Developing the CRD Arts & Culture Strategic Plan

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Consultation has concluded

What can the future of arts in the capital region look like? How can CRD Arts & Culture support that vision? 

CRD Arts & Culture has developed a strategic plan that will guide goals and initiatives of the service from 2024 to 2027. To ensure that this plan reflects current needs and aspirations, we have consulted the arts sector and the public.

map highlighting jurisdictions contributing to CRD Arts & Culture: Saanich, Victoria, Oak Bay, Esquimalt, View Royal, Highlands, Metchosin, Sooke and Southern Gulf IslandsContributors to CRD Arts & Culture

Who we are

CRD Arts & Culture was founded in 2001 to support arts and culture for the purpose of benefiting the capital region. We now distribute over $2.5 million to over 90 non-profit art organizations each year through five grant programs. This funding supports arts programming contributing to the creativity and vibrancy of the region.

This service is currently funded by Saanich, Victoria, Oak Bay, Esquimalt, View Royal, Highlands, Metchosin, Sooke and Southern Gulf Islands.

Our impact

Our grants support a wide-variety of arts initiatives across the region. This includes long-standing celebrations like the Victoria Symphony and Ska and Reggae Festival, as well as new and emerging organizations creating and presenting innovative works of dance, theatre, fine art and more. We aim to ensure the allocation of our grants reflects the diversity of the region and support arts organizations at all levels of growth. In recent years, this has meant developing several new grant types, such as Equity Grants, IDEA Grants and Incubator grants, and changing how we operate and adjudicate.

Flip through a list of recent grant recipients and see past funding allocations to get a better idea of the breadth of CRD Arts & Culture funding. The video below provides a brief overview of the impact of our funding in 2021. Read the 2022 Impact Report to learn more about our impact in 2022.



What can the future of arts in the capital region look like? How can CRD Arts & Culture support that vision? 

CRD Arts & Culture has developed a strategic plan that will guide goals and initiatives of the service from 2024 to 2027. To ensure that this plan reflects current needs and aspirations, we have consulted the arts sector and the public.

map highlighting jurisdictions contributing to CRD Arts & Culture: Saanich, Victoria, Oak Bay, Esquimalt, View Royal, Highlands, Metchosin, Sooke and Southern Gulf IslandsContributors to CRD Arts & Culture

Who we are

CRD Arts & Culture was founded in 2001 to support arts and culture for the purpose of benefiting the capital region. We now distribute over $2.5 million to over 90 non-profit art organizations each year through five grant programs. This funding supports arts programming contributing to the creativity and vibrancy of the region.

This service is currently funded by Saanich, Victoria, Oak Bay, Esquimalt, View Royal, Highlands, Metchosin, Sooke and Southern Gulf Islands.

Our impact

Our grants support a wide-variety of arts initiatives across the region. This includes long-standing celebrations like the Victoria Symphony and Ska and Reggae Festival, as well as new and emerging organizations creating and presenting innovative works of dance, theatre, fine art and more. We aim to ensure the allocation of our grants reflects the diversity of the region and support arts organizations at all levels of growth. In recent years, this has meant developing several new grant types, such as Equity Grants, IDEA Grants and Incubator grants, and changing how we operate and adjudicate.

Flip through a list of recent grant recipients and see past funding allocations to get a better idea of the breadth of CRD Arts & Culture funding. The video below provides a brief overview of the impact of our funding in 2021. Read the 2022 Impact Report to learn more about our impact in 2022.



Consultation has concluded

  • 2024-2027 Strategic Plan

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    The Arts and Culture Support Service 2024-2027 Strategic Plan has now been finalized and approved by the Arts Commission. Informed by community knowledge, related CRD strategies, staff expertise and an updated vision and mission, the plan will guide our efforts over the next four years.

    CRD Arts & Culture Support Service 2024-2027 Strategic Plan (PDF)

    The CRD Arts and Culture Support Service staff, along with the Arts Commission and Arts Advisory Council would like to extend our sincere thanks to the members of the arts community who contributed their knowledge and perspectives throughout the engagement period that shaped this strategic plan. Thank you also to the volunteers and event organizers who made the Arts Champions Summit possible.

  • The What We Heard Report

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    From February to May 2023, the Capital Regional District (CRD) gathered feedback and facilitated discussions about community needs and aspirations to ensure that the new strategic plan for the Arts and Culture Support Service will be informed by community knowledge. The engagement process consulted with local artists, audiences, representatives of non-profit organizations, rural arts leaders, and staff from other government agencies. The multipronged consultation approach included focus groups, events, and online surveys.

    The What We Heard report is the product of that engagement, and takes a comprehensive approach to reflecting the feedback received from the community in a transparent way.

    View the full What We Heard Report PDF here.

  • Our Grants

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    Grant Types

    Operating Grants: stable funding to enable long-term planning

    Project Grants: funding for one-time projects, series of events or extended programming

    Equity Grants: support programs by and for communities facing significant collective barriers to accessing funding

    Incubator Grants: supports the development of new and emerging arts organizations

    IDEA Grants: fund non-arts organizations to develop arts projects and events

    Eligibility

    To be eligible for our grants, applicants must:

    • be a registered non-profit organization (or partnered with one for Equity Grants)
    • based in and presenting in one of the jurisdictions supporting CRD Arts & Culture

    Adjudication

    flow chart of a grant application journey: staff review applications for eligibility and completeness, the applications are then passed to the Arts Advisory Council (a group of volunteer representatives) review applications and give their recommendations on how grants should be distributed. Recommendations are then approved by the arts commission. Applicants receive the results 10 weeks after the grant deadline.A CRD Arts grant application journey

    All applications for CRD Arts & Culture grants are reviewed and adjudicated by a group of volunteer citizen representatives—the Arts Advisory Council (AAC). Staff work with the AAC to ensure that adjudication teams reflect the diversity of applicants, sometimes bringing in guest adjudicators.


  • Twenty two years of CRD Arts & Culture (timeline)

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    PDF version (2.1MB)

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    timeline of CRD Arts & Culture over the past 22 years, having been formed in 2001 until present day- Shows growth from 6 participating municipalities to 9 and major marking points. in first half (pre-formation to 2009) includes funding reaching $1.78 million in 2005, the launch of a publicly available website of public art in 2007, as well as milestones from the arts community, such as the founding of the Ska and Reggae festival in 2000 and the first SKAMpede in 2009second half of timeline from 2010 to 2023. CRD milestones include the pilot of the IDEA Grant in 2011, which expanding arts funding to non-arts organizations, as well as the development of the current mission 'to support, promote and celebrate the arts and vision, which is now 'art is central to life in the region, the first arts champions summit in 2016, the introduction of incubator and Equity grants in 2018, the development of an 'equity lens' in 2021, and then the development of a new strategic plan in 2023. Regional arts milestones include the launch of intrepid theatre's outstages and the opening of Pacific Opera victoria's Baumann Centre - both in 2015, and the first Active/Passive festival in 2020.