Montreal's Diving Bell Social Club (Club Social Le Scaphandre) — a multimedia entertainment venue with a capacity of about 200 in the heart of the Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood — has announced that, come December, it will be closing its doors after five years on St. Laurent Boulevard.
The venue was converted from a hidden storage space by Austin Wrinch and Evan Johnston, opening at the end of August 2018, with Jason Lopez soon joining as a third co-owner.
"Despite our best efforts to mitigate problems with our neighbours, we are now facing persistent issues that will prevent us from continuing to host the diverse activities we're known for," the co-owners wrote in a community release, referring to the concerts, film screenings, comedy, trivia and more the Diving Bell offers. "Because of these issues, in addition to the space's lack of accessibility, it has become clear that our current space can no longer support us in our mission."
Wrinch and Johnston are "actively looking" for a new location that would allow them to better serve the community of creatives they have fostered. "The current situation has only strengthen our resolve and reconfirmed to us the importance of smaller capacity event spaces," they continued, adding that they have lots planned for the Diving Bell's few remaining months. Sarah Armiento and Michael Poisson will join the ownership team at the future location.
The venue was converted from a hidden storage space by Austin Wrinch and Evan Johnston, opening at the end of August 2018, with Jason Lopez soon joining as a third co-owner.
"Despite our best efforts to mitigate problems with our neighbours, we are now facing persistent issues that will prevent us from continuing to host the diverse activities we're known for," the co-owners wrote in a community release, referring to the concerts, film screenings, comedy, trivia and more the Diving Bell offers. "Because of these issues, in addition to the space's lack of accessibility, it has become clear that our current space can no longer support us in our mission."
Wrinch and Johnston are "actively looking" for a new location that would allow them to better serve the community of creatives they have fostered. "The current situation has only strengthen our resolve and reconfirmed to us the importance of smaller capacity event spaces," they continued, adding that they have lots planned for the Diving Bell's few remaining months. Sarah Armiento and Michael Poisson will join the ownership team at the future location.