100 Mile House • Abbotsford • Alert Bay • Anmore • Armstrong • Ashcroft • Barriere • Belcarra • Bowen Island • Burnaby • Burns Lake • Cache Creek • Campbell River • Canal Flats • Castlegar • Central Saanich • Chase • Chetwynd • Chilliwack • Clearwater • Clinton • Coldstream • Colwood • Comox • Coquitlam • Courtenay • Cranbrook • Creston • Cumberland • Dawson Creek • Delta • Duncan • Elkford • Enderby • Esquimalt • Fernie • Fort St. James • Fort St. John • Fraser Lake • Fruitvale • Gibsons • Golden • Gold River • Grand Forks • Granisle • Greenwood • Harrison Hot Springs • Hazelton • Highlands • Hope • Houston • Hudson's Hope • Invermere • Kamloops • Kaslo • Kelowna • Kent • Keremeos • Kimberley • Kitimat • Ladysmith • Lake Country • Lake Cowichan • Langford • Langley • Lantzville • Lillooet • Lions Bay • Logan Lake • Lumby • Lytton • Mackenzie • Maple Ridge • Masset • McBride • Merritt • Metchosin • Midway • Mission • Montrose • Nakusp • Nanaimo • Nelson • New Denver • New Hazelton • New Westminster • North Cowichan • North Saanich • North Vancouver • Northern Rockies • Oak Bay • Oliver • Osoyoos • Parksville • Peachland • Pemberton • Penticton • Pitt Meadows • Port Alberni • Port Alice • Port Clements • Port Coquitlam • Port Edward • Port Hardy • Port McNeill • Port Moody • Pouce Coupe • Powell River • Prince George • Prince Rupert • Princeton • Qualicum Beach • Queen Charlotte • Quesnel • Radium Hot Springs • Revelstoke • Richmond • Rossland • Saanich • Salmo • Salmon Arm • Sayward • Sechelt • Sechelt Indian Government District • Sicamous • Sidney • Silverton • Slocan • Smithers • Sooke • Spallumcheen • Sparwood • Squamish • Stewart • Summerland • Sun Peaks • Surrey • Tahsis • Taylor • Telkwa • Terrace • Tofino • Trail • Tumbler Ridge • Ucluelet • Valemount • Vancouver • Vanderhoof • Vernon • Victoria • View Royal • Warfield • Wells • West Kelowna • West Vancouver • Whistler • White Rock • Williams Lake • Zeballos / Annual Report 2nd Floor, 800 Johnson Street Victoria, BC V8W 1N3 Tel: (250) 356 -1718 www.bcartscouncil.ca Copyright © 2018 Province of British Columbia. All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Territory Acknowledgement The BC Arts Council acknowledges it carries out its work on the traditional territories of Indigenous nations throughout British Columbia. We pay our respects to the Elders, past and present, descendants and custodians of these lands. We honour the knowledge keepers and the continuing relationships with Indigenous people in B.C. that develop through our work together. The BC Arts Council thanks the Lekwungen speaking people and the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations for allowing us to operate our main offices within their traditional territories. MESSAGE FROM THE MINISTER I am pleased to present the BC Arts Council’s 2017/18 Annual Report, which provides an in-depth view of B.C.’s arts and culture sector from April 2017 through March 2018. British Columbia has a wealth of creativity in communities throughout the province. The BC Arts Council plays an important role in developing that, by working with artists and arts and culture organizations in every region of B.C. This annual report reflects the extensive reach of the Council, funding creative activities in over 220 communities in B.C. Through its peer-review process, Council assessed 2,648 applications and awarded 1,419 grants. This includes work by Council’s longstanding partners the First Peoples’ Cultural Council, the BC Touring Council, ArtStarts in Schools and Creative BC. The Council is fortunate to have strong leadership, with Susan Jackson as chair and Jane Brindley as vice-chair. Since I appointed them in January 2018, they have ably guided the organization through the development and implementation of its new strategic plan. Other members appointed in January were: Manjot Bains, Ian Case, Dean Heron and Corinne Hunt. I would like to thank Merla Beckerman (chair 2015-2017) and Lori Marchand (vice-chair 2015- 2017) for their great service to arts and culture in our province. Our government values the work of the Council. In Budget 2018, the Province increased its support of the BC Arts Council by $15 million over the next three years. This investment gives the agency a total of $29 million in 2018-19 in funding which will 4 BC Arts Council support the work of artists and cultural organizations. The BC Arts Council is a great asset to our province’s cultural vitality. Through its activities, the Council strengthens opportunities for British Columbians to participate and thrive in the creative economy today and in the future. I look forward to its continued success in nurturing arts and culture in communities all over B.C. Sincerely, Lisa Beare Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture 2017/18 Annual Report 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS MESSAGE FROM THE MINISTER 4 MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR 9 OBSERVATIONS 2017/18 12 The Adjudication Process 12 Research Activities 12 Sector Expertise 14 STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS OVERVIEW 16 Foster Artistic Excellence in all Art Forms and Practices 16 Strengthen Engagement in the Arts 16 Support the Richness of Aboriginal Artists and Communities in British Columbia 17 Enhance Support for Arts and Culture in British Columbia 17 BC ARTS COUNCIL 18 BC Arts Council Members 18 BC Arts Council Staff 20 GRANT PROGRAMS 22 Professional Arts Funding 22 Strategic Initiatives Funding 23 Community Arts Funding 24 Partnerships Funding 24 BC ARTS COUNCIL ADJUDICATORS 25 Professional Arts Funding 25 Strategic Initiatives Funding 28 Community Arts Funding 28 Partnerships Funding 29 6 BC Arts Council COMMUNITY IMPACT 30 228 Communities Benefitting from BC Arts Council Activity 31 FINANCIAL SUMMARY 33 AWARDS LISTING 2017/18 34 Professional Arts Funding 34 Strategic Initiatives Funding 59 Community Arts Funding 67 Partnerships Funding 74 Runaway Moon Theatre. Allan Brooks Nature Centre Raptor Stilt Chorus. Cathy Stubington and workshop participants from the Birds!Birds!Birds! collective 2017/18 Annual Report 7 Children of God by written and directed by Corey Payette. Production Design (Set/Costume/Props) by Marshall McMahen. Lighting Design by Jeff Harrison. An Urban Ink Production presented by Citadel Theatre and Western Canada Theatre. Actors: Kaitlyn Yott, Aaron M. Wells, Cheyenne Scott, Dillan Chiblow, Raes Calvert, Michelle Bardach, and Sandy Scofield. Photo by David Cooper. Installation view from N. Vancouver, 2017, Photo: © Brad Kasselman, Coast Mountain Photography, 2017 8 BC Arts Council MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR Throughout the 2017/18 fiscal year, BC Arts Council supported artistic achievement and public participation in over 200 communities across British Columbia. With funding from the Government of British Columbia, Council awarded over $24 million in assistance to independent artists and a wide range of arts and culture organizations. With this support, the province’s arts and cultural sector engages people and communities across the province, while also being celebrated nationally and internationally. In July 2017, the Honourable Lisa Beare was appointed Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture. Since then Minister Beare has worked closely with Council, providing a new vision for the development of the arts and culture sector. In December, Minister Beare hosted a unique gathering of B.C. artists to discuss two arts mandate commitments: to double investment in the BC Arts Council and to establish an arts infrastructure fund. Both commitments acknowledge the essential role arts and culture plays in the lives of British Columbians and the significant influence of the sector at the core of the creative economy. In January 2018, I was appointed chair of the BC Arts Council’s 15 member Council, having served as a member since 2016. The appointed Council members serve as the overall governing body, providing strategic direction, policy direction and granting oversight to the BC Arts Council. Council members represent the regions, cultural diversity and artistic communities of British Columbia. I would like to express my gratitude to my predecessor Merla Beckerman, and to vice-chair Lori Marchand, whose terms both concluded in 2017 after many years of service to Council. Other Council member departures this past year included Claudia Blair, Thomas Cannell, Gordon Harris and Cindy Marcotte. We thank them all for their commitment and dedication to arts and culture in B.C. We are also very pleased to welcome our newly appointed Council members Manjot Bains, Jane Brindley (vice-chair), Ian Case, Dean Heron and Corrine Hunt. These individuals 2017/18 Annual Report 9 represent a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines, and we look forward to the tremendous expertise and energy they will bring to Council. One of the Council members’ core responsibilities is to oversee the BC Arts Council’s strategic direction, and developing a new Strategic Plan for 2018-2022 was an important focus this past year. Council formed a Strategic Planning Committee, and together with staff they began work on the plan in early 2017, incorporating the findings of three years of staff consultations across the province, as well as the results from the minister’s community consultation later in the year. The plan will be launched in June 2018 and will create a new foundation for the Council, guided by the principles of sustainability, equity, diversity, access and reconciliation. This past year, in response to the United Nations