ARTS AT THE ALBION – CREATING NEW LIFE FOR AN HISTORIC BUILDING
Article by Heather Glumac/ Photography by Andy Zeltkalns
“Meet me in five minutes” said the voice on the other end of the call. It was April of 2013 and Penny Varney had just gotten off the phone with a perspective buyer of the historic Albion hotel in Gravenhurst, Guy Gagnon.
Varney, a Gravenhurst-based jeweller had heard through the grapevine that the Albion was up for sale and promptly phoned the real estate office to ask if she could speak with the potential buyer of the Albion Hotel. She had an idea for the new owner.
After 15 years of having her own business, called Penny Varney Jewellery, Gallery and Gifts, on Gravenhurst’s main street, Varney had decided she wanted to get out of retail and focus on her jewelry. She also knew that moving her business to her home would mean traffic in her private space: something she only likes to do once a year for the Muskoka Autumn Studio Tour. Perhaps an artists’ co-op in the Albion Hotel would work.
The realtor got in touch with Guy Gagnon, owner of the Independent Grocers in Bracebridge and shortly thereafter they met in the hotel’s former dining room: two large west-facing front rooms, which was an apartment at the time. He didn’t know what he wanted to do with the space, but knew he didn’t want to keep it residential. Other than the tavern in the rear of the building, there were no commercial tenants at the time.
Varney explained to Gagnon an artist’s co-op was a shared gallery space, staffed by the participating artists. Gravenhurst was going through an economic rough patch, so she wanted to bring together artists exclusively from Gravenhurst. She was certain she could find enough so that splitting the rent, phone, supplies, insurance wouldn’t be an enormous amount. There would also be a $150 start-up fee for paint and other supplies to get the place started.
“I was happy when Penny called me. Having someone interested in one of the bigger commercial spaces was very exciting,” says Gagnon. He wanted to fix the Albion up while keeping the visible changes to a minimum. “I thought I could make it look better. I could give it a second life,” Gagnon explains. “Penny was nice and easy to work with and a great vision of what the hotel could be and should be.”
Gagnon’s greatest concern with downtown Gravenhurst was that it might be difficult to find commercial tenants, but with a co-op being a shared responsibility, carrying the cost would be much easier.
“Having Penny come in with her idea and initiative (before the sale) was some security,” he explains. The timing was perfect.
Erected at the main intersection of Gravenhurst in 1879 by George Washington Taylor, the Albion Hotel was originally a frame building which burned to the ground eight short years later. It was rebuilt the next year, 1888, in Gothic Revival style and became a hub of activity with a large dining room, parlors and bar.
In the 1940s and 50s, Toronto salesmen would travel with their goods to Gravenhurst on the Greyhound buses, which arrived at the Albion Hotel’s snack bar. They’d set up kitchen wares, linens and merchandise in the south-west room and then walk down Muskoka Road, letting the retailers know that they were ready to take orders.
The Varneys had a cottage on Sparrow Lake and Penny recalls coming to the Albion as a child in the early 1950s. “My father used to bring me here to pick up relatives who would come up on the bus. And I had lunch here with my dad when I was five. It was funny, with all the heavy linen table cloths and silverware on the tables.”
For ty years later in 1983, the Albion was declared a historic building, and then in the late 1980’s, the exterior was restored and the rooms converted into apartments and business space. Today, Penny Varney’s vision has breathed life back into those historic rooms.
Today, Arts at the Albion has opened up to artists from all over Muskoka: Washago, Bala, Bracebridge. It now hosts the creations of 20 local artists who are as different as they are unique. Each artist signs a one-year contract and works one day a month; sometimes two days in the summer.
The 10-foot ceilings and sunlight which pours through the newly replaced five-and-a-half foot windows create a lofty and bright space, perfect for exhibiting local talent. Armed with their weapons of choice, silver, paint, glass, and even driftwood, to name a few, artists have joined together at the Albion and amassed bodies of work one would expect to see in a gallery on Queen Street in Toronto’s west end.
Their collections flow through the rooms and vibrate with creative energy. Many of the resident artists also teach weekly classes in the adjacent classroom: stained glass, figure drawing, watercolour and basket making, fibre art and ceramics. Some artists will teach one-on-one, but others like to have a group of five or more. There is no concrete class schedule, but the artists are flexible. Penny explains that if you have an interest in learning one of the mediums, the best approach is to get in touch with the artist and they will make the arrangements. This method has worked very well for them.
Over the five years only 10 artists have been lost to attrition, but Hinterglas artist Bonnie Bews explains that it’s good to have a little turn over: it’s nice when locals and tourists can return to see new pieces and fresh displays.
When there is an opening, the co-operative takes applicants online and through the newsletter at Muskoka Arts & Crafts organization, and decides together who they think would be the best fit. Due to the natural limit of wall space, they can only host so many painters, which creates a balance in mediums represented between 3 dimensional artists and painters. If one 3D artist decides to leave, the space can be redesigned to accommodate new displays.
To exhibit their work, many of the Artists at the Albion also attend shows such as the Spring juried show in March at the Sportsplex in Bracebridge, but original member Bews explains that the year-round representation provided by the co-operative is invaluable for both exposure and sales.
“The co-op gallery is very helpful to us artists, especially it being year around. For me, I am predominately open for the summer and shoulder months, but then off-season, it doesn’t make sense to heat your building during the winter months.”
Once in a while she’ll get a client wanting to see her work in the winter, but more often then not she’s either snowed in and would have to deal with the inconvenience of shoveling, or bringing the art into the house. Artists at the Albion affords the artists good representation year-round at an accessible location, which is essential for business – especially here in Muskoka.
This year the Artists at the Albion lost an artist and didn’t have any applicants that fit the space.
“We had painters that wanted to come in but we didn’t have any wall space. So, we thought, why don’t we take in a guest artist?” Varney says. “So now we’ve started a program where we take in a guest artist every month.”
For the month of February of 2018, stained glass artist Brad Haines punched the co-operatives dance card, and entered the scene with a few moves of his own: Haines’ subject matter was completely foreign to Varney and there was a small wave of uncertainty from the group. The brightly coloured glass characters had them asking “what is this?” and “do we think this is appropriate?” But when Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes Secondary School co-op student Rose came in for her slot, she looked at the stained glass and immediately identified the representation of Toadstool from Nintendo’s 1985 Super Mario Brothers as well as other classic video game characters.
To the surprise and joy of Varney, Rose even decided to purchase one of them. “Wouldn’t you know? That’s just really neat,” remarked Varney.
She was ecstatic not only to email the rest of the Albion’s resident artists about the new development, but to be connecting to a younger generation through visual arts. The prospect of a new buyers’ market, especially from a demographic who talk about, photograph and post the details of their lives (and purchases) on social media outlets, is an exciting development from a promotional perspective as well.
To find out what else is new and upcoming for the Arts at the Albion, find them online at artsatthealbion.com. Better yet, head to Gravenhurst and spend a few moments absorbing artistic energy and inspiration in this unique, historic, and now creative space.
“Meet me in five minutes” said the voice on the other end of the call. It was April of 2013 and Penny Varney had just gotten off the phone with a perspective buyer of the historic Albion hotel in Gravenhurst, Guy Gagnon.
Varney, a Gravenhurst-based jeweller had heard through the grapevine that the Albion was up for sale and promptly phoned the real estate office to ask if she could speak with the potential buyer of the Albion Hotel. She had an idea for the new owner.
After 15 years of having her own business, called Penny Varney Jewellery, Gallery and Gifts, on Gravenhurst’s main street, Varney had decided she wanted to get out of retail and focus on her jewelry. She also knew that moving her business to her home would mean traffic in her private space: something she only likes to do once a year for the Muskoka Autumn Studio Tour. Perhaps an artists’ co-op in the Albion Hotel would work.
The realtor got in touch with Guy Gagnon, owner of the Independent Grocers in Bracebridge and shortly thereafter they met in the hotel’s former dining room: two large west-facing front rooms, which was an apartment at the time. He didn’t know what he wanted to do with the space, but knew he didn’t want to keep it residential. Other than the tavern in the rear of the building, there were no commercial tenants at the time.
Varney explained to Gagnon an artist’s co-op was a shared gallery space, staffed by the participating artists. Gravenhurst was going through an economic rough patch, so she wanted to bring together artists exclusively from Gravenhurst. She was certain she could find enough so that splitting the rent, phone, supplies, insurance wouldn’t be an enormous amount. There would also be a $150 start-up fee for paint and other supplies to get the place started.
“I was happy when Penny called me. Having someone interested in one of the bigger commercial spaces was very exciting,” says Gagnon. He wanted to fix the Albion up while keeping the visible changes to a minimum. “I thought I could make it look better. I could give it a second life,” Gagnon explains. “Penny was nice and easy to work with and a great vision of what the hotel could be and should be.”
Gagnon’s greatest concern with downtown Gravenhurst was that it might be difficult to find commercial tenants, but with a co-op being a shared responsibility, carrying the cost would be much easier.
“Having Penny come in with her idea and initiative (before the sale) was some security,” he explains. The timing was perfect.
Erected at the main intersection of Gravenhurst in 1879 by George Washington Taylor, the Albion Hotel was originally a frame building which burned to the ground eight short years later. It was rebuilt the next year, 1888, in Gothic Revival style and became a hub of activity with a large dining room, parlors and bar.
In the 1940s and 50s, Toronto salesmen would travel with their goods to Gravenhurst on the Greyhound buses, which arrived at the Albion Hotel’s snack bar. They’d set up kitchen wares, linens and merchandise in the south-west room and then walk down Muskoka Road, letting the retailers know that they were ready to take orders.
The Varneys had a cottage on Sparrow Lake and Penny recalls coming to the Albion as a child in the early 1950s. “My father used to bring me here to pick up relatives who would come up on the bus. And I had lunch here with my dad when I was five. It was funny, with all the heavy linen table cloths and silverware on the tables.”
For ty years later in 1983, the Albion was declared a historic building, and then in the late 1980’s, the exterior was restored and the rooms converted into apartments and business space. Today, Penny Varney’s vision has breathed life back into those historic rooms.
Today, Arts at the Albion has opened up to artists from all over Muskoka: Washago, Bala, Bracebridge. It now hosts the creations of 20 local artists who are as different as they are unique. Each artist signs a one-year contract and works one day a month; sometimes two days in the summer.
The 10-foot ceilings and sunlight which pours through the newly replaced five-and-a-half foot windows create a lofty and bright space, perfect for exhibiting local talent. Armed with their weapons of choice, silver, paint, glass, and even driftwood, to name a few, artists have joined together at the Albion and amassed bodies of work one would expect to see in a gallery on Queen Street in Toronto’s west end.
Their collections flow through the rooms and vibrate with creative energy. Many of the resident artists also teach weekly classes in the adjacent classroom: stained glass, figure drawing, watercolour and basket making, fibre art and ceramics. Some artists will teach one-on-one, but others like to have a group of five or more. There is no concrete class schedule, but the artists are flexible. Penny explains that if you have an interest in learning one of the mediums, the best approach is to get in touch with the artist and they will make the arrangements. This method has worked very well for them.
Over the five years only 10 artists have been lost to attrition, but Hinterglas artist Bonnie Bews explains that it’s good to have a little turn over: it’s nice when locals and tourists can return to see new pieces and fresh displays.
When there is an opening, the co-operative takes applicants online and through the newsletter at Muskoka Arts & Crafts organization, and decides together who they think would be the best fit. Due to the natural limit of wall space, they can only host so many painters, which creates a balance in mediums represented between 3 dimensional artists and painters. If one 3D artist decides to leave, the space can be redesigned to accommodate new displays.
To exhibit their work, many of the Artists at the Albion also attend shows such as the Spring juried show in March at the Sportsplex in Bracebridge, but original member Bews explains that the year-round representation provided by the co-operative is invaluable for both exposure and sales.
“The co-op gallery is very helpful to us artists, especially it being year around. For me, I am predominately open for the summer and shoulder months, but then off-season, it doesn’t make sense to heat your building during the winter months.”
Once in a while she’ll get a client wanting to see her work in the winter, but more often then not she’s either snowed in and would have to deal with the inconvenience of shoveling, or bringing the art into the house. Artists at the Albion affords the artists good representation year-round at an accessible location, which is essential for business – especially here in Muskoka.
This year the Artists at the Albion lost an artist and didn’t have any applicants that fit the space.
“We had painters that wanted to come in but we didn’t have any wall space. So, we thought, why don’t we take in a guest artist?” Varney says. “So now we’ve started a program where we take in a guest artist every month.”
For the month of February of 2018, stained glass artist Brad Haines punched the co-operatives dance card, and entered the scene with a few moves of his own: Haines’ subject matter was completely foreign to Varney and there was a small wave of uncertainty from the group. The brightly coloured glass characters had them asking “what is this?” and “do we think this is appropriate?” But when Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes Secondary School co-op student Rose came in for her slot, she looked at the stained glass and immediately identified the representation of Toadstool from Nintendo’s 1985 Super Mario Brothers as well as other classic video game characters.
To the surprise and joy of Varney, Rose even decided to purchase one of them. “Wouldn’t you know? That’s just really neat,” remarked Varney.
She was ecstatic not only to email the rest of the Albion’s resident artists about the new development, but to be connecting to a younger generation through visual arts. The prospect of a new buyers’ market, especially from a demographic who talk about, photograph and post the details of their lives (and purchases) on social media outlets, is an exciting development from a promotional perspective as well.
To find out what else is new and upcoming for the Arts at the Albion, find them online at artsatthealbion.com. Better yet, head to Gravenhurst and spend a few moments absorbing artistic energy and inspiration in this unique, historic, and now creative space.