By Olivia Hope, with edits by GAC
10 Carden, located in the heart of downtown Guelph, is a non-profit organization, filled with multitudes of opportunity. 10 Carden is a community and co-working space. By offering shared resources for entrepreneurs, non-profits and small businesses working for social change, brings innovative people together who may otherwise have been working in isolation. In addition to co-working, a wide variety of events, meetings, cultural and educational opportunities are held in this one-of-a-kind space. From yoga classes to five-dollar French language seminars, from environmental watchdog meetings to film screenings, hang around this location for any length of time and you are sure to meet some really kind and interesting people.
10 Carden also offers rental exhibition space to artists in two-month slots, resulting in a rotating schedule of art and craft shows year-round. Users of the building have responded very positively, commenting that it continually brings new life and surprises to the space.
10 Carden has developed a unique space for emerging and developing artists of all ages and backgrounds. They require no previous degree, training or qualifications in order to submit. It can be difficult for developing creatives, no matter their age, to find affordable opportunities to show work. Juried exhibitions are naturally competitive and the professional art world can be highly intellectual, subject to changes in taste and fluctuations in the market, and often all of the above. 10 Carden’s art program gives artists and community creatives an opportunity to share their work publicly, offering open and inclusive rental space for wall-mounted art and craft. They accept a variety of media and content, as well as a range of education and skill level.
The many-purposed nature of this space often results in repeat exposure of artwork on attendees of regular 10 Carden events. For instance, some people attend multi-day conferences or a series of workshops and fall in love with a piece of art they’ve seen hanging. They have the opportunity to find out more or to purchase the work through the artist. 10 Carden does not take a commission on sales, nor do they sell works on an artist’s behalf, although they are always happy to connect artists with a potential buyer.
Right now, the art team is accepting submissions for the first half of 2015, with six exhibitions to rotate from January through June. Three of six slots are still available and the call for the latter half of 2015 will go out in the new year. Shows are two months long, starting with the first month in the friendly Community Room and rotating up to the beautiful Heritage Room for the second month. To apply for exhibition space, artists must send between two and six images of the work they would like to display, along with a short biography of themselves or group and the idea or theme of their show. 10 Carden is very open with their selections of artwork and are always happy to find work from around Guelph and Wellington County that promote social activism, engagement or cultural heritage. While they welcome artists to showcase their true passions, the work should have a fairly wide interest or themes of social justice, and must be appropriate for all-ages public viewing. 10 Carden’s art team welcomes all artists to submit images and information to [email protected].
For more information on 10 Carden and its initiatives, upcoming events and the people who make it such an amazing place, please check out their website at www.10carden.ca. For more information on the art program, or if you are interested in exhibiting at 10 Carden or purchasing a work you’ve seen there, please contact [email protected]
