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For The Record

GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS THE ARTS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

Sept. 17, 2009
Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts
 
Opinion Editorials

The Province is committed to the long-term health of B.C.’s arts sector and recognizes the key social and economic roles that heritage, arts and culture play in our society.  Here are the facts on arts funding:

  • The Province is providing $25.8 million in 2009/10 to support arts groups and artists. This includes:
    • $10.93 million in grants funding through the BC Arts Council (from gaming grants).
    • More than $1.14 million to the BC Film Society.
    • Estimated $1.5 million through the Arts Legacy Fund and BC 150 Cultural Fund.
    • $8.9 million in gaming grants provided by the Ministry of Housing and Social Development directly to 350 arts and culture groups throughout B.C.
    • Additional Arts Legacy Fund expenditures of $350,000 through gaming grants.
    • The Province will also spend $3 million to fully fund those community organizations currently holding three-year gaming grant commitments. Those grants will be paid shortly.
  • In February 2009, an additional $7 million – providing 247 grants – was allocated through supplementary estimates for arts and culture funding. This was distributed by the BC Arts Council to sustain the arts and culture community through difficult economic times by providing operating funding for the coming year.
  • Examples of groups that received this additional funding include:
    • $42,600  for the Alberni Valley Museum
    • $12,800 for the Salmon Arm Folk Music Society
    • $11,600 for the Children’s Arts Umbrella Association
    • $33,500 for the Assembly of BC Arts Councils
  • Arts organizations who received this funding were encouraged to use it to sustain their programming over the year to come and were advised the additional funds would be factored into their funding applications for the coming year.
  • The Province has also provided long-term support for the arts through two endowment projects:
    • $150 million was invested to create the BC 150 Cultural Fund. Each year, earnings from the endowment fund a variety of arts and cultural groups.
    • $25 million was provided over three years through the Renaissance Fund to help arts groups form their own endowments by leveraging matching contributions from other sources. With this support, arts groups were able to create endowment funds worth more than $50 million.
  • In 2008/09 the Province provided $37.75 million to support arts groups and artists:
    • $16.8 million in grants to arts organizations through the BC Arts Council, higher than in any previous year.
    • $2.28 million to the BC Film Society.
    • $672,000 through the Arts Legacy Fund.
    • $18 million in gaming grants provided by the Ministry of Housing and Social Development directly to 840 arts and culture groups throughout B.C.
  • The Province has supported several significant arts and culture projects in B.C. over the past few years, including:
    • $150 million for the BC150 Cultural Fund, a permanent endowment
    • $50 million to the Vancouver Art Gallery
    • $9 million to restore and revitalize the Vancouver East Cultural Centre and establish an endowment to assist with the centre's ongoing operating costs.
    • $9 million for the National Maritime Centre. 2007/08
    • $650,000 to support the Juno Awards in Vancouver, March 26-29, 2009.
    • $600,000 to support B.C. artists participating in the BC Scene in Ottawa, April 21-May 3, 2009.
    • $350,000 from the Arts Legacy Fund (ALF) to support the 2008 Cultural Olympiad.
    • $300,000 to the Canadian Country Music Awards in Vancouver, Sept. 10-13, 2009.
  • Since 2001, the BC Arts Council has distributed over $124 million to support arts and culture groups around B.C.
  • The BC Arts Council is currently developing a strategic plan through an extensive public consultation process. By engaging over 135 artists and practitioners who reflect a diverse range of artistic disciplines, cultural practices and communities, the consultation will guide the BCAC’s programming over the next four years.
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Opinion Editorials

March 6, 2009
Opinion Editorials
PROVINCE SHOWS STRONG SUPPORT FOR ARTS AND CULTURE
 By Bill Bennett
Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts
 Submitted: Provincewide
Status: Not Published
I have tremendous respect for British Columbia's arts and culture community - both for the beauty and significance of what it creates and for the important economic generator that it represents. [Read More]