Letter Re: Capital Regional District Arts & Culture Support Service

RE: Capital Regional District Arts & Culture Support Service

As Manager of the Arts and Culture Support Service (Arts Service) at the Capital Regional District, I am writing to thank you for your support and participation. As a sub-regional service, the Arts Service provides support through grant programs to non-profit organizations, who in turn develop programming that creates artistic, social, and economic benefits for the region. Enclosed with this letter are copies of the CRD Arts & Culture 2023 Impact Report, to illustrate the tremendous impact of the Arts Service.

In this report, you will read how the Arts Service invested over $2.6 million dollars in local arts non-profit organizations and artist-led partnerships in 2023. Through 93 awarded grants, over 9,460 arts events and activities took place in the region. The report also details the process by which we developed a new 2024 – 2027 Strategic Plan, informed by what we learned over the past four years, and through extensive community consultation. Finally, we were glad to note that audiences were bouncing back last year in numbers that rival or exceed pre-pandemic levels. Over 928,000 participants and audience members showed up to enjoy performances, festivals, galleries, and interactive art experiences across the region.

The current participating jurisdictions of the Arts Service are Saanich, Victoria, Oak Bay, Esquimalt, View Royal, Sooke, Metchosin, Highlands, and Southern Gulf Islands. As you are aware, each member jurisdiction selects a representative to serve on the Arts Commission, which oversees the administration and operations of the Arts Service. We are grateful for the leadership of Gery Lemon who serves on your behalf.

I encourage you to visit the CRD Arts and Culture webpages at: https://www.crd.bc.ca/service/arts-funding for more information on the Arts Service. There you will also find a link to sign up for our e-newsletter, which provides information about upcoming grant intakes, workshops for potential grant applicants, reports, and related events. Once again, thank you for partnering with us to support a flourishing arts community!

Sincerely,

Chris Gilpin Manager, CRD Arts and Culture