Culture Plan for Vancouver 2008-2018

February 3, 2017 - Help shape the future of Vancouver's arts and culture spaces. Take the Making Space for Art Survey.

We have commissioned a study on arts and cultural spaces in Vancouver. As part of the research, we need input from arts and cultural organizations and individual artists to understand current and future programming activity, space use and facility needs. This information will be used to help inform future support for arts and cultural spaces in Vancouver. It is critical that we gather meaningful input from the arts and culture community.

The survey takes about 15 minutes, and is being conducted by AMS Planning and Research. (If your organization receives support from us, you may have already received an invitation to participate.)

Deadline: Friday, February 24, 2017

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact Kristen Lambertson, Cultural Planner at kristen.lambertson@vancouver.ca or Bill Blake, AMS Planning and Research at bblake@ams-online.com.

Take the Making Space for Art Survey

Public art update and signature opportunities

June 1, 2016 – Vancouver's Public Art Program is celebrating it's 25th Anniversary in 2016. The program has enabled over 400 pieces of public art and community art installations in the city.

As reported to City Council, this year the program will launch over 25 temporary and permanent artworks to be built and installed over the next several years.

In addition, the program plans to launch three signature public artworks with substantive budgets in key Vancouver locations. These will include:

• Major artworks by local First Nations
• A contemporary City of Reconciliation artwork
• A commission in which an artist of international calibre will be invited to create a major artwork for Vancouver

View the staff presentation to Council (3.5 MB) and meeting video

Read the 25th Anniversary Retrospective blog

Community Arts Grants 2016

June 1, 2016 – Vancouver City Council approved grant allocations totalling $464,650 to a record 82 organizations representing the full spectrum of amateur to professional art practices.

Through the Community Arts Grants program, the Council-adopted Culture Plan vision to invest in Vancouver's vibrant and creative neighbourhoods is clearly accomplished. Additionally, it delivers on the City's Health City Strategy goals of supporting creative expression, cultivating social connections, and lifelong learning through unique artist and community collaborations, leading to healthier communities.

Read the Council report (900 KB)

Add to our cultural spaces map

June 1, 2016 - Cultural spaces are where people come together to express themselves through art and culture. We're looking to those who know the landscape to be a part of the illustrating Vancouver's evolving cultural spaces story. Now until the end of June 2016, we're opening up a simple online survey for adding spaces and providing updates. The goal of this ongoing open data project is to improve the information we publish and make it available in fall 2016 for anyone to use.

Are the cultural spaces you value on the map? Help make sure that the data is correct and complete.

View and add to the map

Cultural spaces update

June 1, 2016 - We updated Vancouver City Council on the six ways we're working to support the local facility needs of artists:

1. Partner to develop new spaces
2. Major capital funding to acquire and renovate
3. Renting out City of Vancouver spaces (both nominal and market rates)
4. Infrastructure grants
5. Regulatory assistance
6. Capacity-building

View the staff presentation to Council (2.5 MB)

Vancouver Civic Theatres update

June 1, 2016 - Vancouver Civic Theatres oversees five City-owned performance venues: The Orpheum, The Annex, Vancouver Playhouse, Queen Elizabeth Theatre and Queen Elizabeth Plaza.

This report to Vancouver City Council presents an update on priorities, business planning, and a study underway to identify gaps in performing arts space in the city.

View the presentation (1.1 MB)

Giving public art a boost

May 31, 2016 - The City of Vancouver unanimously adopted a motion that recommends significantly expanding the City's Public Art Program through a "public art boost".

Read the Council motion (20 KB)

Culture Plan for Vancouver 2008 – 2018

• Culture Plan for Vancouver 2008 – 2018 detailed (211 KB)
• Culture Plan for Vancouver 2008 – 2018 final (30 MB)
• Culture Plan Strategic Directions – 2014 to 2018  (1.6 MB)

The central vision of this ten-year Culture Plan is to promote and enhance the culture and creative diversity of the City of Vancouver to the benefit of our citizens, our creative community, and our visitors. We will build upon Vancouver’s current diverse and plentiful artistic and entertainment offerings to create a new dynamism and pride in our cultural life.

1. Innovation

Goal

Recognize Vancouver – locally, nationally and internationally – as a city of creative ideas and innovation, with unique, diverse and authentic voices, and a young and growing cultural community on the leading edge.

Strategy

Collaborate with community partners to realize our full creative potential by fostering innovation in our cultural policies, programs and services to support cultural ideas and expression

2. Learning

Goal

Build on Vancouver's reputation as a city of learning that embeds cultural exchange, curiosity and development as part of lifelong learning.  Ensure that all citizens have the opportunity to engage with and participate in cultural education throughout their lives and to develop his or her expressive capacities.

Strategy

Support lifelong learning for all Vancouver citizens by collaborating with community partners to embed cultural awareness, instruction and programming within all our institutions and systems.

3. Connecting People, Ideas and Communities

Goal

Take advantage of Vancouver's position as a creative city where connectivity is a hallmark of our cultural system – artists, creative industries, institutions, communities, and neighbourhoods. It is a city engaged in a dynamic ongoing dialogue and exploration that connects people, communities, innovative ideas and programs.

Strategy

Play a leadership role. With our partners, find practical ways to support a collaborative environment and opportunities for dialogue. Invite citizens to engage and participate in cultural activities.

4. Neighbourhoods

Goal

Highlight Vancouver as a city of vibrant creative neighbourhoods by showcasing the talent, enterprise and diversity of our artists, communities and neighbourhoods. Build on the unique identity of our neighbourhoods – engaging local residents, artists and businesses – to ensure that the rich culture, creativity, diversity and innovation of Vancouver lives on and is accessible to all.

Strategy

Support neighbourhoods to develop cultural plans and seek new partnerships and collaborations. Encourage new initiatives and activities that support neighbourhood cultures as a central facet of Vancouver's cultural life.

5. Valued and Valuable

Goal

Ensure that citizens and taxpayers of Vancouver experience in real and concrete ways the value that arts and culture bring to the city and their lives, families and businesses. Promote Vancouver's growing reputation as an international cultural tourism and entertainment destination where culture is vibrant and happening and where we value and celebrate the rich multicultural and intercultural expression that is unique to Vancouver.

Strategy

Increased public participation means increased financial viability for quality cultural experiences. Work with the non-profit arts and cultural sector, cultural industries, business and public sectors to develop new and innovative ways to highlight and profile the creative sector to the citizens of Vancouver and promote Vancouver's reputation as a Creative City.

Vancouver is poised to establish itself as a city on the cutting edge of art, culture, education, entertainment, and support of the creative industries. The vision and strategy articulated in the Culture Plan provides momentum for the City to move forward over the next ten years by harnessing this creativity for the benefit of all.

July 2005

City Council approved the terms of reference for the Creative City Task Force, comprised of Councillors, community representatives, and City staff. Their mandate was to consult with stakeholders to identify strategic goals and directions for the City's long-term role in support of arts and culture.

April 2007

Creative City Conversation: the City's first forum on the power of culture, creativity, and community.

2008

Creation of a long-term Culture Plan to guide the City's role in arts and culture in Vancouver for the next decade.