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Departments > Parks, Recreation and Community Development > Community Development > Arts and Culture > Victoria Arts Scan

What is Victoria Arts Scan?

Victoria Arts Scan is an arts and cultural mapping project designed to inventory information on Victoria's arts and cultural assets - the scope of arts and cultural organizations and resources that currently exist in Victoria.

The LifeCycles Project Society, a local non-profit group, was contracted to collect data and create an inventory, as well as prepare a draft report that identified opportunities and gaps in Victoria's current arts and cultural community and made recommendations for future priorities. This information will be used to develop the City's first Arts and Cultural Plan in the fall.

An Arts and Cultural Plan will guide the City's vision and role in supporting local arts and culture, and will identify initiatives to increase arts and cultural opportunities for the Capital City over the next five years.

This arts and cultural mapping project is funded by a $10,000 Legacy 2010 Now grant, made possible by the BC Provincial Government, in addition to $10,000 from the City of Victoria.

To learn more about Victoria Arts Scan, click on the fact sheet below.

Public Consultation

LifeCycles developed a stakeholder database in consultation with a four-person Arts and Cultural Steering committee. The role of the Steering committee was to provide advice to the Victoria Arts Scan mapping project.

Committee members include James Lam, Arts Development Manager at the Capital Regional District (CRD); Helen Marzolf, Director at Open Space Arts Society; Paul Scrivener, Executive Director of the Community Arts Council; and Scott Walker, Coordinator of the Professional Arts Alliance of Greater Victoria.

In December 2009, LifeCycles began meeting with representatives from Victoria's arts and cultural community, including music, visual arts, theatre/performing arts, dance, film/video, and literary sectors. Consultation with the community will be completed by the end of May.

In addition to one-on-one meetings with stakeholders, an online questionnaire was developed as a convenient way for arts and cultural organizations to provide input. The questionnaire is now closed and the information collected will form part of the inventory.

An online survey also provided an opportunity for the community to provide feedback on the City’s future role in supporting arts and culture.

Thank you to all those who participated in the questionnaire and survey.

Previous Events

Focus Group Discussion
A focus group discussion at City Hall in February 2010 was well-attended by musicians, visual/media artists, actors, performers, writers and poets. All were asked to share their vision for the City's role in supporting the arts and cultural community.

Event Poster - [PDF 481KB]

Lecture and Group Discussion
A public lecture held in January 2010 at City Hall was a great success. Over 130 people gathered to listen to Joanne Edey-Nicoll, Assistant Director of Parks, Culture and Recreation for the City of New Westminster, talk about her community's new Arts Strategy and its role in supporting local arts and culture. Following the lecture, participants had the opportunity to discuss their vision for Victoria's arts and cultural community, and how the City can help support this vision.

How the City Supports Arts and Culture

In 2005, the City of Victoria was declared a "Cultural Capital of Canada" by Heritage Canada. Recreation and Culture staff lead, support, facilitate and coordinate recreation, arts and culture, and community development initiatives in Victoria.

The City has been working with local arts and cultural groups over the past decade in various capacities. It supports everything from multicultural festivals and Canada Day celebrations, to public art, Victoria's Poet Laureate, and the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize.

For a complete list of the arts and cultural projects the City supports, click here - [PDF 84KB].

Victoria's Public Art Policy
The City also supports the arts by way of its Public Art Policy, designed to create opportunities for people in everyday life, for artists, and the community to participate in the design, look and feel of Victoria.

Adopted 16 years ago, the policy is currently under review to determine how it can better meet the needs of the community. Public consultation that took place in the fall and research into best practices in North America, will inform a report that will be presented to Council for consideration this spring. The City's new Public Art Policy will form part of its Arts and Cultural Plan.

Next Steps

In the spring, LifeCycles delivered a draft report to City staff and an inventory (database) of Victoria's current arts and cultural resources, as well as recommendations for setting future priorities. The inventory and report will be presented to City Council in August 2010.

Upcoming Public Meetings

The City of Victoria will share the Victoria Arts Scan report and discuss the upcoming development of Victoria's Arts and Culture Plan at two public meetings this fall.

Victoria Arts Scan Stakeholder Meeting
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Victoria City Hall Antechamber

Victoria Arts Scan Public Meeting
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
James Bay New Horizons
234 Menzies Street

Related Links

Contact Us

For more information, contact:

Gail Price-Douglas
Community Development Planner
Parks, Recreation and Culture Department
City of Victoria
250.361.0358
E-mail Gail Price-Douglas

Katie Shaw-Raudoy
Programs Director
LifeCycles Project Society
250.383.5800
E-mail Katie Shaw-Raudoy


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