It’s the end of an era for New Westminster’s arts community – but it’s not the end of the art.
100 Braid Street Studios, the art studio, gallery and event venue housed in the historic B.C. Distillery building in Sapperton, is closing its doors with one final open house this weekend.
The studio will be open Saturday, Nov. 7 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for a farewell open studio event and art show, The Last Call. COVID-19 protocols will be in place, and masks will be mandatory.
Susan Greig, studio founder and owner, noted in an email newsletter that the building has been slated for redevelopment since 2016 and the time has come for that development to move forward.
“This will be the last opportunity to see this amazing space,” she said.
The 100 Braid premises opened in June 2014 on the main floor of the former distillery building. In 2018, Greig took over more space on the second floor for an expansion that opened in 2019, making it the largest art studio in the Lower Mainland outside of Vancouver.
Over the years, 100 Braid Street has housed individual studios for working artists, as well as event space that’s been used for a host of functions – including private parties and weddings, paint-and-sip nights, open mic nights, concerts and more.
Over the years, Greig noted in her letter, more than 100 resident artists, musicians, performers, writers and other creatives have had studios and working space there and have helped to create a large and close-knit artistic community.
“At 100 Braid Street Studios, we have always believed the African proverb: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,” Greig’s letter said. “Thank you for being a part of our together in this amazing space.”
Greig’s efforts to build an artistic community around the studio have not gone unrecognized; she won New Westminster’s Bernie Legge Cultural Award in 2019, and 100 Braid Street Studios took the Corporate Community Spirit Award in the New Westminster Chamber of Commerce Platinum Awards that same year.
Greig intends to continue her work with artists, noting she hopes to announce a new temporary location soon. She’ll also be expanding more of her online offerings.
Anyone interested in keeping an eye on the studio’s future can keep following 100 Braid Street on Instagram, @100braidst or Facebook, @100braidst and @100braidstgallery.
