Hopefully residents of the city will be more inclined to see the value of a performing arts centre, much as they finally did when it came to building the coliseum at Riverside Park

Proposed Kamloops Performing Arts Centre

According the BC government, more people will have the opportunity to enjoy B.C.’s community festivals and visual artists, thanks to the latest BC Arts Council grants, just recently announced.

“Arts and culture connect, challenge and inspire us. They make our communities vibrant and resilient, creating great places to live and raise families,” said Lisa Beare, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture. “Through our increased investment in the BC Arts Council, we are working to enrich our neighbourhoods, improve peoples’ lives and attract even more visitors to B.C.”

More than $1.5 million in provincial funding will be distributed through 191 grants in the latest round of funding administered by the BC Arts Council. This includes 102 grants to support community festivals (up from 77 last year). As well, there was an increase in grants to individual artists through the Visual Arts Awards program.

Grants announced in my own community of Kamloops, from the latest round covering the first quarter of the year, have been provided to:

The Kamloops Arts Council ... $3,000
The Kamloops International Buskers Festival Society ... $3,500
Kamloops Society for the Written Arts ... #3,000

In honour of former mayor Nils Jensen — a champion for the arts before his recent death, the funding announcement took place in Oak Bay. The Mayors' Arts Legacy Fund supports many arts related events in Oak Bay throughout the year.

The BC Arts Council, an agency of the provincial government, provides grant funding for arts and culture throughout the province. Funding by the council is administered through a peer review adjudication process. Grant recipients represent a diverse group of artists and arts organizations, including Indigenous groups, scholarship students and community arts councils.

“We are pleased to be able to increase the number of awards distributed to artists and cultural organizations in this round of latest grants,” said Susan Jackson, chair of the BC Arts Council. “These grants are opening up new opportunities for B.C. artists and contributing to their success in today’s creative sector.”

While these funds, provided by the BC Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, are for groups under the umbrella BC Arts Council, many in the Kamloops region are hoping that a partial provincial source of funding may also be available for new Performing Arts Centre which earlier this year was proposed once again for the City of Kamloops.

The BC Alliance for Arts and Culture, on their blog January 9th, stated that:

....philanthropist Ron Fawcett offered millions of dollars in land and design plans to resurrect a proposal for a performing arts centre in the city, which voters rejected in 2015.  The proposed centre ... would include three theatres with nearly 1,800 seats between them. The building also includes cafe areas, rehearsal halls, meeting spaces and office space, among other amenities. The Fawcett family would donate $8-10 million to the proposed effort ...

Hopefully residents of the city will be more inclined to see the value of a performing arts centre, much as they finally did when it came to building the coliseum at Riverside Park, this time round.

Hopefully as well, the cities residents will be able to receive back a rightful share of taxes they have paid to all levels of government, to assist in the costs of this endeavour.