Victoria, BC– This year, the Capital Regional District (CRD) Arts & Culture Support Service (Arts Service) has awarded 101 grants totalling $2,738,370 to support local not-for-profit arts programming. Both the number of grants awarded and the funding total were record highs. 15 grants were awarded to first-time recipients, also a record number.
“We anticipate an outstanding year of arts programming in the region,” said Arts Commission Chair Marianne Alto. “The proposals that were put forward this year were impressively varied, and I am thrilled that the Arts Commission is able to support so many unique initiatives that strengthen the region’s arts sector.”
The Arts Service delivers funding via five granting programs: Equity, IDEA, Incubator, Project and Operating grants. Equity grants aim to remove barriers to access for marginalized groups, broadening the reach of funding to support a greater diversity of artistic expression. One of this year’s Equity grant recipients is the BC Black History Awareness Society, who will be producing Vibes & Verses: a showcase of Black artists, writers, actors, poets, spoken word performers, storytellers, dancers, and musicians.
IDEA (Innovate, Develop, Experiment, Access) grants fund organizations without an arts mandate to present arts projects and events. Edward Milne Community School will utilize its IDEA grant to produce the Sooke Arts & Culture Podcast, a student-created weekly podcast highlighting Sooke arts and culture events and featuring interviews with local artists and organizers.
Project grants support new and established arts organizations as they produce one-time projects, a short series of events, or extended programming. With its Project grant, the Victoria Poetry Project will present its 20th consecutive season of Tongues of Fire Community Stage events and the 16th annual Victorious Voices Festival, a youth-centred spoken word festival.
Incubator grants focus on the development of emerging arts organizations. This summer, TimeTheft Theatre will use its Incubator grant to produce Endgame, a one-act tragic comedy by Samuel Beckett.
Operating grants enable long-term planning through stable funding for established arts organizations and can be used both for programming and administrative expenses. New operating grant recipient this year, Wonderheads, is a theatre company specializing in visual storytelling. Their work is performed wordlessly, in full-face mask. Over the past fourteen years, they have developed five original productions which have toured to festivals and performing arts centres throughout Canada and the United States.
The approved grants advance the mission of the Arts Service to support, champion, and develop arts and culture in the region. The Arts Service is supported by Saanich, Victoria, Oak Bay, Esquimalt, View Royal, Highlands, Metchosin, Sooke, and Southern Gulf Islands. For more information, visit www.crd.bc.ca/arts.
The CRD delivers regional, sub-regional and local services to 13 municipalities and three electoral areas on southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Governed by a 24-member Board of Directors, the CRD works collaboratively with First Nations and government partners to enable sustainable growth, foster community well-being, and develop cost-effective infrastructure while continuing to provide core services to residents throughout the region. Visit us online at www.crd.bc.ca.
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Chris Gilpin, Manager
CRD Arts & Culture
Tel: 250.360.3205
Email: cgilpin@crd.bc.ca
2024 CRD Arts & Culture Grant Recipients
*New recipients
Equity Grants
| Bayanihan Cultural and Housing Society | $5,000 |
| BC Black History Awareness Society | $7,500 |
| Function Arts & Culture Association* | $5,000 |
| Monoceros Education Society | $7,500 |
| Oasis Society | $2,500 |
| Resonance Collective* | $5,000 |
| SNAFU Dance Theatre Society* | $2,800 |
| Victoria Dragon Boat Festival Society | $5,200 |
| Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society* | $7,500 |
| West Coast Reach Association | $3,250 |
| Total | $51,250 |
IDEA Grants
| Cook Street Village Activity Centre Society* | $1,500 |
| Cook Street Village Business Association | $2,500 |
| Edward Milne Community School Society* | $2,500 |
| Friends of Sooke Parks* | $3,000 |
| Galiano Trails Society* | $1,950 |
| Greater Victoria Social Gathering Place* | $2,920 |
| Harmony Project Society of BC (Sooke) | $3,000 |
| International Institute for Child Rights & Development | $3,000 |
| Jewish Community Centre of Victoria | $3,000 |
| Oaklands Community Association | $2,500 |
| Vancouver Island Cordillera Association* | $2,500 |
| Victoria Brain Injury Society | $2,500 |
| Victoria Downtown Residents Association | $3,000 |
| Victoria Hospice Society | $3,000 |
| Victoria Italian Assistance Centre* | $1,480 |
| Total | $38,350 |
Incubator Grants
| Island Chamber Winds* | $2,500 |
| TimeTheft Theatre Society* | $5,000 |
| Vancouver Island Visual Arts Society | $1,000 |
| Total | $8,500 |
Project Grants
| JANUARY INTAKE |
| Active / Passive Performance Society | $12,250 |
| Afro Latin Cultural Exchange | $8,400 |
| Alter Arts Society | $6,000 |
| Campbell Bay Music Festival | $8,475 |
| Caravan World Rhythms | $11,500 |
| Choral Evolution | $2,500 |
| Civic Orchestra Society of Victoria | $3,500 |
| Garden City Electronic Music | $8,000 |
| Hispanic Film Society of Victoria | $2,500 |
| I-Land Fest* | $6,000 |
| Island String Players Society | $4,000 |
| Newcombe Singers Association* | $2,250 |
| Noble Riot Dance Theatre | $7,000 |
| Planet Earth Poetry | $7,560 |
| Societe Francophone de Victoria | $11,250 |
| Sooke Harbour Players | $4,500 |
| Space Blanket Society | $3,315 |
| Suddenly Dance | $4,500 |
| Three on the Tree Productions Society | $2,000 |
| Township Community Arts Council | $5,000 |
| Victoria Festival of Authors | $9,000 |
| Victoria Summer Music Festival | $3,000 |
| Yellowhouse Art Centre | $7,500 |
| APRIL INTAKE |
| Broken Rhythms Victoria Society | $10,500 |
| Embrace Arts Foundation | $8,000 |
| Esquimalt Community Arts Hub Society | $10,000 |
| Galiano Literary Festival Society | $9,400 |
| Metchosin Arts & Culture Centre Association | $10,570 |
| Salty Broad Productions Society* | $10,000 |
| SingYourJoy Young Adult Chorus Society | $9,500 |
| Sooke Community Choir | $2,500 |
| Sooke Festival Society | $8,550 |
| The Ministry of Casual Living Association | $10,000 |
| The Other Guise (Guys) Theatre Company Society | $6,012 |
| Victoria Philharmonic Choir Society | $9,000 |
| Victoria Poetry Project Society | $8,500 |
| Victoria Quilters Guild* | $1,218 |
| William Head on Stage Theatre Society | $16,250 |
| Xchanges Artists Gallery and Studios Society | $10,000 |
| Total | $280,000 |
Operating Grants
| ANNUAL |
| Atomic Vaudeville | $25,000 |
| Aventa Ensemble | $22,930 |
| CineVic | $25,000 |
| Deluge Contemporary Art | $38,210 |
| Early Music Society | $12,000 |
| Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival | $8,000 |
| Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra | $8,000 |
| Impulse Theatre | $12,000 |
| Kaleidoscope Theatre | $59,500 |
| MediaNet / FLUX gallery | $19,000 |
| Open Space | $87,930 |
| Ptarmigan Arts | $19,400 |
| Puente Theatre | $34,500 |
| SNAFU Dance Theatre Society | $14,500 |
| Story Theatre | $40,000 |
| Theatre Inconnu | $27,500 |
| Theatre SKAM | $40,800 |
| Victoria Arts Council | $37,600 |
| Victoria Baroque Players | $9,550 |
| Victoria BC Ska & Reggae | $25,000 |
| Victoria Children’s Choir | $13,930 |
| Victoria On Stage | $21,500 |
| Victoria Shakespeare Society | $20,000 |
| Wonderheads | $22,000 |
| MULTI-YEAR |
| Art Gallery of Greater Victoria | $448,000 |
| Ballet Victoria | $47,700 |
| Belfry Theatre | $229,000 |
| Dance Victoria | $68,900 |
| Intrepid Theatre | $112,000 |
| Pacific Opera Victoria | $234,450 |
| Victoria Conservatory of Music | $55,000 |
| Victoria Film Festival | $47,170 |
| Victoria Jazz Society | $66,800 |
| Victoria Symphony | $407,400 |
| Total | $2,360,270 |