ARTOPIA MEDIA BACKGROUNDER

Overview: Founded in 2006 by David Duprey, Artopia now manages over 170,000 sq feet of art and creative spaces in Vancouver hosting over 400 artists and creatives in affordable studios and workspaces.

About Artopia

Artopia brings life to empty spaces, turning underused and transitional industrial and commercial real estate into workspaces for Vancouver’s creative community. Founded in 2006 by artist and entrepreneur David Duprey, it has grown into Vancouver’s biggest builder of cultural infrastructure, managing over 170,000 sq feet of space which hosts over 400 artists and creatives.

For 20 years, Artopia has created trailblazing, unique spaces which foster creativity in order to bring joy to the community and empower Vancouver artists, dreamers, and makers. Artopia is built on the belief that cities work better when creative communities are the driving force in shaping the city’s policy and culture, helping to grow its economy by acting as a catalyst for urban renewal, tourism, and innovation.

By embracing the permanence of the creative drive amid the transience of an ever-changing city, Artopia has given Vancouver’s creative communities a place to express themselves while drawing energy and inspiration from their work.

History: 20 years ago, when David Duprey returned permanently to Vancouver after spending several years travelling, he found that the city had truly become No Fun City in his absence. Inspired by the underground bars and weird art spaces he’d experienced during his visits to Los Angeles and San Francisco, and thinking back to the gritty port city chaos of the Vancouver he had grown up in, he began building the kind of spaces he wanted to hang out in.

The Artopia story began in 2006 with the opening of ACME Studios on East Hastings Street and has grown over the two decades since with Artopia currently owning and operating 10 artist work-only buildings and partnering on two additional projects. In total, The Narrow Group manages over 170,000 sq feet of art and creative space where over 400 artists and creatives work and thrive.

Mission and Vision

Artopia is fuelling Vancouver’s evolution by supporting unconventional ideas which shape the city’s future. Its vision is a thriving arts and entertainment community that shapes policy and culture and has the support and influence to disregard NIMBY opposition. Their Audacious Goal is to have the arts and entertainment community leading policy and culture in Vancouver within the next decade.

David Duprey bio

An artist and photographer by training, and a rule-bending entrepreneur by nature, David Duprey has spent the past 20 years creating spaces which encourage the sort of creative chaos which invigorates a city and keeps it from becoming stale. From Mad Men and 70s sleaze-inspired cocktail dens under his Narrow Group hospitality umbrella to artist studios and no-holds-barred live music spots, Duprey has opened a series of venues and artist spaces which add to the vision of a city which supports, values, and is guided by its creative communities.