Living Arts Centre

Living Arts Centre Mississauga
General information
Type Arts complex
Architectural style Modern
Location Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Address 4141 Living Arts Drive, Mississauga, Ontario
Town or city Mississauga
Country Canada
Coordinates Coordinates: 43°35′23″N 79°38′46″W / 43.589604°N 79.64617°W / 43.589604; -79.64617
Completed 1997
Inaugurated 1997
Owner City of Mississauga
Design and construction
Architecture firm Zeidler Partnership Architects, Toronto
Main contractor PCL Constructors Canada Incorporated, Toronto
Other information
Seating type RBC Theatre
Hammerson Hall
Rogers Theatre
Seating capacity 350
1315
110
Website
Official Site

The Living Arts Centre is a 225,000 square foot (21,000 m²) multi-use facility which opened in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada in 1997. The Centre is visited by over 300,000 visitors annually, who come to view performing and visual arts programs, attend corporate meetings/conventions, or participate in a variety of community events. The Living Arts Centre houses performance theatres (Hammerson Hall and The RBC Theatre), an exhibition gallery, seven professional art studios and corporate meeting facilities.

The term living arts centre is often used as a synonym for gallery, especially for those venues which also hold multi-media presentations or teaching courses.

The Centre has seven art and craft studios. Presently there is a glass studio, a furniture or wood studio, a textiles studio, a ceramics studio, a drawing studio, a metal studio and a photography studio. When the Centre first opened there was also a digital arts studio.

The Centre opened in October 1997, and is divided into two buildings that appear as one, the art and craft building and the performing arts building. The architect for the project was the Zeidler Partnership.[1]

There are three theatres the biggest a 1,350-seat concert theatre called Hammerson Hall; a 382-seat recital theatre called the RBC Theatre; and a small 110 seat space named the Rogers Theatre.[2][3]

The Living Arts Centre offers one of two studios that offer subsidized space to artists working in the studio materials in Ontario, the other being the Harbourfront Craft Centre in Toronto.

Architecture and Design

The Living Arts Centre was designed by a famous Canadian architect named Eberhard Zeidler of Zeidler Roderts Partnership. He is also known for designing the Eaton Centre, Queen's Quay Terminal, the National Trade Centre, Toronto Centre for the Arts, Premiere Dance Theatre at Harbourfront Centre, and the Young People's Theatre. Zeidler led a team of 40 architects and engineers to complete the Living Arts Centre project.

The design of the building has a modern feeling, with extensive use of glass, steel, and exposed concrete. The designers utilized strong, bright colours for the building materials in order to engage people who visited the centre. They wanted to create a public place that would make people who are visiting it have positive emotional responses, and feel good being there. During the opening of the Living Arts Centre, with its contemporary design, the centre was said to give Mississauga its first true identity, by providing the community with a new sense of itself.

As well as having three theaters, and seven arts and crafts studios. The centre also includes a donor wall. The Living Arts Centre was built with the help of hundreds of generous corporations, community organizations, individuals, plus support from the City of Mississauga and the federal government. All of the contributors are listed on the donor wall located in the centre. In order to recognize the donations, there was a competition launched to create a tribute to the host of benefactors. The winner of the competition was Stuard Reid who created a dramatic floor-to-ceiling stained glass work installation titled, "Dance of Venus." The three-storey high art piece creates an fascinating centerpiece in the main atrium of the centre. [4]

Performances

The Living Arts centre is where the community can gather to watch worldwide famous performances, while also being a platform for local and rising artists and entertainers. The Living Arts centre serves as the performance outlet for dozens of Mississauga arts organizations and community cultural groups, including the Mississauga Choral Society, Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, Mississauga international Children's Festival and more. This includes performances of local, national, and international artists and entertainers. Also, it serves as a home to business and conference events, intriguing art exhibitions and community classes in a variety of arts and crafts. The two largest theatres – Hammerson Hall, and The RBC Theatre – are used for a wide variety of arts, cultural, and entertainment events. The arts and crafts studios feature many professional artists and consists of constantly changing art exhibitions inside the Laidlaw Hall. Through these many diverse performances and showcases, the staff and board of directors wish to enrich the quality of art and culture within the community. [5]

Notes

  1. ↑ Zeidler Partnership Architects 9 March 2007 <http://www.zgpa.net>
  2. ↑ PCL Constructors Canada Inc. 9 March 2007 <http://canada.pcl.com/projects/Archived/0900253/index.aspx>
  3. ↑ Zeidler Partnership Architects 9 March 2007 <http://www.zgpa.net>
  4. ↑ History and Mission<http://www.livingartscentre.ca/who-we-are/history-and-mission.html>
  5. ↑ History and Mission <http://www.livingartscentre.ca/who-we-are/history-and-mission.html>
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