EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts
| Not-for-profit organization, registered Canadian charity | |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Headquarters | Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
|
Key people
|
Johann Zietsman (President & CEO) |
| Website | artscommons |
Arts Commons (Formerly EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts) is a multi-venue arts centre in downtown Calgary, Alberta, Canada, located in the Olympic Plaza Cultural District.
Occupying a full city block, Arts Commons is a six level complex measuring over 400,000 square feet (37,000 m2) . It is one of the three largest arts centres in Canada. In addition to a variety of performance spaces, Arts Commons also houses rehearsal halls, theatre workshops, offices, meeting rooms, a café, and art works from community groups and galleries displayed throughout.
The oldest part of the city block that houses the Arts Commons is the Burns Building, named after noted Calgarian Pat Burns. Construction began in April 1912 and was completed at a cost of $350,000. In the late 1970s, the demolition of the Burns Building became a possibility, because it was on land needed for the construction of the Calgary Centre for the Performing Arts. Demolition proposals were defeated by the Calgary City Council by one vote, and, along with the Calgary Public Building (built in 1930/31 at a cost of almost $2 million), the building was incorporated into the plan for the Arts Centre. In 1979, the Public Building was bought by the City of Calgary for $3.8 million and its upper floors are still occupied by City of Calgary offices.
The newly created Centre was officially opened on 14 September 1985 by the then Premier of Alberta Peter Lougheed. After a donation by EPCOR, an Edmonton, Alberta-based utilities company, the name was changed to the EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts on 1 May 2001.
On 17 December 2014, at the Annual General Meeting, it was publicly announced that the performing arts centre would be rebranded as Arts Commons, the name which represents “the Arts” and which expands the organization's offerings beyond the performing arts to a wider variety of arts and genres, given the organization's expansion beyond what is presented just on stage. "Commons" is derived from the old town square concept where ideas are shared, people from all walks of life gather, and different perspectives are welcomed.
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