Vancouver's Little Mountain Gallery in jeopardy as apartment building application goes to council
Credit to Author: Harrison Mooney| Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2020 01:33:16 +0000
The coterie of comedians and artists that frequent Vancouver’s Little Mountain Gallery are speaking out against a redevelopment plan that would spell the end of the offbeat, Main Street comedy club.
In a Facebook post Thursday, Brent Constantine acknowledged that a development application for the building at the corner of 26th and Main, which heads to Vancouver council Friday, “means the future of Little Mountain Gallery and the programming you love is in jeopardy.”
Constantine encouraged supporters of the popular performance space to contact the city as soon as possible “to let them know (respectfully!) what this venue means to you and why it’s important to preserve arts spaces in this city.”
A volunteer-run collective of more than 10 years. LMG learned of the plan just a few weeks ago when a development application went up above the venue. The proposal, from Matthew Cheng Architect Inc., is for a four-storey, rental apartment building at 4185 Main Street, with space for two retail units on the main floor.
“Since the space has been operating long before I came along, it’s been on a month-to month lease,” said Constantine. “It’s always been a tenuous situation but it’s been that way for over a decade. So like a lot of places in this city, a lot of art spaces, it’s always been at risk. It’s just slightly more at risk than it was before.”
Vancouver has lost several comedy venues to closure in recent years and LMG is one of only two dedicated comedy clubs remaining.
The development application above Main Street’s Little Mountain Gallery.
“It’s just us and Yuk Yuks, and what we’re doing, I don’t think a lot of (what we do) would be too successful at Yuk Yuks,” Constantine said. “I think a lot of people would be angry if they paid for a show there and saw one of our weird sketch teams chug milk onstage while they wear an alien mask.”
Constantine is referring to Hell Night With GORBMAN and Aaron, an event in which local comedian Aaron Read is forced to put on a standup show in order to entertain his alien roommate. Such eclectic offerings, described facetiously by Constantine as “high-concept, some might say low-reward,” are the lifeblood of Little Mountain Gallery.
The gallery hosts traditional fare as well. Rising standup star Andrea Jin, a finalist in SiriusXM’s Top Comic Competition, will record her first comedy special at the venue at the end of this month. And LMG’s Tuesday night improv is typically packed.
In a letter to council, Meghan Phillips of the Looking For Friends Comedy Show urged the City to reject the development proposal, calling Little Mountain Gallery “one of the most inspirational and life-changing places I have ever had the pleasure of walking into.”
“Vancouver’s art scene is so woefully small, so often ignored, so developers can make money and change the fabric of the people who can afford to live there,” she said. “Places like Little Mountain Gallery are one of the few bastions in this city that can function without any corporate interference and give everyone an opportunity to find something they love, and an affordable place.” Drink prices at Little Mountain range from $4 to $6 and admission typically costs $10 or less.
Constantine explained that the LMG collective isn’t necessarily hoping to stop the redevelopment, which would put them at odds with a landlord who’s been very supportive.
“The landlord has let us stay in this space for over a decade and basically do whatever we want,” Constantine explained. “We’re not going to fight (the owner) — he’s been really good to us.
“If we fought this development successfully, he would be probably mad at us, and then we’re in the building but with someone who hates us,” he said with a laugh.
“It is really up to us to figure out a solution here,” Constantine said.
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