Vancouver City Council approved 254 grant awards for facility support and cultural projects within the city’s non-profit arts and culture spaces. The funding, which totals more than $7.1 million, will also bring rental relief to groups using Vancouver Civic Theatres and contribute to a new Cultural Tourism Event Fund Partnership.
The city invested $7.5 million earlier this year. Mayor Ken Sim said the recent funding boost will help the cultural community maintain, renovate, acquire or access local spaces for performances or exhibitions. “The most critical challenge facing arts and culture in Vancouver is finding affordable and accessible spaces,” he said.
The funding advances directives of Vancouver’s 10-year culture plan, Culture|Shift, and the Making Space for Arts and Culture infrastructure plan, and aligns with reconciliation, cultural equity and accessibility goals.
Grant recipients include:
- 38 Cultural Spaces Capital Grants totalling $2.9 million which support cultural building-based projects including space planning, purchase, renovation, or expansion of an arts and cultural facility;
- 18 Affordable Spaces Grants totalling $305,000 to support facility operating costs for local non-profit space operators who provide subsidized affordable space for Vancouver-based artists and/or cultural organizations;
- 111 Theatre Rental Grants totalling $3,142,269 to support users of Vancouver’s four civic theatres (Orpheum, Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver Playhouse, and Annex);
- 72 Communities and Artists Shifting Culture Grants totalling $520,000 that support a wide range of short-term, one-time, or limited series arts, cultural, and creative projects; and
- 14 Cultural Learning and Sharing Grants totalling $100,920 to help artists and cultural organizations access or deliver learning opportunities that will build and strengthen skills, knowledge, and relationships.
Once again, the City is also partnering with Destination Vancouver, the Vancouver Hotel Destination Association and PAVCO to contribute to the new Cultural Tourism Event Fund, established in 2023.
