City of Vancouver 2023 Heritage Awards poster on a teal, orange, and off-white patterned background

Vancouver celebrates winners of the Heritage Awards

May 16 2023 –

Outstanding efforts to preserve and sustain our city’s cultural heritage were recognized last night at the 2023 Vancouver Heritage Awards ceremony.

The Heritage Awards acknowledge and celebrate the different facets of heritage in Vancouver that are reflected not only in historic buildings and places, but also through intangible heritage and the self-expressed heritage of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tseil-Waututh Nations, Urban Indigenous Peoples, and the many cultures that enrich our city. 

The Heritage Awards were presented for achievements in three categories: 

Living Heritage – For projects or initiatives that highlight the self-expressed heritage of Vancouver’s communities, or for projects that support reconciliation, cultural redress, or safeguarding or regeneration of living heritage.

Outstanding Achievement: 

  • Punjabi Market Revitalization 

Honourees: 

  • Coming Out Of Chaos - Karen Jamieson Dance
  • Motanka Creations

Heritage Conservation – For the restoration, rehabilitation, adaptive re-use or continued maintenance of buildings, structures, cultural landscapes or other natural features, including seismic or sustainability upgrades.

Outstanding Achievement: 

  • Hollywood Theatre, 3123 West Broadway 
  • St. Andrew’s Wesley United Church, 1012 Nelson Street 
  • Sun Tower, 128 West Pender Street 

Honourees: 

  • BC Securities Building, 402 West Pender Street 
  • Broadhurst & Whitaker Block, 3495 Commercial Street 
  • Coulter House, 67 West 6th Avenue 
  • Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street
  • Mah Society of Canada Building, 137-139 East Pender Street 
  • UNION, 851 Union Street 

Education and Awareness – For the use of a publication, exhibit, activity, social media, or website to promote tangible or intangible heritage, or celebrate diverse cultures and histories

Outstanding Achievement: 

  • Chinatown Storytelling Centre 

Honourees:  

  • Jewish Historic Walking Tours 
  • Mount Pleasant Stories Historical Walking Tours Guidebook Walk 1: Mount Pleasant's Heritage Heart 
  • Vancouver Fruit Tree Histories and Communities 

For more details on the winning projects, visit the Heritage Awards website. 

The Heritage Awards were adjudicated by an independent jury which included three members of the Vancouver Heritage Commission and two members of the public. Projects eligible for consideration must have been completed within the past six years and not have previously received a City of Vancouver Heritage Award.

Background

The City of Vancouver oversees a comprehensive heritage program that works to strengthen the policies and tools available to support and protect tangible and intangible heritage. 

In March 2020, City Council approved the new Vancouver Heritage Program (5.8 MB), which expands the meaning of heritage to firmly embrace cultural heritage and support the self-expressed histories and heritage of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations and Urban Indigenous Peoples. The Heritage Program also enables policy framework and planning tools to further integrate heritage conservation within citywide planning and urban development processes.