Sébastien Belzile is digging deep into collaboration and building a strong community through art with Espace Corbeaux at 477 MacDonald Street.

“It’s been a 20-year project,” says Sébastien. “My wife and I have been working outside of the province in Montreal and Nova Scotia for many years, and we came back to Bathurst four years ago.”

Espace Corbeaux is all about artists coming together and sharing ideas and concepts through a co-op. Without searching for grants and other funding, the co-op allows the space to have more creative freedom without having to follow any guidelines.

“The project incorporates continuous training for artists,” says Sébastien, which includes yoga, martial arts, reiki, and exploration through poetry, music, and writing. “The focus isn’t the show itself, but the process that brings you to the show.”

Sébastien is looking for the audience to be participants in the shows rather than simply consumers.

However, there is a business aspect to the space. The shop carries local products from different artisans who can rent space and sell their products. Sébastien says that he does not take a cut of the products sold; he simply charges a rental fee to use a shelf in the shop.

He already has different items around the shop including CDs, items from the Grooveshop, and more. 

If you have a project in mind or some form of art that you’d like to share, you can also visit the shop and discuss ideas. It’s all about collaboration and the best way to bring forth your artwork. Right now they’re open on Sundays. 

Leading up to the spring, Espace Corbeaux will also feature writing circles. The writing circles will be another way for multiple artists to collaborate and share ideas. In the spring, there will be a bigger show based on the writing circles.

They’ll even have poetry nights called Soirées Rez-de-chaussée which will have a different them each time. 

Eventually, Sébastien would even like to start a cabaret theatre throughout the summer.

This is the place for local artists to shine and do things that might be a little out of their comfort zone but will ultimately be rewarding.

Bathurst is filled with great artists, and having spaces for them to not only get together but also collaborate will only strengthen the art community.

You can follow Espace Corbeaux on Facebook here and reach out to Sébastien if you have some art you’d like to share in his shop or if you’d like to organize an event. He’d love to talk and exchange ideas.

We want to thank Sébastien for being this week’s guest on The Northern Heat Report. Bathurst is becoming a great hub for artists, and we can’t wait to see all the amazing things that will happen at Espace Corbeaux.