Singer-songwriter Lynn Miles' apartment concerts and her support of housing for lifelong artists. Lynn Miles and other talented Ottawa artists are all about supporting each other. Artists here are working to build a Performing Arts Lodge. www.palottawa.org “People who spend their lives dedicated to the arts rarely have a safety net,” explains Miles.
“The public perception of ‘you’re on stage so you must be financially successful’ is a myth.”
“For about 95 per cent of us, it’s just not the case. Affordable housing for arts workers has always been an issue and it keeps getting more dire with each passing year, as rents increase and salaries in a precarious industry stay stagnant,” says Miles.
“With the living and performance space PAL will provide, we can make the arts, and arts workers, a vital part of the community.”
PAL Ottawa was created to provide affordable housing and a support system to arts workers 55+ in need.
According to the PAL Ottawa website, the living space is “a vital resource—a lifeline—for artists and arts workers in all disciplines who, due to age, low income and, in some cases, disability, struggle to maintain a decent style of life in their senior years. past age 55”.
“Since the annual income of most local arts workers is below the poverty line, PAL works to secure affordable places to live and work – especially for those with little or no pension – that is described as hanging like a dark cloud over far too many, increasing their risk of health problems and isolation.”
