The Nipissing Regional Curatorial Collective has been hard at work in a building on Lakeshore Drive.

They have plans for 3 art galleries.

The first one is pretty unique as its not your typical art gallery.

You can check out the Northern Ontario Visual Arts Hive in the hallways of the building.

Chair Dermot Wilson says there are 7 artists on staff and they wanted to do something unique and reflect grass roots interest in art.

“We’re not trying to be an arts institution. This is about welcoming people to have more art in their lives,” he says.

He says the other 2 galleries will be outside and this is going to be a huge opportunity for outdoor artists.

The art gallery’s are in a unique open space project called coworking176.space.

It houses medical services, the business community and art galleries.

Christian Fortin is owner of Pronor Developments.

He says open space facilities aren’t new but this type of building is new to North Bay.

He says it’s not unusual to fill the empty spaces of hallways with art. Fortin says most buildings average about 12 per cent.

“Here we’re running 28 per cent. We didn’t know how to deal with the empty space. The gallery was an idea. I think a gallery should be where people are,” Fortin says.