CDAH - Creating A Hub For Everyone
The world is expanding faster than our brains ever prepared for. Not in a one-and-done way where we might catch up, but with momentum. Social media struggles to keep us connected, fundamentally scattering us further, drowning us in a cacophony of dispute and marketing. Society is a collection of communities, and healthy communities require hubs, meeting places where knowledge is traded, skills are passed on. Places where you can get support and guidance from those who have been where you are, who understand.
These spaces were already rare, but lately the numbers are fewer and fewer. Everyone I've spoken to in the Montreal Arts Scene has reiterated that the sense of a homegrown, interconnected arts community stalled after the pandemic. Despite the way we all cried on Zoom calls about how much we missed being in person, celebrating, sharing, when we finally had the chance to reestablish our networks and spaces, many simply didn’t show up.
As a result, when we here at Forget The Box (an Artistic Hub in our own right, thank you very much) notices a group doing its damndest to raise the sea levels for us all, we get a bit giddy. Such is the case with the Community Digital Arts Hub (CDAH). Dedicated to artists and local community groups, as well as Arts and Heritage organizations, CDAH provides affordable studio and equipment rentals, along with workshops on how to navigate different paths through the digital landscape. I'd only recently learned about the group, and when I chatted with Community Development Manager Vanessa Rigaux, she assured me that I was right on time.
It started a year ago, almost to the day. We launched officially on November 10, 2022. And we had been building the studio and getting everything together before that launch -- I guess from about the spring of 2022 -- from scratch, everything. The studio was designed and built to suit our needs. We have two recording studios, and a common area space, and we've been hosting events as well as renting out the studio.
Gospel Recording at CDAH, Photo by Safiya Ricketts
As with everything at CDAH, their events are designed for artists to share their knowledge and experience with other artists. From workshops on street photography and podcasting, to a self-tape audition masterclass, these events provide the kind of specific learning that artists are so often longing for. They continue a chain of apprenticeship and direct teaching that society was built on, and the digital age would have us forget.
There's very little support for media arts and recording. [It was] exasperated by the pandemic, for sure, but even prior to that… There are a lot of studios in French but there's nothing in English ..So this very much came directly out of the needs of the Anglophone community in Quebec and in Montreal, specifically.
Recognizing the gap in resources, the English Language Arts Network (ELAN) conceived of the Hub alongside the Arts, Culture and Heritage Working Group (ACH). Successful funding came from the government of Canada . While the CDAH studios are here in Montreal, their mandate takes them beyond city limits. They are now bringing the same digital tech support, training, and mentorship to English artists and heritage organizations living in the Regions of Quebec as well.
It's so interesting to go out and see what people in the regions outside of Montreal are creating and getting to know the province a little bit more as well.
The extent of the need, and the scope of their goals, has the Hub hoping to become more self-sufficient, faster than expected. This eventual shift would allow them to pursue important projects that might not easily garner fundraising support. Another important key to their mandate is to maintain affordable prices. Whether it's a workshop, an equipment rental, or simply hiring a professional to attend and document your show.
As we spoke, I came to see what a labour of love the project is. It's a one-stop-shop for the digital tools, expertise, and services so necessary in today's artistic landscape. I asked Vanessa if there was anything that really struck her as an “ah, this is why we do it” moment.
Honestly, all the time!...I went to a Y.E.S. [Youth Employment Services] 5 à 7…to tell them a bit about our project. And there was a young woman who had already rented our studio! So after I kind of did a little spiel on what we’re doing, she told me she'd actually rented the studio that last weekend. She was so excited! So it's really helping to advance people's careers. And we're recording some good podcasts right now too. Imago Theatre has been doing all of their recordings at our studio. Pamela Hensley has a really polished podcast that just came out called How I Wrote This. She's put together a group of Montreal authors from Nigel Thomas, to one of my favorite authors, Heather O'Neill. It was really exciting to have those folks in the studio, and then helping them tell their stories has been really, really fulfilling…Our technician Tyler Rauman has been doing a lot of one-on-one trainings, and has that kind of patience and special kind of conversational way, and people are really learning a lot from that method of learning. We're all just we're keeping our heads down and just churning out projects, and community building. It's called the Community Digital Arts Hub, and we do want it to be a hub for everyone. A go-to place to get all kinds of information, to come and feel welcome…We just did a Producers Panel…we had an amazing panel that included two distributors from the NFB, two producers from CBC, and a seasoned filmmaker and producer that was working for the Quebec English Production Council who shared their knowledge Hopefully people who were able to attend will come back and rent our studio, or rent equipment, maybe become members and whatnot…We're very much in the position to help support, and we just want to keep on seeing fabulous projects happening.
While a variety of artists already use technology in their work or understand the importance of digital prowess, it's obvious that sooner or later, these are skills that artists from all sectors will want to learn, to excel at.
Marketing and promotions are really a part of our digital landscape right now, and it's so important. It's falling into the artists’ hands as well. One of our producers on the panel for filmmakers actually said 70% of the work is creating a film, and by then you forget that there's still another 30% that is so important to put into distribution. And it's almost done, right? You pushed out this project, and you obviously want to see it out in the world -- but I think that can be applied to a lot of different disciplines as well. We need to take it upon ourselves as Artists to make sure that the work gets seen. And that takes strategy, that takes planning, and sometimes it takes training and asking the questions…like, how do you creatively think in advance of the ways that you're going to use to put out your piece and make sure it's seen?...Not everybody has that kind of knack. And people do things differently, so it's good to get together and talk about standardized things, and offer some tips.
Podcast recording for How I Wrote This by Pamela Hensley (Interviewing Baharan Baniahadi)
If this is your first time hearing about CDAH, I echo Vanessa's sentiment that you're right on time. Keep an eye on their upcoming events, and check out the various services they have to offer. They're genuinely here to help support you in your artistic endeavours, and that's a story I can always get behind.
