Whippersnapper Gallery doesn't have what you'd call a conspicuous entrance. In fact, I must have passed by their Little Italy location near a hundred times without ever taking notice. Part of the reason for this must be that the majority of these occasions occurred while I was stumbling from Ted's Collision to John's Classic Pizza at 3am. But that, of course, is another story.

The gallery has been open for about four years, the first of which was spent at Front and Sherbourne. When the building that housed that incarnation of the gallery was slated to be demolished, the search was on for a new space. Combing the city for a space that was both affordable and a decent size, Luke Correia-Damude, the founder, took a chance on an as-is lease at the current location. With the help of colleagues, friends and art-lovers, he transformed what was a complete mess into a fully functional art venue - one that I might add is pretty damn big (2500 sq. ft.).

Run as a not-for-profit venue, the folks at Whippersnapper are determined to take a multifaceted approach to the promotion of art and artists. What this means on a brass tax level is that the space is used for a variety of different purposes over and above visual art shows, including events like live music, film screenings, fashion shows and book launches. While they favour the work of young artists (e.g. those under 30 years old), this focus is primarily a function of the fact that they wish to show the work of those who are emerging in the art world. So if, like me, you're over 30, don't think of this as yet another reason to despair: if you're an artist on the rise, I'm quite sure they won't laugh you out the door.

Part and parcel of the desire to showcase new talent, the gallery is continually turning over its shows. As a general rule, Luke likes to have a different show every two weeks or so. These range from solo and collective shows curated by artists who have rented the space to group shows that Whippersnapper organizes for those who lack substantial bodies of work. In both cases, the gallery charges only at-cost fees and takes no commissions from the artists. Although it has no formal affiliation with any of the art schools in the city, as you can imagine, student art is frequently displayed. But surprisingly, and I think encouragingly, Luke estimates that about half of the artists they feature have no academic affiliation. I don't mean to come off as an art school-hater, but I do know that those artists who lack the community and connections places like OCAD can provide have much to benefit from a gallery that intends to offer them exposure.

Because the people responsible for the gallery are all volunteers, the hours can vary. Check their website for this information, which is given on a per show basis.

Related: Last year, Whippersnapper Gallery was voted the Best Contemporary Art Gallery for Emerging Artists by readers of this site.