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, has been contracted to collect data and create an inventory, as well as prepare a report that identifies opportunities and gaps in Victoria's current arts and cultural community and make recommendations for future priorities. This information will be used to develop the City's first Arts and Cultural Plan in 2010.

An Arts and Cultural Plan guides the City's vision and role in supporting local arts and culture, and identifies 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.

• FACT SHEET - Victoria Arts Scan: Mapping Our Arts and Cultural Resources - [PDF 333KB]

Consultation
LifeCycles is developing a database in consultation with a four-person Arts and Cultural Steering committee. The role of the Steering committee is 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, 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 will be completed by mid-March 2010.

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

Victoria Arts Scan Online Questionnaire
Victoria arts and cultural organizations are invited to complete the Victoria Arts Scan online questionnaire to help us map our community's resources.

• Victoria Arts Scan - (a survey for arts and cultural organizations)

Online Survey
The Online Survey is now closed. Thank you to all those who participated.

Event: 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]

Event: 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.

• Event Poster - [PDF 481KB]

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 in spring 2010. The City's new Public Art Policy will form part of its Arts and Cultural Plan.

Next Steps
At the end of March 2010, LifeCycles will deliver a report to City staff that will include 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 Victoria City Council in April 2010.

Related Links

• Cultural Mapping Toolkit, ArtsNow - [PDF 2.2MB]
• New Westminster Arts Strategy - [PDF 1.0MB]
• City of Richmond Arts & Culture Community Scan - [PDF 542KB]

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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