Mapping Artists and Cultural Workers in Canada’s Large Cities
Reveals highly artistic neighbourhoods in Canada’s largest cities
This study, prepared for the City of Vancouver, the City of Calgary, the City of Toronto, the City of Ottawa and the Ville de Montréal, shows that, collectively, the 53,500 artists in these five large cities represent 38% of all artists in Canada, a proportion that is much higher than the five cities’ share of the overall Canadian labour force (21%).
The report provides an analysis of artists residing in various postal regions – “neighbourhoods” – in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver in 2006. The report provides lists of the ten neighbourhoods with the highest concentration of artists in each city. Nearly 22,000 artists live in the 50 neighbourhoods in the five cities’ top ten lists. This represents 41% of the artists in the five cities and 16% of all artists in Canada.
Each of the five cities has areas with above-average concentrations of artists. However, among all Canadian neighbourhoods, certain Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver neighbourhoods have the highest concentration of artists.
1. Montreal’s H2T neighbourhood has 7.8% of the local labour force in the arts. H2T extends northward from avenue du Mont-Royal to avenue Van Horne (and the railway tracks) between St-Denis and Jeanne-Mance. This is the “most artistic neighbourhood” in Canada, with an artistic concentration that is nearly ten times the Canadian average (0.8%).
2. Montreal’s H2W neighbourhood, directly south of H2T, has an artistic concentration of 7.5%.
T3. Toronto’s M6R neighbourhood (Parkdale west to Parkside Drive) has 6.0% of its labour force in arts occupations.
T3. Montreal’s H2Y neighbourhood (the Old Montreal and Old Port areas) also has an artistic concentration of 6.0%.
5. Toronto’s M6J neighbourhood (West Queen West, centered on Trinity-Bellwoods Park) has 5.5% of its labour force in arts occupations.
T6. Toronto’s M6G neighbourhood (north of M6J, extending from College Avenue to St. Clair between Bathurst and Ossington) has 5.3% of the local labour force in arts occupations.
T6. Montreal’s H2J neighbourhood, which extends east of H2T (from St-Denis to Papineau between the railway tracks and Rachel) has an artistic concentration of 5.3%.
T8. Montreal’s H2V neighbourhood (Outremont) has 5.2% of its labour force in the nine arts occupations.
T8. Toronto’s M5R neighbourhood (the Annex and Yorkville areas) has 835 artists out of 15,910 total workers, for an artistic concentration of 5.2%.
10. Vancouver’s V5L neighbourhood (centered on Commercial Drive and extending from Burrard Inlet to East 1st Avenue between Clark Drive and Nanaimo Street) has 5.1% of the local labour force in arts occupations.
Other Resources
http://hillstrategies.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Mapping_artists_summary.pdf