Artcentral: what next? (need input)

[octothorp]

A bit of background: my wife and I have been long-time tenants in ArtCentral in downtown Calgary, and we're committed to being there for several more years. If you went to the space when it was first opened six years ago, it had a fantastic feel to it, and First Thursdays there were an important night on the Calgary scene. Over the years, it's changed significantly, as many of the great original tenants have left, vacancies have lasted for far too long, and new tenants were brought in, who don't exactly match the original vision of an arts focused space.

And change isn't necessarily for the worse, but it does feel like ArtCentral has a bit of an identity crisis. Most of the long-time tenants are very pessimistic about their future there, mostly because of slow sales and foot traffic. Our landlord is quick to talk about this as a result of the economic climate, but for most of us there, it has more to do with the building being unable to keep its original vibrancy and energy. However, the landlord is looking for feedback on what it can do to change the current direction of the place.

So because I know this forum has a lot of posters who are very in touch with the Calgary cultural scene, I'd love to get input on how ArtCentral can become relevant to downtown culture again.

Basically, I'd want to hear your vision for ArtCentral: what should it become? What sort of tenants should it attempt to attract? What events should it host? I'd be interested in hearing models you've seen in other cities that might work here. Or maybe you feel that ArtCentral is just a fundamentally flawed concept; that's a valid opinion too, so post and tell me why you think so.