The long and arduous makeover of the former BiWay store in downtown Orillia is almost complete.
After falling into decay and disrepair while remaining vacant for more than two decades, the old building has found new life and will reopen in October as Creative Nomad Studios.
Anitta Hamming, who signed a 15-year lease for the building in 2019, has spearheaded the lengthy reclamation project, spending most of her time over the past year as the head contractor, developing her vision for the 23 Mississaga St. W. location.
The 4,800-square-foot space will feature a podcasting studio, office space, dedicated studio spaces, clean-up station, meeting rooms, lounge, event space including a kitchen, teaching space, photography studio, and even a hair and makeup studio. It will also be the new home for the Orillia District Arts Council (ODAC).
“It’s a space for anybody. It’s an entrepreneur, innovation and collaboration space and it meets the needs of so many genres,” Hamming said
“When I moved to Orillia in 2015, as an artist I started thinking where is my own studio space going to be and I wondered what do other people do. That’s when I realized there is no space.”
That’s when Hamming began working on market research and developing a business plan to birth Creative Normad Studios.
The grand opening was originally set for last November, but due to the discovery of old fire damage in the building and the COVID-19 pandemic, the project got delayed by nearly a year.
The pandemic also created a new challenge for Hamming: how to keep community members safe when they visit the studio.
“We have a thermal camera at the front when people enter," she said, noting the device checks a person's temperatue. "We will utilize our large space to spread everybody out, and we have local artists who are transforming 70-year-old boathouse windows into creative works of art that will act as table dividers.
“It’s already a community effort and I love that. I look forward to being here and building on it.”
While the contractors put final touches on the building over the next few weeks, Hamming will be releasing membership information on the studio's website (creativenomadstudios.ca) beginning on Oct. 1.
Memberships start as low as $25 a month. Membership includes access to the space one day a month; members will be able to check in a visitor, book additional meeting rooms and spaces, buy into the coworkers' health insurance plan, as well as have access to complimentary tea and coffee.
There will also be drop-in rates for full and half-day plans, four-day plans, eight-day plans, or an unlimited plan.
Creative Nomad Studios' inaugural public event will occur Oct. 24 when it hosts an Ontario Culture Days 2020 event, The Day in the Life, organized by ODAC.
Complete details, schedule of events, and other information will be online at orilliarartscouncil.ca or creativenomadstudios.ca after Oct. 1, 2020. For information contact Christine Hager, 705-309-3351.
