RFP Media Teams up With WKP Kennedy Gallery

The WKP Kennedy has formed a partnership with RFP Media, a North Bay digital marketing agency founded by Richard Fortin.

Fortin, a University of Western Ontario alumni, wanted to create a place where he could assist people in promoting their works within North Bay.

RFP Media operates as part of Coworking176.space (formerly Tweedsmuir Public School), a structure that functions as a space where creators and businesses can co-inhabit a unique working environment. This allows the members to foster working relationships and make use of the different rooms within the building, such as boardrooms, offices and studios.

Fortin and his father, Christian, acquired the building in 2015, intending to create a space similar to those that are often successful in larger cities. It offers people affordable and accessible facilities to conduct their business, as well as promote interpersonal relationships between members.

“I think people who want to live in North Bay have to create jobs [they] want for the future,” says Fortin. “It’s entrepreneurs like myself who are going to be able to mould this city into what we want it to become in the future.”

In partnership with RFP Media, the WKP Kennedy Gallery will create videos to be viewed on our new website later in June. The videos will highlight current exhibitions with a focus on art education. We want to provide the public with a more personable view of the gallery and the artists we choose to feature here.

In speaking to the recent partnership, Fortin states that “one of the challenges is knowing everything that’s going on. If I could help do that with the [social] media tools I’m trying to harness, [to] bring attention to what’s happening here, I think that would be a really good thing.”

As far as the gallery’s relationship with RFP Media, it was a happy accident.

Alix Voz, our director/curator, had gone to check out Coworking176.space and was admiring artwork hanging in the hallways when she bumped into Fortin.

As they got talking, he offered to show her the sound studio in his space and started mentioning how he will be using it to create social media content, such as podcasts and music recordings. He expressed how important he thought the Capitol Centre was as an artistic leader in the community, and how crucial it was to have a strong relationship with the WKP Kennedy Gallery.

Who would have thought that our very first visit would lead to such a wonderful collaboration?

It’s refreshing to see someone taking a chance on the potential they see in North Bay. The hope it that Fortin’s work inspires people to create and contribute to our arts industry, building our reputation and bringing creative jobs and recognition to the city. “We have young, smart people coming to town to learn,” Fortin points out, “so why don’t we try to keep them here by having a company that can employ them?”

Keep an eye on our Facebook page to learn more about when our new videos will go up.

Previously Published by The North Bay Nugget, May 29, 2019
Dana Westerberg is gallery assistant at the WKP Kennedy Gallery.