Local artist to decorate city bus with digital art

With the launch of Peterborough Artspace’s new media lab, the organization hopes to attract both professional and amateur artists to the facility’s range of computers, editing software and media equipment.

“We want to give people an opportunity to work with equipment they otherwise might not have access to,” said media arts co-ordinator Vincent Chevalier.

The lab offers Artspace members access to video and photography rentals, two Mac computer labs, video and photo editing and workshops. While the facility has been open to the public since late 2012, Chevalier said Sunday’s launch was a special thank-you to their donors.

Artspace received a $65,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, enough to purchase new equipment and continue developments on the lab.

“This was our big opening,” Chevalier said. “It was a say to say, ‘look, we’re here, we’re ready.’”

While the lab is open to both professional and developing artists, users must have a $35 Artspace membership. Computers, equipped with Adobe editing software, are available for $7.50 per hour, while rental prices for other equipment (including cameras, tripods, lighting and sound recording) vary from $5 daily to $75.

Workshops on everything from how to make your own 3D digital images to Photoshop techniques run throughout the year. Chevalier said the organization is also planning a new public art project funded by the city, in which a local artist will decorate a city bus with their digitized artwork.

“We want to support both emerging and developed artists,” Chevalier said. “We’re in a pretty digital era, and artists have to stay in touch with contemporary mediums.”

Sunday’s launch featured the work of Peterborough filmmaker Lester Alfonso and music from The Burgess Shale.