Correspondence from Coast Collective re: Request for Letter of Support

Society for the Arts on the South Island (SASI)

dba Coast Collective Art Centre

What SASI and the Coast Collective have contribute to Victoria’s West Shore communities over the past year:

• Media – Regular earned media coverage with a particular spike experienced when the organization’s future was in question; we estimate that this increased uptake to an estimated 65,000 people who would have heard about the Coast Collective.
• Social Media – Facebook: 861 Likes and Twitter: 738 Followers
• Attendance – Approximately 10,000 people visited the Coast Collective over the past 12 months, with a further 3,700 connecting with our seasonal gift shop and Artist-in-Residence Program at Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Sites, where we again successfully partnered with Parks Canada through the summer.
• Advertising – Advertising placed in Victoria Visitors’ Choice produces 180,000 guides, which have been a successful promotional vehicle to draw people to our West Shore location and nearby amenities.
• Gallery Exhibits – 24, featuring an average of 25 to 30 artists per show.
• Gift Shop – Featured the work over approximately 225 artists and artisans, expanding our network of artists and craftspeople and the quality and range of the work being made available to the public. Many of the artists and craftspeople represented by the Coast Collective are residents of View Royal.
• Art & Craft Educational Opportunities – The Coast Collective produced a broad range of workshops and classes over the past 12 months, including a number of successful visiting artists, among them the renowned Allan Kirk from France. Our reputation for excellence in arts education continues to grow. Education continues to be our primary revenue-generator.
• Events – Although we needed to cancel annual summer events as a result of work underway with Pacific Landing at our Esquimalt Lagoon location, we were delighted to enjoy a tremendous response to our Enchanted Forest Festival. This was the focal point of our 2015 Children’s Art Show, “Fairies, Fantasy and Folktales”, held in tandem with the annual Mothers’ Day Paint-in at Royal Roads University.
• Volunteer Contributions – 6,704 hours, with a base value of $67,040 if calculated at $10/hour.
• Economic Impact – The Coast Collective is a catalyst organization spurring on a growing regional creative economy. Over the past 12 months, the Coast Collective has been responsible for generating over $250,000 in direct sales, increased over the previous year despite a dip in overall attendance numbers. The broader “multiplier” effect of the Coast Collective’s economic impact has yet to be fully measured. Many people couple a visit to the Coast Collective with a meal out or other shopping experiences. All this further adds to the benefits brought to View Royal by this unique cultural enterprise. This impact is expected to increase dramatically with our move to Westridge Landing in 2016.

Benefits the Coast Collective brings to residents of the West Shore: A vibrant arts and culture scene are important elements of a sustainable community, and are reflected in the region’s Official Community Plans and economic development strategies. The Coast Collective has established itself as a regional drawing card and community cultural amenity, enriching the lives of people of all ages, whether they are residents or visitors to our growing community. Our collaborative partnerships help create memorable activities and events, and our enterprising nature has helped to enable a public arts presence to evolve on the West Shore despite the challenges of having to earn 97% of our revenue over the past 12 months. We believe that with more significant funding support, we can continue to grow to better serve the residents and businesses of the West Shore, contributing to the development of a sustainable community through the arts and culture.

Looking ahead ... projected attendance/participation numbers for the Coast Collective in 2016:

• 16,000 people are expected to visit us at our new Westridge Landing location. Going from zero drive-by to approximately 15,000 vehicles a day, which we believe is a conservative traffic estimate at one of the gateways to the growing West Shore.
• We are projecting that an estimated 650 people will attend classes and workshops, including our new Spring Break and Summer Camp offerings for children and youth (which could be made considerably more affordable with funding available through a Community Gaming Grant).
• Artist participation is also expected to grow from our new urban arts hub, where we are anticipating that our member artist ranks will grow to between 250 and 300 by the end of 2016, not including artists submitting work to our annual series of exhibitions. With the two new high schools online on the West Shore, a larger level of participation is expected for our youth art show in May, and planning for the 3rd annual Children’s Art Show is also expecting an uptick for 2016. These numbers are more difficult to judge, but overall we anticipate between 300 and 400 children and youth to benefit from our coordination of these two important community arts shows. A considerable number of artists of all ages reside in the Town of View Royal.

Projected volunteer participation through the Coast Collective in 2016: We are anticipating over 6,000 hours of volunteer time to be provided to the community by SASI and the Coast Collective during 2016:

• Leadership in cultural development – The Society for Arts on the South Island provides a variety of leadership opportunities through service on the society’s board of directors and committees. Board and committee members provide governance as well as hands-on assistance with the day-to-day operations of the gallery, gift shop and workshop facilities, and aid in community outreach and social marketing events/activities.
• Nurturing multi-generational opportunities for mentorships in the arts – Artist members of the Coast Collective/SASI will continue to carry on relationships previously forged through the Coast Collective with district schools/teachers to help develop and produce the annual children’s and youth art shows. With the Coast Collective’s new location, it will also be easier for people of all ages to learn about the arts through regularly planned demonstrations and accessible programming.
• Visitor services – Artist members and general volunteers also have the opportunity to assist in the operation of the Coast Collective’s gallery, gift shop and our seasonal Artisan Market, which calls upon hospitality skills in helping to welcome visitors from near and far. The gallery and gift shop are open to the public year-round, 5 days a week with the likelihood of hours being extended to meet the needs of a new location. The new evening market is being planned to attract creative artists as well as artisan food and beverage purveyors to a great urban location over the summer months.