Inside the theatre of the Performing Arts Lodge (PAL)
Cultural Space in Vancouver
SAVE YOUR SPOT!
Cultural Spaces Mini-Workshops :
November 22/23
FREE admission to all sessions
Join your colleagues for one (or more!) of four learning sessions, then share your thoughts and network with collegues.
Registration is on a first-come first-served basis. Priority will be given to Vancouver-based cultural/arts organizations or individuals. Learn more about this opportunity.
Artist Studio Regulatory Review: Posters from Open Houses held in June 2011
June 2011 - Launched in late 2009, the Artist Studio Regulatory Review has been conducting roundtables with artists and City staff to help improve opportunities for artist studio creation, presentation and operation. Staff are seeking feedback on proposed recommendations (see PDF file - 900KB, which contains the posters presented at the open houses held on June 8 and 9, 2011). Some text may appear small on screen as the posters were printed for large format presentation.
If you have further comments/suggestions or if you would like to be added to our Artist Studio Regulatory Review mailing list, please contact Diana Leung, Cultural Planner for the Regulatory Reviews.
The final staff recommendations with be presented to City Council (scheduled for July 2011). City staff will act on the adopted recommendations starting this Fall 2011.
Apply for a City of Vancouver Bursary to attend the 2011 BUILDING OPPORTUNITIES Conference!
Cultural Facilities Priority Plan
Live Performance Venue - Regulatory Review Update
January 2011 - The Regulatory Review team has completed Phase I of the 3-phased Review. For up-to-date information on the Review, please refer to the information panels 
(1.53mb) created for two public open houses that took place in January 2011.
On Thursday, February 3, 2011, staff reported to Mayor and Council with recommendations as a result of the completion of Phase I. Please refer to the Meeting Agenda and Report for details.
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 - see the four recipients of the studio for the 2012-2015 term!
- 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. This past fall individuals from the arts and culture community were selected to receive bursaries for the Our Spaces, Our Places! Inaugural Social Purpose Real Estate Conference which ran November 8 and 9, 2010 in Vancouver. Learn more about the Our Spaces, Our Places! Conference Bursaries.
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 6 times 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)
- Jeffery Boone, Executive Director, East Side Culture Crawl
- Bob D'Eith, Executive Director of MusicBC
- Kathy Gibler, Executive Director of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden (representing the BC Museums Association)
- Jonathan Middleton, Director/Curator, Or Gallery/Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres
- Sue Porter, Executive Director, Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance
- Margaret Reynolds, Executive Director of the Association of Book Publishers of BC
- Camilla Tibbs, General Manager of the International Writers Festival (representing the Arts Festivals of Metro Vancouver)
- John Tylee, Director Policy & Communications, Vancouver Economic Development
- City staff from Cultural Services, Real Estate, Planning Department and the Park Board
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