RALLY Ossington Creative Factory.

Founder + Creative Director

A contemporary destination for Ossington, RALLY was blueprinted as an economic incubator for the creative community, as well as a welcoming space for accessible art and culture. The strategic mix of enticing commercial use, events and art exhibition allowed the hub to reinvest in itself, its programming, and exist as a cultural centre and community intersection place without public subsidy.

This creative placemaking initiative and pilot project was designed specifically for the Queen West cultural context and to serve the community by positively reinforcing the known artistic identity of the area and neighbourhood. The mixed use formula, its economic model, and creative direction was spearheaded in partnership with real estate developer, Hullmark Developments.

From 2015-2017 RALLY Ossington created multi-faceted benefit: entrepreneurial success in the creative sector, development of an authentic culture destination, place for community galvanization, launch-pad to local independent business, and stage for the innovative ideas forming Toronto’s cultural landscape.

RALLY quickly became a neighbourhood icon and welcomed thousands of culture seekers from October 2015 to January 2017. Its community impact was of particular significance in this moment culturally as the area, once known for its vibrant culture and cool had just experienced a rapid gentrification. Queen West had just suffered the loss and closure of 24 of 27 galleries, art exhibition spaces and collaborative work spaces over 24 months from Spadina through to Beaconsfield.