Inside the theatre of the Performing Arts Lodge (PAL)

Cultural Infrastructure and Facilities in Vancouver

Matching the richness of Vancouver cultural activities and organizations is a plethora of cultural spaces serving the needs of artists, creators, arts and culture organizations and audiences. Vancouver features a range of cultural spaces indoors and out, from major venues to intimate small ones—cultural spaces for creation, production, presentation, administration and more recently housing.

Appropriate cultural facilities are essential to any community and key to the economic health of our cities. These facilities serve residents, attract tourists, enable businesses and enhance our quality of life. Ensuring access to appropriate and affordable facilities is challenging, especially in Vancouver’s rapidly developing real estate market. The City of Vancouver plays a number of roles in the enablement of cultural spaces in the city. They include:

• Operation of the Civic Theatres (Queen Elizabeth, Orpheum and Playhouse)
• City-owned land and buildings leased at nominal rent to not-for-profit arts and cultural organizations (Firehall Arts Centre, Science World, HR MacMillan Space Centre, Roedde House)
• Provision of four Artists Live/Work Studio Awards
• Cultural Infrastructure Grant Program supporting not-for-profit cultural organizations in their preplanning, feasibility, purchase or renovation capital projects
• Long range planning and policies enabling cultural spaces within neighbourhoods and city area official and community plans
• Amenity Bonusing and Community Amenity Contribution Policy working with the City’s Planning Department and developers to provide cultural amenity spaces such as the Alliance for Arts and Culture, Vancouver International Film Centre, ArtStarts in Schools and the Contemporary Art Gallery
• Community Use Agreements for selected public plazas and other spaces such as UBC at Robson Square, Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre and the new Woodward’s community spaces, to make them available for a specific number of days per year for community use
• Assistance with facility planning projects including aiding arts and cultural organizations through regulatory systems (zoning & development, building code and business licensing)
• Capacity Building through access to information, workshops and other resources offered where possible in collaboration with various community partners.  Recently, ten individuals from the arts and culture community received bursaries for the Creative Places + Spaces Conference which ran October 28 through 30, 2009 in Toronto.

Cultural Facilities Priorities Plan

In 2008 the City adopted a new Cultural Facilities Priorities Plan 2008 – 2023 to guide cultural facility activities. The first phase Implementation Plan outlines strategies and actions for the first five years of the Plan.

• Cultural Facilities Priorities Plan (3.41mb)
• Phase I Implementation Plan (1.23mb)

Cultural Facilities Implementation Team

In 2009, a staff/community advisory committee was established to advise on the implementation of the Cultural Facilities Priorities Plan. The Facilities Team meets 6x per year and also serves as a conduit for information to and from the members’ respective constituencies. Members include:

• Amir Ali Alibhai, Executive Director, Alliance for Arts and Culture (chair)
• Valerie Arntzen, Executive Director, Eastside Culture Crawl Society
• Morna Edmundson, Administrative Director, MusicFest Vancouver/ Arts Festivals of Metro Vancouver
• Jonathan Middleton, Director/Curator, Or Gallery/Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres
• Nancy Noble, CEO, Museum of Vancouver / BC Museums Association
• Sue Porter, Executive Director, Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance
• City staff from Cultural Services, Real Estate, Social Development, Development Services, Planning Department and the Parks Board

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