic, interdisciplinary project that commemorates 20 years of local nightclub heritage, while charting its future through innovation, collaboration, and community engagement. 

Alex Glass ArtsBuild Executive Director (she/her) 

Alex has been with ArtsBuild for over eight years and successfully grown ABO’s programs and partnerships. Alex managed the development of the Accessibility Toolkit for Creative Spaces in Ontario and corresponding six-part webinar series, the Creative Spaces Case Study Series, and the expansion of SpaceFinder across Canada in 11 communities. 

Bringing 14 years of experience in the non-profit sector, Alex has previously worked with organizations such as the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Talisker Players Chamber Music and Canterbury Hills Camp & Conference Centre. She has an honors degree in English and Cultural Studies from McMaster University and graduate certificate in Public Relations from Mohawk College. 

Eva Hellreich ArtsBuild Program Manager (any pronouns) 

They are passionate about providing under-served communities access to resources, knowledge and networks that enable and sustain self-empowerment through creative leadership and community building. They bring over 7 years of arts and funding administrative experience spanning non-profit, community arts, festivals and government funders, as well as experience as a youth and adult educator. In addition to ample experience with program development and service delivery, they served a 3 year term as a working Board member of Mayworks Festival of Working People and are currently serving a 3 year term on the Toronto Arts Council’s Creative Communities Committee. 

Eva has a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Master of Arts in Immigration and Settlement from Toronto Metropolitan University, where they conducted primary research for their Major Research Paper on the experiences of newcomer artists and art as a tool for civic engagement. 

Eva is enthusiastic about sharing their passion for project management, collaboration and creative problem solving with community engaged artists and organizations through skill and resource exchanges, collaboration, and peer mentorship. Eva believes in art for art’s sake and challenges the influence of capitalism on determining the value of a creative practice or production. Their personal practice includes photography, textile art, and creative writing. 

ArtsBuild Ontario (ABO) is a provincial arts service organization that provides small and medium-sized organizations with tools, training, and advice to successfully manage physical and digital creative spaces. ABO works to reimagine the future of creative spaces through dedicated research projects and an engaged network of supportive partners.