0:05 So I've been working on my main staple piece for my art show. It's called Enigma. It's really like it's one of my pride and joy pieces. 0:16 This is Dana Alkerton. She's an abstract artist and a talented painter. By the sounds of it, you can hear the passion in her voice for her work and the joy she experiences from it. Dana says if it wasn't for art, she doesn't know where she'd be. 0:33 I was feeling really down. I was feeling out of sorts, like I had no direction I hadn't, I felt like I had no purpose. And I was looking for a purpose, something to make me you know, happy and refill that joy that I wanted so desperately in my life. And I was looking for an outlet to help control those emotions that I was feeling on a daily basis. So I went to Michael's, I picked up a canvas and some cheap paints. And I went home and then I just I started painting, and I found that I really loved it. And it actually, it helps my my anxiety and depression put it at bay. 1:13 Dana started painting four years ago in her bedroom, but this small space limited her from taking on larger projects and growing as an artist. 1:22 I didn't have a lot of ventilation in my room, very small space. I could only work on maybe like a four foot by four foot canvas and I'd pin it to my wall. And then I'd have to let it dry and like I couldn't sleep in my room because of the smells. It was just it was awful. So I would I wouldn't paint for like weeks on end. I was kind of like getting depleted, getting back into that anxiety, depression state. 1:48 Sean McCormack says he can relate to Dana, and that this is a common narrative for artists. 1:54 I had recently graduated from university, I had access to all this great equipment and tools and peer support. And then you graduate and you're you know, you're left with nothing, you're back at home trying to continue doing the same work that you were doing when you had access to all this stuff. Thankfully, my dad's a contractor. So we had a number of tools and things already available to me, but you're working in a in the confines of your garage or your basement. So I was having to drag tools out onto the driveway to try and cut things and I had to stack things on top of other things to you know, make space. And then I was running into I was you know, upsetting my neighbors when I would run a saw in the middle of the night. Or I would make a whole bunch of dust or use you know, smelly spray paints and that kind of thing and frustrating my family as I trucked, all that stuff through the house. It would just, you know, kill my motivation. I just wouldn't work on a project. 2:38 It was those challenges that inspired Shawn to come up with a solution. While working as a bartender after he graduated, he shared with his customers that he was looking for a large space for artists to create in. After about two years of searching, customers of his who are land lawyers said they found an empty 6000 square foot space located in Hamilton's East End, which was formerly used to restore boats. 3:04 When I walked in. I knew that this was like the right spot like it just it you know, massive 20 something foot ceilings, big windows. The separate office space that you know, while it had been empty for a number of years and needed a lot of work. I was confident that we could do that work and clean it up and get it to what I had imagined when I thought about doing this space. 3:30 Art Aggregate is now the first co working and custom fabrication space located in Hamilton. Members are made up of artists and designers ranging from photographers woodworkers, painters, sculptors, to digital illustrators who create 3D models for video games. As we enter into the space, we're in their kitchen and lounge area. This is predominantly used for eating lunch or having business meetings with clients. Now walking down the narrow hallway with artists work displayed on the walls. There is a photo studio and a number of private studios. Next there is a classroom for public workshops and classes. That's the washout room for creators who are dealing with messy or paint brushes, or want to clean themselves after getting dusty or greasy. Finally, there is a retail space for artists to display and sell their work to the public. As we go downstairs, we enter into the workshop space with 20 foot ceilings and you can hear the equipment like chop saws, laser cutters, sanders and more. 4:39 I'm working on a two charcuterie board I would take my piece of wood and then to put a handle on the inside of it or like a hanging hook. What we use is a drill press so that we can get a nice clean hole all the way through the wood. 5:03 And then what that allows me to do is now sand this smooth, and then we can use it for hanging on a wall or a peg. 5:13 Hey, Rich, that looks really great. Except maybe I would use more dark blue than light blue next time. 5:21 All right, thank you appreciate that 5:23 Members of Art Aggregate, like the space for a number of reasons for pop art and contemporary artist Richard maggiorin. It's the encouragement from his peers. 5:33 The support system that's here at art aggregate is very, it's very complex in the sense of that everyone brings a different perspective. So it's one of those places where you want to get as much input from different views as possible. So it's very, it's very engaging to have people who are doing completely different works than you to see your work and then kind of give you a perspective that you might not have otherwise thought of. 5:57 And for Dana, she says working in Art Aggregate has helped her to grow as an artist. 6:03 It's helped me grow so much. I can't even the stuff that I've been creating lately over the last month I, I wouldn't I wouldn't have dreamed in my bedroom. It's just a great place to be. I don't know where I'd be if I didn't find Art Aggregate either.