ARTS & CULTURE

Arts and culture make a community a vibrant and enriching place to live. An active and diverse mix of cultural offerings increases our sense of satisfaction with our environment and community pride.

Inclusive Inspiration Through Dance

Arts & Culture

Inclusive Inspiration Through Dance

Every year, artists apply to Dance Victoria’s Artists Residency Program. Successful applicants enjoy studio time and a financial contribution toward their project budget, enabling emerging artists to develop their work and extend their reach. This year, the Victoria Foundation Community Grants Program funding supported four racialized and underrepresented dance artists.

“This support encourages artists to stay in the city, providing one more opportunity to continue their creative endeavors in Victoria,” states Dayna Szyndrowski, Dance Victoria’s General Manager. “It highlights the importance of creating more community and increasing visibility for artists in Victoria. The program also ensures that people outside of Victoria can see the vibrant arts scene and the talent that exists within the city.”

Queer contemporary dance artist and teacher Angela Mousseau was a grant recipient. She developed a work in collaboration with two emerging artists, Elya Grant and Nyah Wong (pictured here), and shared it during the Intrepid Theatre’s OUTstages Festival, presenting their work-in-progress at this public-facing event. The program also supported Visible Bodies Collective, an intercultural, intergenerational group of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) artists and dancers.

SPONSORED BY
Black Press Media

Vital signs citizen survey grade

B

Last year's grade was B

Arts and Culture

Vital signs citizen survey grade

B
Sustainable Development Targets

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TARGETS

LIBRARY USE

In 2023, the Greater Victoria Public Library (GVPL) reported the following visits, circulation, and engagement across its 12 branches in the region:

3.3Million Total Visits 1.7M in person

22000New Cardholders
16% of total cardholders as of December 31, 2023

5.9Millon Total Circulation
3.8M physical items, 2.1M digital items

137000Public Computer Logins

28000in Total Program Participation

SOURCE: GREATER VICTORIA PUBLIC LIBRARY 

GPVL rankings in 2022 (most recent year of data) among 17 reporting urban library systems in Canada

  • 1st for total circulation
  • 3rd for in-person visits
  • 8th for total number of cardholders per capita

SOURCE: CANADIAN URBAN LIBRARY COUNCIL

The Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL) serves Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, and the Central Coast. It operates 39 branches, including two in the capital region: Sidney/North Saanich and Sooke.

In 2023, the two branches combined recorded:

  • 363,000 Total Circulation
  • 252,000 Physical Items
  • 111,000 Digital Items
  • 16,000 Total Cardholders (20% new applicants)
0%

of Sidney/North Saanich residents have a library card

0%

of Sooke residents have a library card


Since opening in 2022, the Sooke library has become a go-to community consultation space for all levels of government. In 2023, the Sidney/North Saanich library worked with municipal partners to establish an on-site bike repair station that loans repair kits and started loaning board games and puzzles with huge success. 

SOURCE: VANCOUVER ISLAND REGIONAL LIBRARY 

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TARGETS

4.7: Acquire appreciation of cultural diversity and culture’s contribution to sustainable development

8.3: Support decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises

11.4: Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage

ARTS FUNDING

Regional Funding in 2023

Funds distributed by Capital Regional District (CRD) Arts and Culture Support Service:

$2.6Million to 93 local non-profit arts organizations and artist-led partnerships of whom 13 were first-time recipients

9460events and performances hosted by CRD grant recipients in the region with over 929,000 participants and audience members

5297arts workers were employed by grant recipients, including artists and full- and part-time staff

SOURCE: CAPITAL REGIONAL DISTRICT

Federal Funding in 2022/23

Funds awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts:

$6.1Million to 147 recipients in the Victoria CMA, including 99 individuals, 3 groups, and 45 arts organizations

Grants ranged from $1,000 to $670,000

$19007
average grant received by individuals

$93436
average arts organization grant

$57Million awarded to 1,500 artists, groups, and organizations in 106 communities in BC

SOURCE: CANADA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS 

EMPLOYMENT IN THE ARTS

Approximately 8,500 people worked in arts, culture, recreation, and sports occupations, except management, in Greater Victoria in 2023 continuing an upward trend since 2019

SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA 

COMMUNITY IN FOCUS

UVIC INAUGURAL INDIGENOUS STORYTELLER-IN-RESIDENCE

Award-winning Tłı̨chǫ Dene author Richard Van Camp was named the University of Victoria’s inaugural Indigenous Storyteller-in-Residence. 

Van Camp, an alumnus of UVic’s creative writing program, began his residency in September, where he is offering two online courses called ‘Recovering Family Medicine Through Story’ in the English and Continuing Studies departments. He is also offering one-on-one writing workshops to students, and an on-campus graduate seminar in 2025. 

The new Storyteller-in-Residence program is part of UVic’s commitment to ʔetal nəwəl — which means relationships with the lands, waters, and all living beings — by welcoming students and community members to explore the healing power of stories. 

SOURCE: UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA