Drayton Entertainment to transform warehouse into youth arts academy

A Waterloo warehouse is being converted into a cultural space for youth that will include rehearsal halls, music rooms and acting studios.

The federal government is providing Drayton Entertainment with over $1 million to create the new academy, which will be located next to the theatre company’s Production Centre for the Technical Arts.

“Waterloo is a dynamic and a diverse place. Drayton Entertainment’s Youth Academy is another place for residents to come together and foster a sense of civic culture in the community,” Waterloo MP Bardish Chagger stated.

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“By transforming an industrial space into a hub for the arts and culture, we are reinforcing the spirit of creativity and innovation that Waterloo is known for.”

Drayton says the 12,000-square-foot facility will be a venue for arts-based learning that will benefit local youth, particularly persons of colour, LGBTQ2 people, new Canadians and people with disabilities.

“We see our best opportunity to make real and lasting generational change in our society through youth education, and in so doing, positively affect the quality of life for the community-at-large,” Drayton CEO Alex Mustakas said in a release.

“Our new Youth Academy represents a new cultural value chain that aligns our mission and vision to an environmentally sustainable world.”