by MATTHEW WOODLEY

“I can’t decide whether it’s the not sleeping, or too much beer.”

Really, that could be anybody in this city on a Monday evening, but in this case it’s Harvey McLeod, and he’s got the drywall stains and that Labatt-50-after-a-hard-day’s-work je ne sais quoi to back him up. Sitting on an old couch next to him are Frederick Hryszyn and Sebastien Marin, respectively, in a big room that opens by garage door onto Roy Street. It smells like white paint. Welcome to Kopshop: Grand Opening this Friday.

Kopshop isn’t brand new as much as it’s getting a facelift—or a real face, you could call it. The building has played host to a slew of Roy Street Collective events over the years and a few Kops Crew nights over the past few months, including Devin the Dude and Low Budget, but has never really served as a permanent gallery. A ways back, Kops member Hryszyn asked jewellery designer Harvey McLeod to do a series specifically for the Kopshop. “Then one thing led to another and he got involved in the project,” says Hryszyn. Marin, who plays bass in local band Dead Messenger, also hopped on board.

“We see it as the HQ for a bunch of things,” explains Hryszyn. “It’ll be a design firm for murals and different kinds of contracts, a place to sell original products and a kind of walk-in-portfolio for a team of artists.”

“We’ll also be selling various tools for vandalism,” adds McLeod.

“Uh, for art’s sake,” Hryszyn clarifies. “I mean, I don’t want every graf kid in the city coming in here for markers—we won’t be selling those. But there’s lots of demand for spray paint—just look at all the commissioned murals in this neighbourhood.”

He’s right about that, and the artists who you’ll see in the gallery are just as likely to have crossed your path of vision on the walk there.

“This is all run by people who are invested in street art culture,” Hryszyn says. “Even though HVW8 isn’t in the show, there’s a continuation of the lineage that started when those guys and Other moved to town. Those are the older guys we’ve looked up to, and now there’s a whole scene turning out really personal work with similar elements in it. We all share the same aesthetic... There’s places like l’Autre gallery trying to do the same thing, but he [Yves Rocher] is in it for the wrong reasons. Does he think he’s gonna make a million selling street art?”

“We’ve been getting a real good vibe from the neighbourhood,” says Marin. “People have been fighting for the building—you know, suits coming by, saying they want to buy it for a couple million. But the owners want to keep the spirit of this place, and we’re infinitely thankful.”

Le Kopshop (111 Roy) opens Friday, June 30, 5–11 P.M. with an exhibition of six artists’ work and live improvised music by Dead Messenger—www.lekopshop.com for more