MARTELLO ALLEY
Q&A With David Dossett, Owner
I started Martello Alley in July 2015. It was a sketchy, dirty alleyway with a courtyard. There was a retail space at the end of the alleyway but it had been vacant for years. Within four months I transformed it into Ontario's only art alley. In January 2020, just before Covid, I opened our second location on Brock Street. It was an artist collective that closed suddenly. Within a month I reopened it as a retro-Ontario themed art collective and named it Martello On Brock.
One thing that is unique is that we don't have employees; we are a collective and everyone who works at the galleries is an artist. They staff the galleries in return for a low gallery fee. The number of staff is variable and has fluctuated from approximately fifteen two five now, due to issues around Covid.
This is very much a family business. My wife, a teacher who is now retired, plays a major role in arranging the art and also managing stock. We have four children who help out at times, especially during special events such as Froid'Art/Art on Ice. I couldn't manage the galleries or do the events without them. They are a very creative and industrious bunch, and I am always so surprised and delighted to see the various projects and ventures they undertake.
What is one of your favorite products you offer?
There are so many unique and special items that it's hard to make a choice. Everything we sell is locally-made. One thing that has been a big hit has been our plague doctor ornament. It's a bit on the morbid side, but is a great souvenir of the times we are going through.
What made you choose to get into the business you are in?
I have lived in Kingston and been a downtown fan all my life, and had been creating art as a hobby ever since I was in high school. I also love Quebec City with its narrow streets, colourful buildings and old-world charm. It also has the famous art alleyway called la Rue du Trésor. We have so many alleyways in Kingston, but no art alley. I had always wanted my own gallery, but I wanted it to be different. When I saw the vacant space on Wellington Street I thought that it would be the ideal spot to create in the courtyard with an art alley leading up to a French Canadian fishing village.
What do you love about Kingston?
Kingston has so much to offer: a beautiful shoreline, historic buildings, top-rated educational institutions, a steady stream of tourists year-round. It has a lot of alleyways which are our real untapped hidden gems. People love exploring alleyways. Only three have been developed into something that tourists or locals would want to see. The rest, approximately a dozen in the downtown core, are sitting there, waiting to be transformed into art spaces and/or lively little patios.
What do you love most about your industry?
As a member of the artist community I feel very privileged and fortunate to play a role in the culture of our community. The city, the public and our visitors clearly value the contribution that the arts make to the economic well-being as well as the mental health of the citizens of our city. As an artist, I get to do what I really love: push the limits of creativity. My favourite project, the one that gets the most attention apart from Martello Alley, is Froid'Art, which I started in 2015. Basically, it is a winter ice art show. Art is painted on plexiglass, then frozen in 300 lb blocks of crystal clear ice in Hensall, Ontario. The blocks are delivered to Kingston and placed around town. They glow at night because they are lit underneath using rope lights. This year, due to Covid restrictions, we could not hold the event in person so we pivoted to a virtual event where two blocks were frozen with a special projection . We placed the blocks at each location, projected an image, and photographed with regular and 360 cameras. The virtual show is available to view online 24/7 at: https://www.martelloalley.com/pages/froidart
Read more: https://www.kingstonist.com/news/art-on-ice-pivots-uses-new-technology/
Alley entrance in 2015
Alley entrance in 2017!
North wall of courtyard in May 2015
North wall of courtyard now!
300 lb ice block with art frozen inside, and illuminated
This year: ice block with image projected
The full set of photos of the transformation can be seen here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/xOu41zPTY02Htrmp1
Link to our 360 virtual tour: https://www.martelloalley.com/pages/virtual-3d-shopping-is-here
