Thirteen arts organizations throughout the province will enhance their creative spaces with the support of $499,500 in small capital grants from the British Columbia government.

The funding will help provide for renovations and the purchase of specialized equipment, allowing B.C.’s creative professionals and organizations to work together in innovative and productive ways and strengthen B.C.’s thriving creative economy.

Highlights of the 2016-17 Collaborative Spaces investments include:

• $40,000 to Ahousaht First Nation toward the renovation of Thunderbird Hall, the community’s only venue that supports visual and performing arts. It serves local and visiting cultural singing and dance groups and supports arts and cultural programming for children and families.
• $22,500 for Vancouver Creative Space Society (C-Space), a creative hub formed by Boca del Lupo, Electric Company, Neworld Theatre and Rumble Theatre. Funding will go toward replacing aging and outdated audio-visual and lighting equipment at Progress Lab 1422, a 650 square-metre (7,000 square-foot) shared performing arts production facility in East Vancouver, allowing the rehearsal venue to continue supporting innovative performance creation.
• $40,000 for Island Mountain Arts Society, located in Wells. Funding will support improvements to an interdisciplinary arts residency facility to address a wide range of art forms and community uses. The improvements will make the space more appealing for regional, provincial, national and international artists and their projects year-round.

This investment is part of the commitment made through the Creative Economy Strategy to target $1.5 million toward collaborative arts spaces over three years. The program promotes artistic creation, increases shared resources, facilitates collaboration and enhances accessibility for artists and audiences throughout B.C.

Applications for the 2017-18 Collaborative Spaces program will open in summer 2017.

Quotes:

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

“Many British Columbians benefit from enhanced collaborative arts spaces, which contribute to healthy, vibrant communities. With this funding, artists and arts organizations have access to greater resources for their creative work, which in turn engage audiences of all ages. Strong cultural infrastructure supports a thriving creative economy in our province.”

Marcus Youssef, board chair, Vancouver Creative Space Society –

“For years, C-Space has proven the value of collaborative creative spaces by serving as an exemplary arts incubator for our four resident companies and for dozens more who make work in our studio. The Collaborative Spaces program’s investment in new lighting and sound equipment builds on this success and will expand the creative possibilities we provide for Metro Vancouver artists.”

Quick Facts:

• The 2015-16 Collaborative Spaces pilot project invested $436,300 in 11 organizations.
• Launched in February 2016, the Government of British Columbia’s three-year Creative Economy Strategy is supporting and growing the creative sector. This strategy focuses on four key areas:
  • Leveraging talent and creative clusters.
  • Accessing new markets.
  • Maximizing investment.
  • 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.
• With 24,800 artists, B.C. has more artists per capita than any other province.
• The Government of British Columbia is providing $60 million in funding for arts and cultural organizations, as well as for individual artists in 2016-17, including $24 million for the BC Arts Council and approximately $17.5 million through community gaming grants.

Learn More:

For more information about the Collaborative Spaces program and a full list of recipients, visit: http://ow.ly/SHXM30846Nu

Creative Economy Strategy: http://www.gov.bc.ca/creativeeconomy

Vancouver Creative Space Society: http://c-space.ca/