To Make A Pledge, Click Here & Download a Fillable PDF Form.
MISSION
As collaborators, the two organizations are dedicated to growing talent and helping to create jobs in film, digital media and the creative arts in southwestern Ontario. Together we ensure that vulnerable and under-represented populations are included. We accomplish our shared goals through community-based education, training, mentoring, job placements and more, making bursaries available to the financially disadvantaged.
VISION
To be a recognized leader in media arts, best known for growing talent and jobs in Southwestern Ontario.
A JOINT COMMUNITY-BASED PROJECT.
The Windsor Centre for Film, Digital Media & the Creative Arts (2012) is an Ontario-based non-profit organization that is working with its charity partner, the Media Arts Community Centre & Museum (2018), to raise funds to open a new, and much needed, media arts facility in downtown Windsor.
The two organizations current offering year-round virtual and in-person educational and training programs to all ages, but from four different locations, which is less than ideal. Thus, this new location is imperative to our future growth due to space restrictions and coordination of programming.
Interior demolition to the administration section of the facility began Sept 2021. In June 2022, we gained full access. ARTISTIC RENDERINGS showing most (but not all) of our plans are displayed below on this page. Arrows will guide you through the photos.
In order to make this project a reality, the WE GROW TALENT CAMPAIGN will raise $2M in private funds over five years, in three phases. The goal is to offer a creative space for all ages and stages from diverse cultures and ethnicities – families, children and youth, young adults, emerging entrepreneurs, retirees, volunteers, seniors and the general public.
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live forever.”
– Ghandi
The name to be given to the centre once open will be: the Media Arts Community Centre – or MACC for short. The location is 664 Victoria Avenue in downtown Windsor. The facility was originally built as Temple Baptist Church in 1925 and, for the last 50+ years, has been home to the Downtown Mission. This iconic 22,000 sq ft facility is conveniently located and neighbours multiple street-level public parking lots with greater than 300 spaces.
In keeping with our shared mission and vision, MACC will accommodate diverse teaching spaces (formal and informal), a unique auditorium licensed for 400 people, editing suites, a film/music studio, local film archives and museum-like displays, formal and casual meeting and networking spaces, a full-service kitchen, and an outdoor living room.
Bursaries will be available to those in need. The building will be fully accessible with an elevator and a fire alarm system suited to the general public as well as those who the visually or hearing impaired. In our attempt to be as green as possible, we will also have updated LED lighting, a solar roof, and an organic waste management system.
There is land to add an additional 10,000 sq ft of creative spaces (100 seat theatre and larger film production and music studios) in Phase 2, pending funds and city permits.
Click on bar for News Articles
Windsor Centre for Film, Digital Media and the Creative Arts buys Downtown Mission building
The Windsor Star – June 17th, 2021
Canada and Ontario governments invest over $2.9 million into new media arts centre in Windsor
CTV News Windsor – June 17th, 2021
Talent retention, attraction key to Windsor’s economic future: Report
CTV News Windsor – February 4th, 2021
Jarvis: Finally, a downtown plan that will work
The Windsor Star – February 18th, 2021
The Project
Southern Ontario is proudly reinventing itself as a region where diverse industries can flourish. MACC will contribute to the cultural and economic development plans set forth by the municipal, provincial and federal governments and economic development associations. Local arts, charitable and non-profit groups will host small and large events in the city’s core; artists and filmmakers will host fundraising events to bring their ideas to fruition. Sliding scale rental fees will ensure sustainability since fees would cover ongoing maintenance, insurance and utility costs.
“Filmmaking is the ultimate team sport.”
– Michael Keaton
Young people and career seekers interested in filmmaking and digital media, also including animation, graphic design, photography, music videos, web design and gaming, will be attracted to opportunities which, in the past, others relocated to high-cost urban areas to explore. Producers, directors, authors, actors, costume designers, musicians, set builders, make-up artists, camera operators, musicians and others will have access to an accessible, affordable venue to produce their craft. Accountants and lawyers will be busy chasing tax credits and contracts.
High school and post-secondary students will have opportunities for internships, co-ops and job placements. Now that the University of Windsor has moved its Visual Arts, Music and Media & Film programs downtown, and St. Clair College has its MediaPlex, MACC will be the perfect community-based facility for students to gain hands-on work experience. Students from other disciplines of study will also reap the benefits of having MACC as a community resource. Library Science students will be intrigued by the archives and collections, Human Kinetics students will co-op in event planning, and Business students will work for MACC as well as emerging businesses we support.
MACC will draw seasoned media and creative arts experts, as visitors and tourists, some of whom will ‘be from’ the area. They left to pursue their dreams and will return to serve as guest lecturers and visiting artists. They will teach and mentor to help us grow regional talent in Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent and Sarnia-Lambton.
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
Filmmaking tests one’s creative and advancing technological abilities, and it teaches: leader-ship, teamwork, discipline, coordination, time management and working to deadlines, strategy, self-discipline, patience and understanding, the importance of diverse ideas, endurance, quality control, budgeting, and many other skills that help achieve success in other sectors.
“We don’t make movies to make more money. We make money to make more movies.”
– Walt Disney
Naming Opportunities for Individuals, Families and Businesses
A business or charitable receipt is available; opportunities below are placeholders – donors can help chose the room name.
VIEWING PHOTOS
Use the arrows on each side of the carousel to scroll through the images. Click on an image to enlarge it, and click again to return.
Phase One
Existing Building
Centre Naming $2,000,000
Lower Level
Studio A: Production/ Music $200,000
Live Room $25,000
Control Room $25,000
Community Commons $250,000
Community Kitchen $100,000
Second Floor
Auditorium $500,000
The Gallery $200,000
Editing Suite A $25,000
Editing Suite B $25,000
Editing Suite C $25,000
Editing Suite D $25,000
Costume Room $15,000
Prop Room $15,000
Equipment Room $15,000
Third Floor
The Loft $200,000
Gaming & Animation Room $150,000
Office Suite $300,000
Phase Two
Building Addition
Exterior
The Patio $250,000
Parkette $50,000
Lower Level
Lecture Theatre $400,000
Seats (100) @ 250 Each $25,000
Second Floor
Studio B: Music $400,000 (Live Room, Control Room, ISO Booth 1 & 2, Machine Room)
Lobby $100,000
Meeting Room $25,000
Editing Suite E $25,000
Third Floor
Studio C: Production $400,000
Editing Suite G $25,000
Editing Suite F $25,000
Editing Suite G $25,000
Equipment Room $50,000
Charitable Donations and Sponsorships
If you are interested in donating to or sponsoring one of the following programs, rather than making a capital contribution, we can also make that possible. Our programs run year-round, in-person and virtually.
• Film Camp for Kids & Youth (ages 8-18)
Click to go to Film Camp website
• Year-Round Young Adult Education (ages 19-35)
• Plugged In: Seniors’ and Retirees’ Programming (ages 55+)
• HUB691 (rent subsidy support for entrepreneurial digital media and arts students and recent grads)
• Special Events and Programs
• Sponsorship of TV Programming and Independent Films
”Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.“
– Pablo Picaso
To Make A Pledge, Click Here & Download a Fillable PDF Form.
To request additional information, contact:
Amanda Gellman
Email: amanda@manan.ca
Cell: 519-819-8964
Chair, Media Arts Community Centre & Museum
President, Windsor Centre for Film, Digital Media & the Creative Arts
Founder, Film Camp for Kids & Youth
