Teach your art
in our studio.
Artis House is a working art studio on 14th Street with four benches, a bar, and a room full of people who already love making things. If you're a local artist with a workshop in you, we'd like to host it, and we'll handle everything that isn't the teaching.
What you get from us
- A finished, furnished studio, benches, lighting, sinks, storage and a licensed bar
- Your workshop listed on our booking system, with payments, waivers and reminders handled
- Promotion to our mailing list and social following, plus a spot in the studio calendar
- A host on the floor for greeting, drinks and clean-up so you can teach
- Photographs of the session and the finished work, yours to use
Bring the art. We'll bring the room.
Running your own workshop usually means finding a venue, chasing deposits, building a booking page, wrangling waivers, marketing it to strangers, and then still turning up early to set out chairs.
We already do all of that, five days a week. Artis House exists to put people in front of a bench with a drink and something to make. Adding your art to the calendar is the easy part for us.
What we're looking for is the thing we can't supply: an artist who genuinely knows their material and enjoys teaching it to complete beginners.
A room that's ready
Four studio benches, good light, water, ventilation, storage and a licensed bar. Nothing to hire, nothing to haul.
An audience already booking
People come to us looking for something to make. Your workshop goes in front of them, not out into the void.
None of the admin
Bookings, payments, waivers, reminders, refunds and the awkward rescheduling emails. All ours.
Who we're looking for.
You don't need a following, a teaching qualification or a polished deck. You need an art you know inside out and the patience to walk a nervous beginner through it.
A good fit
- You make something with your hands and can teach it in a single sitting
- Beginners can finish something they're proud of in two to three hours
- You're based in or near Calgary and can get to 14th Street
- You're happy in a room with music, chatter and a glass of wine
- First time teaching? Genuinely fine, say so and we'll help you shape it
Probably not a fit
- Art projects needing kilns, forges, welding or open flame beyond a candle wick
- Anything needing solvents or fumes we can't ventilate safely
- Multi-week courses, our guests book single sessions
- Sales presentations dressed up as a workshop
Art projects we'd love to see
This isn't a shortlist, it's a nudge. If your art isn't here and it works on a table, pitch it anyway.
From pitch to full room.
No contracts to sign before we've even met. Here's the whole path.
Send us your pitch
Fill in the form below, who you are, what you make, and the workshop you have in mind. Rough ideas are welcome; you don't need it fully formed.
We read it properly
A person reads every application. If it's a fit we'll email you to arrange a chat; if it isn't, we'll tell you that too rather than leaving you wondering.
Come and see the space
Walk the studio, look at the benches, and talk through what your session actually needs, tools, table space, drying time, mess.
We shape it together
Length, group size, ticket price, materials, and who supplies what. We'll be straight with you about what sells here and what tends not to.
A trial run
Your first workshop goes on the calendar. We market it, take the bookings, set the room and staff the floor. You teach.
Make it a regular thing
If it lands, and it usually does, we'll talk about a recurring slot, a seasonal series, or adding it to our private-event menu for group bookings.
Everything you should know upfront.
We'd rather be clear now than surprise you later. This is how the working relationship is usually set up, the details are agreed with you before anything is booked.
We look after
Included, at no cost to you
- The space and its kit
- Benches, seating, lighting, water, ventilation, aprons, general tools, cleaning and set-up.
- Bookings and money
- Your workshop on our booking system: card payments, deposits, confirmations, reminders, waivers, cancellations and refunds.
- Marketing
- A listing on the site, our mailing list, our social channels and the in-studio calendar. Photography of the session.
- Front of house
- A host to greet guests, run the bar, keep the room moving and clear up afterwards.
- Insurance on the premises
- Public liability for the studio itself.
You look after
What we'll need from you
- The teaching
- Running the session, keeping the group on track, and making sure everyone leaves with something finished.
- Your specialist materials
- Anything specific to your art. We'll discuss whether we buy it in, you supply it, or it's built into the ticket price.
- Specialist tools
- Anything beyond general studio kit, though tell us what you need, we may already have it or be happy to buy it.
- Turning up prepared
- A run sheet for the session and arriving early enough to set out your bench.
- Your own insurance
- If you carry artist's liability cover, bring the details. If you don't, tell us and we'll talk it through.
Tell us what you make.
Ten minutes, no fee, and a real person reads it. Fields marked with * are the only ones we truly need.
Thank you, that's landed with us.
Your application is in, and a real person will read it properly rather than a filter. If your art is a fit we'll email you within about a week to arrange a coffee and a look around the studio.
If it isn't quite right for the space, we'll still write back and tell you why, we'd rather give you an answer than leave you wondering.
In the meantime, keep an eye on your inbox (and the spam folder, just in case).
We're not accepting pitches right now
The questions artists always have.
Does it cost me anything?
I've never taught before. Should I still apply?
Do I need my own insurance?
Who supplies the materials?
Can I sell my own work at the workshop?
Who owns the workshop idea?
What size groups do you run?
How long until I hear back?
My art needs a kiln / forge / spray booth.
Still wondering something? Get in touch and ask us directly.