Montreal has a reputation for fostering a vibrant and diverse artistic community, but this reputation faces the headwinds of increasing prices for studio spaces and equipment, a broader oversaturated artistic landscape, and an art scene that is highly favoured in the more bustling neighbourhoods across the city. The outer areas of the island just don’t get the same attention.
That’s led to the development of the creative studio and socioentrepreneurial incubator, Dépanneur Studios, to fruition. Headquartered in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue—a 25-minute drive from the city’s centre—on the top floor of a once-abandoned 100-year-old movie theatre, it has set up shop to support artists and connect them with others in the city.
Opened in autumn of last year, the studio carries over $100,000 worth of equipment and works on a monthly membership basis, offering tiers with access to different types of facilities ranging from workstations to machinery.
Given its location, it offers an artistic space for those who are living in the West Island and don’t have direct and close access to the creative resources available in the Montreal core. Since launching, the studio has found itself to be a stepping ground attracting people from all around the city, from Rivière-des-Prairies to the South Shore, and now serves more than its intended purpose: becoming a space that supports community engagement and social initiatives.
A different kind of depanneur
Dépanneur Studios currently operates under its three co-owners, Myriam Ferreira, Youssef Semlali, and Gursagar Singh. Ferreira, who owns her own clothing brand, discovered the vacant space after bringing her nephew to Singhs Arcade, founded by her co-owner and located on the main floor of the building at 81 Saint Anne St.
When the team began clearing out and remodelling the space, they came across an old 16-foot dépanneur sign which they hung on the wall inside the studio and turned into their logo.
Dépanneurs, the classic corner stores of Montreal, have become a fixture of the city’s culture since the 1970s. Opening early and closing late, they offer the reliability of knowing that whenever you walk in, you will usually leave with what you came for.
“We wanted people to be in the West Island but step into the studio and feel like they could be on St-Laurent Boulevard or downtown,” Ferreira says, on the thought process behind designing the studio.
But the concept of the dépanneur extends far beyond simply the studio's name and aesthetic and into every aspect of the studio’s ethos. With equipment including but not limited to an infinity wall, podcast studio, cameras, lighting, and screen printers, artists have access to a range of facilities in one spot “right around the corner.”
The studio is founded on the idea of community building. The open-concept space invites both professionals and hobbyists to come together and collaborate on their creative projects. Members are encouraged to show up for longer sessions, or simply for drop-ins, reinforcing the reliability of the depanneur. This also gives a new meaning to an establishment renowned for being quick and convenient.
“The dépanneur for us is like the most capitalistic unit that exists in Montreal. It’s extractive, it’s transactional, and it’s anonymous,” Ferreira says. “We wanted to flip what that meant on every single word. Instead of being extractive, it’s where you come to build. Instead of it being transactional, it’s relational. Instead of it being anonymous, it’s about the people.”
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