Arts communities in Nanaimo and on Gabriola Island will benefit from improved arts spaces, the provincial government says.
According to an NDP caucus press release, the Nanaimo Art Gallery will receive $25,000 in funding, whereas the Gabriola Arts Council and Gabriola Players Theatre Society will share more than $15,000 in funding.
In the release, Nanaimo MLA Sheila Malcolmson said Nanaimo Art Gallery is “a bright light in our local arts and culture community.”
Nanaimo-North Cowichan MLA Doug Routley added that “these grants will only further the thriving arts and culture sector” on Gabriola Island.
In total, 84 arts and cultural organizations will share $4 million through the province’s arts infrastructure program, which aims to provide organizations the opportunity to develop and enhance spaces for provincial arts and cultural practitioners. The release noted that eligible activities included capital improvements such as improving safety, increasing accessibility or purchasing specialized equipment
B.C. Arts Council’s action plan, introduced last month, marked a focus on the way the council provided funds as a response to calls to action for reconciliation, diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.
“In alignment with these commitments, 50 per cent of grants in this recent round of arts infrastructure funding was distributed to organizations from rural or remote communities or those led by or rooted in Indigenous and equity-deserving communities,” noted the release.
READ MORE: Gabriola Arts Council awarded $95K in grants for performing arts
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