Fiorella | Brown Road Artist Studio Program

The Brown Road Artist Studio Program offers work-only studios to professional visual artists who can demonstrate financial need.

Located in the Richmond City Centre Capstan Village area, there are two (2) units available in the program:

  • 375 or 415sq ft street-oriented, universally accessible, storefront-type art studio unit with 9-foot ceilings.
  • Includes workspace, 2-piece washroom, slop sink and counter, picture hanging system and floor-to-ceiling windows on one or more sides.
  • Includes outdoor space designated exclusively for the shared use of the occupants of the studio for public access, art display, informal/formal gatherings and related activities.
  • Includes parking stall, loading, and waste management facilities for the shared use of the studio unit tenants, together with required pedestrian and vehicular access/circulation, including:
    • one (1) van-size parking/ loading space;
    • one (1) bicycle room (for four (4) bicycles) equipped with an outlet for EV Charging;
    • one (1) room for garbage, recycling and organic waste carts; and;
    • shared use of the residential building’s:
       Visitor Parking;
       Class 2 (outdoor) bicycle storage spaces;
       Medium-sized truck loading area; and
       Garbage/recycling/organic waste holding/pick-up facilities.
  • Includes changeable exterior signage identifying the tenant(s)
  • Starting monthly rent (2022): $0.75 per square foot, adjusted annually by increase in the CPI inflation index. An annual lease with an open-ended term
    • includes: hot water, gas, and building amenities
    • does not include: concierge service, phone, cable, internet, and hydro


Maximum of two tenants per studio, both of whom must meet the Eligibility Criteria.

Professional visual artists (only) are eligible to apply.


A “professional visual artist” is defined (as per the Canada Council for the Arts) as someone who:

  • has specialized training in, and makes their primary living from, their art (training does not necessarily need to be in academic institutions);
  • is recognized as such by their peers (artists working in same artistic tradition);
  • is committed to devoting more time to artistic activity, if financially feasible;
  • has a history of public presentation, with at least three (3) public presentations of work in a professional context for a three-year period;
  • has produced an independent body of work; and
  • has maintained an independent professional practice for at least three (3) years

Professional artists must demonstrate financial need. Applicants must not exceed the following Housing Income Limits (HILs) financial criteria:

Gross Annual Income (GAI) of $55,500 or less


Definitions:

Gross Annual Income (GAI) means the total income or payments in your household from all sources received at any time during the previous calendar year regardless of whether taxable including wages, salary, self-employment net income, rents, fees, interest, dividends, pension payments, annuity payments, awards and payments in compensation for lost income, capital gains, bequests and lottery winning from gambling and wagering.

Housing Income Limits (HILs) is the maximum annual gross income below which the provincial government considers a household (including single person households) to be eligible for housing subsidy to occupy a particular type of unit. BC Housing produces annual Housing Income Limit tables for each community. HILs tables set maximum income levels for different sized units in different areas of the province.


Permitted Uses (on a 24/7 basis):

  • production of visual arts only (except as specifically indicated below);
  • indoor display and wholesale/retail sale of visual arts produced on the premises;
  • temporary outdoor display of visual arts produced on the premises within the outdoor space designated exclusively for the shared use of the studio tenants; and
  • related uses and activities (such as art openings and events, shipping/receiving, indoor storage).


Prohibited uses (on a 24/7 basis):

  • residential activities;
  • production of arts other than visual arts, except where undertaken in support of on-site visual arts production (eg. audio related to video production);
  • welding, glassblowing, use of pottery kilns and any activities involving noxious/toxic fumes/vapors;
  • loud noises that may be disturbing to nearby residents; and
  • outdoor storage of materials, equipment and artworks.