British Columbians will enjoy and celebrate our province’s rich cultural scene during BC Arts and Culture Week, proclaimed this year as April 17 to 23, 2016.

BC Arts and Culture Week recognizes the importance of arts and culture for British Columbia and supports the province’s Creative Economy Strategy. Arts and culture not only honour B.C.’s cultural heritage and bring joy to people of all ages, but also help drive B.C.’s economy. The province’s world-class art, culture and creative industries improve the province’s prosperity and global profile as a great place to live, work, invest and play.

The three-year Creative Economy Strategy is about encouraging artists and others working in the sector to realize both creative and financial success. Building B.C.’s creative economy will attract new investment, foster innovation and create new jobs for British Columbians.

In 1999, the BC Arts Council initiated BC Arts and Culture Week to showcase and celebrate the arts in British Columbia. As the B.C. government's key development and funding agency for the arts, the BC Arts Council supports arts and cultural organizations, as well as individual artists throughout the province.

To read the proclamation, visit: http://ow.ly/10FnxB

Quote:

Peter Fassbender, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development –

“With more artists per capita than any other province in Canada, B.C. has a lot to celebrate this week and we are grateful for how arts and culture enhance our lives. People working in arts and culture are at the heart of B.C.’s creative economy, contributing to healthy and vibrant communities and driving the BC Jobs Plan. I encourage all British Columbians to connect with the arts in their community this week and throughout the year.”

Quick Facts:

• Launched in February 2016, the three-year Creative Economy Strategy will help grow the creative sector.
• The strategy focuses on four key areas:
  • Leveraging talent and creative clusters;
  • Accessing new markets;
  • Maximizing investment; and
  • Enriching communities.

• The United Nations has identified the creative economy as one of the world’s fastest-growing sectors for income generation, job creation and export earnings.
• Findings from a recent Hill Strategies Report show that:
  • Arts and culture organizations bring a range of benefits to their communities, including fostering creativity, stimulating thought and artistic inspiration, as well as supporting education.
  • Arts organizations support diversity in British Columbia’s communities through their cultural content.

• With 24,800 artists, B.C. has more artists per capita than any other province.
• The Province is spending more than $60 million on arts and culture organizations and artists in 2016-17, including about $17.5 million in community gaming grants.

Learn More:

Visit the BC Arts Council’s website at: http://www.bcartscouncil.ca

For more information about the Creative Economy Strategy, visit: http://www.gov.bc.ca/creativeeconomy