creative communities
Vancouver designated Cultural Capital of Canada for 2011
Vancouver’s cultural scene received a financial and marketing boost today, with the announcement that the city has been designated a Cultural Capital of Canada for 2011, alongside Charlottetown, PEI and Lévis, Quebec. In a news release, Federal Heritage Minister James Moore praised Vancouver’s “cosmopolitan charm, vibrant cultural scene, and wide range of activities.” The designation [...]
Fort St. John City to sponsor Face the Music Workshops
Fort St. John City Council agreed on Monday’s meeting to grant $20,000 in sponsorship funding to ‘Face the Music’, a Music Capital of Northern B.C. initiative, that aims to offer music workshops in the City. The goal of Face the Music is to hold up to ten workshops with touring artists, who, along with coming [...]
Williams Lake: CRD receives $10,000 for cultural planning
Under the Creative Communities program, 2010 Legacies Now and the Province of British Columbia are providing $10,000 to Cariboo Regional District (CRD) for cultural planning in the central Cariboo. The Cariboo Regional District, working in partnership with the City of Williams Lake and the newly formed Central Cariboo Arts and Culture Society, will utilize these [...]
Victoria: City scans art scene
Art enthusiasts, creators and organizers can now benefit from an online directory and map of cultural venues and groups. The City of Victoria compiled the database thanks to a $10,000 B.C. Legacies Now grant. The city matched the funds. “Our intent is for it to begin to evolve more deeply,” said Terri Askham, city manager [...]
Revelstoke: After 5 years of success, city looks to update culture strategy
The City of Revelstoke will be updating its cultural strategy thank to $5,000 in funding it received from the 2010 Legacies Now Creative Communities program last month. “I am really excited and gratified for the opportunity to continue to build on the legacy that is Revelstoke. Our arts community is a vibrant, active part of [...]
Pemberton: Cash flows in for second phase of cultural planning Creative Communities program chipping in another $5,000 to be matched by VOP
The Village of Pemberton is getting a grant of $5,000 from the Creative Communities program funded by 2010 Legacies Now and the Province, and will match that with $5,000 of its own money, to continue cultural planning efforts for the Pemberton area, officials said last week. The Village’s recently completed cultural scan, which outlined the [...]
Terrace: Artists swarm Co-op building
IT’S being called Graffiti Fest, an effort this weekend to cover the former Terrace Co-op building with colourful art works. The Terrace and District Art Council (TDAC) is working with Skeena Diversity on the project. The event features music and begins each day at 9 a.m. this weekend. There will even be a barbecue and [...]
Kelowna: Cultural plan workshop, performance
The City of Kelowna is developing a new strategic cultural plan and looking for public input on how to position Kelowna as a leader in arts and culture. To inspire creative thought, a unique public workshop, complete with cultural performances, will be held at the Kelowna Art Gallery on Wednesday September 22 from 4:30 to [...]
Surrey must do more for the arts
In the new-knowledge economy, cities that are most able to attract the highly skilled, intellectual and creative people who drive innovation, are the ones that will thrive economically. Just ask Richard Florida, one of my favourite authors and writer of The Rise of the Creative Class. Success in a knowledge economy will depend largely on [...]
Nanaimo: Arts sector leads business growth
The number of business licences for arts, entertainment and recreation in Nanaimo has increased 200% in the past 10 years, putting this sector’s growth ahead of every other in the city. The cultural-type businesses grew from 58 in 2000 to 174 this year, according to data from the city’s economic development office. Within this sector, [...]
Greater Vernon: Cultural vision lacking
It was interesting to hear a report to Vernon council last week about the city’s tourism function. Among its priorities is strengthening the tourism product and enhancing the experience for visitors. The report also specified the importance of arts and culture in ensuring that people stop here and drop a few bucks. That was followed [...]
9th Annual BC Cultural Crawl, August 1 – 31
Kicking off BC Day long weekend and continuing for the entire month of August, BC will celebrate its unique cultural footprint. The 9th Annual BC Cultural Crawl is a self-guided tour of community-initiated events: music, theatre, visual arts, culinary arts, festivals, heritage exhibitions, art walks and more. Visit bcculturalcrawl.com to browse August events, local cultural crawls [...]
Burnaby/New Westminster: What is the value of the arts?
The power of the arts—its ability to inspire, spark change or, more simply, put a smile on someone’s face—is rarely questioned. But often, as positive as those characteristics may be, they are nebulous and the benefits to society can be difficult to quantify. That’s particularly the case in regards to the economic benefits—and this is [...]
Public art policy to keep PoCo pretty
Port Coquitlam is setting an artistic path for the city’s future by shaping its first public art policy. “The city and community had already been doing public art on an ad hoc basis for the last 10 years,” said Yvonne Chui, PoCo’s arts and culture co-ordinator. “So we felt it really was time to articulate [...]
Kelowna: Pushing the artistic envelope should be a social need
Does one ever want to risk a little short-term gain only to wind up with long-term pain? Last week, I met a young artist for whom I really hope the concept doesn’t apply. His name is Cory Dixon and he has written a proposal to pair realtors and developers with up-and-coming artists. The idea is for [...]
