White House Studio Project

I draw here on Mondays now with the closing of TSA. For me its a nice classic drawing or painting studio just steps from the street. Coffees real good next door and available till 7 when the open studio starts. Everyone is great so far.

A solid art-​school style venue for catching bands or performance artists in the heart of Kensington Market, White House Studio Project aims low and hits its mark. Reminiscent of Double Double Land a little further south on Augusta, this space takes advantage of the fact that visual artists rely on daylight to work. If you can’t paint because it’s night, then haul in some keyboards, a couple MacBooks and PA and see what happens. Enter through the door on the left side of venerable Mexican eatery El Trompo, after taking a peek at the second floor above you to see if any action is visible. The dark, but wide-​enough stairway leads you upstairs where there is a stage at the back of the room, and one couch directly opposite the stage to your right. You are surrounded by a low wall which separates the art-​studio space where easels and painting supplies lie dormant but the space retains the feeling of openness because the street-​facing windows are still visible. On one side of the room there is an open doorway with a guy selling German Löwenbräu or Stiegl beer in 500 mL cans for $ 5 as well as water. The bathroom is at stage left and is single use only with a sign warning you to clean your brushes in the wash up room down the hall. This is a fantastic and creative use of space in the Market and attracts plenty of artists, including Sook-​Yin Lee who has played there recently, and it’s a worthy addition to the second-​storey Market venues like funky The Boat on the other side of Augusta further south. Catch some action here before they get busted for some kind of lame municipal violation.