Do you ever miss those days in high school when you could walk into an art class with an idea and have all the materials and space to create your vision?
Well, Squamish’s newest art club might be the place for you.
Group founder Katie Hay launched Art Gym in November 2024 to help bring people together who wanted to make art but didn’t have the space or the materials to do so.
“I definitely loved art in school, it was my favourite subject, and it was where I spent all my time,” Hay said.
“When I was leaving school, I was in between [deciding whether] I wanted to become an artist or if I should do something that was going to be more reliable. So I ended up going to architecture, and it's been great ... but I really missed that creative expression side and in architecture, it's only a very small part of the job.”
After attending a number of different art classes in Squamish, Hay realized that there wasn’t a place where people could go to simply practice art.
“I used to go to a lot of life drawing classes, art classes, pottery, you name it ...but I was really struggling to find a space that was low cost, that would allow me to practice my art,” she said.
“I was living in rental apartments with flatmates pretty much my whole 20s and didn't feel like it was a very conducive place to make art because you're sharing with people.
“There's one dining table that people all want to eat on; the lighting is bad, and you don't want to make a mess because you're worried about the floors or furniture.”
The idea
Around five years ago, Hay had decided that if there were places in Squamish for people to practice their exercise hobbies, there should be somewhere for artists to practice their medium, too.
“I thought it was weird [that there was no art club in Squamish] because there are sports clubs for people that do sport, and there are choirs for people that sing, and there are gyms for people that work out,” she said.
“So that was the whole idea of Art Gym: to create a space where you could collectivize that cost and keep the fees as low as possible.”
Tickets to an Art Gym evening cost $10 per person and covers the cost of the space, materials, and light snacks.
“I've tried to keep it as low cost as possible because that was a big thing for me. As much as I would love to do a six-week oil painting master class, one, I don't have $400 spare, and two, I actually have a lot of ideas of what I want to create; I just don't have the materials and space to do it,” Hay said.
But the Art Gym is not a place for people to host art classes.
“It's not meant to be competing with those classes. It's meant to be complimentary,” Hay said.
“There's a lot of really amazing art offerings in Squamish, and I've tried lots of them, and they're wonderful, but I get to the end of it, and I'm like, okay, now I want to practice, where can I practice?
“And that's what this space is meant to be.”
What can you do at Art Gym?
The best part of Art Gym is you can do whatever art form your heart desires.
“It's for self-guided work, and it's for practicing, and it's for learning from each other,” Hay said.
“So many people here are all doing such different things, and they all have such different skills. It's really cool to see people going over to each other and getting advice on how to mix colours or how to use an iPad for drawing and stuff like that.”
On any given evening, group members can be seen doing a variety of different art mediums, from a colouring-in book or paint-by-numbers to carpet making and electrical wiring.
“One guy last week brought electrical stuff to do an LED lighting installation in his house,” Hay said.
“There's also some people that are actually wanting to start their own little business, and they're using the space as a place they can gather with their partner.”
As for what materials they have on offer, most of the basics you would find in a standard art studio are supplied, but members are encouraged to bring their own supplies, too.
Currently, there are tools for lino printing, watercolour pencils, pens, general stationery, paints, canvases, as well as step by step books to help generate inspiration.
Some materials have also been supplied by Squamish Arts to help kickstart the club but Hay plans to put together a list of any additional needed items.
“I want to put it out to the group and get people to write what they ideally would want, and if enough people want it, then we'll get it,” she said.
What are the details?
Art Gym currently runs every second Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at The 55 Activity Centre.
Hay plans to host the event throughout winter and is still contemplating if she will extend it into summer.
The next club sessions are slated for Feb. 27, March 13, and March 27 and can be booked on the Showpass website.
For more information on Art Gym visit their Instagram page.
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