Funding shortfalls are having a big impact on performing arts venues

Good morning, 

Nate back with you today. I missed writing last Friday’s newsletter but I’ve been hard at work, hitting the streets on numerous other stories we’re working on here at the Lookout. 

Getting out on the town, I’ve also learned that there are a whole lot of you who get this newsletter and rely on us for chatty, irreverent, and astute reporting on the issues that matter (and things that are just fun) in our city.  

Kudos to you all for supporting independent local journalism — whether it’s with your attention or your wallet.   

With that, let’s get on to the news and events that’ll colour your weekend! In short, everyone needs more money these days.

— Nate Lewis, Vancity Lookout  

Editor’s note: Because Monday is a holiday, there’ll be no newsletter, but we’ll be back to our regular schedule Wednesday. Enjoy the long weekend!

PS - If you find this newsletter valuable, please consider forwarding it to your friends. New to the Lookout? Sign-up for free.

WEATHER

Friday: 21 🌡️ 14 | 🌤️

Saturday: 22 🌡️ 14 | 🌤️

Sunday: 22 🌡️ 13 | 🌤️

Monday: 21 🌡️ 13 | 🌤️

PERFORMING ARTS

Funding shortfalls are having a big impact on performing arts venues

What happened: In a loss for the Vancouver arts scene, SFU announced last month that their Woodward’s Cultural Programs (WCP) would cease to operate, “given current financial realities” for the university. This is just one of the recent indications that the arts and culture scene in Vancouver, and in Canada, is in dire financial straits. 

• That’s in part due to diminished attendance related to high costs of living and the lingering effects of the pandemic, according to The Globe and Mail. 

On the ground: Stefan Nazarevich, an established local musician, studied and worked at SFU Woodward’s School for the Contemporary Arts (SCA) from 2015 to 2023, including working closely with Cultural Programs staff in his role as a resource and technology assistant. 

• “I felt that the [WCP] was really about bringing artists into the city, so being a major presenter in terms of contemporary performing arts in Vancouver. I think [that function was] symbiotic with the [SCA], because that provided really convenient opportunities for students to get exposed to interesting art that people are creating in a broader context, not just people from Vancouver,” Nazarevich told Vancity Lookout. 

After 15 years as a hub for enriching Vancouver culture, as Nazarevich saw it, the demise of the Woodward’s Cultural Programs department is one local inflection point in the difficult conditions facing contemporary artists and arts venues in 2024. 

Bigger picture: This spring, the Canada Council for the Arts — who are perhaps the most significant public arts funders in the country — shared they’d received over 6,750 eligible applications for their fall 2023 intake, the most ever in a single round. 

• “There were many deserving projects that we were unable to fund… this demand, coupled with the quality of the applications, demonstrates the tremendous need for support for the arts, including funding,” wrote Canada Council’s Director and CEO Michelle Chawla. More than 1,100 projects, including Nazarevich’s, did receive funding, to the tune of $36 million in overall grants. 

However: Due to a federal government initiative to refocus spending, Canada Council for the Arts will see their government funding cut by nearly $10 million over the next three years. Chawla assured readers that “these savings will not impact the Council’s regular granting programs nor our operating capacity.”

Ray of sunlight: There was a bit of good news on the arts funding front, as the 2024 federal budget doubled the amount of money available in the Canada Arts Presentation Fund, for a total of $31 million per year, according to Stir. 

• But #FutureOfLive — a funding campaign by a coalition of Canadian arts organizations — noted, while this extra funding over the next two years is good news, the funding isn’t permanent, with the program set to return to 2007 funding levels in 2026. 

“The sector is still in need of reliable and predictable funding. If funding is not reliable, how can the sector make long term plans that are sustainable?” the group rhetorically questioned. 

Zoom in: Back in Vancouver we’ve seen the long-running Folk Fest at Jericho nearly cancelled (though it was saved, thankfully) last year due to financial strain, while the folks at the Wise Hall in Grandview-Woodland are fighting for their lives to overcome “immediate financial stress.”

Meanwhile, the Firehall Arts Centre won’t get the $7 million they were seeking from the city for accessibility upgrades, after Wednesday’s meeting where city council punted the issue to the next budget in 2026. 

SPONSORED BY THE NORTHERN PITCH

The easiest way to follow the latest Canadian soccer news

Love soccer? There's so much happening but it's hard to keep track of.

That's where Northern Pitch comes in. It's a free, five-minute newsletter summarizing the biggest soccer games across the country.

Want to know how the Whitecaps did, and their chances of making the playoffs? Their comprehensive newsletter breaks all most important Canadian soccer news for each and every team.

Try it out for free today.

VANCOUVER NUMBERS

💸 $90 million: The amount Translink will be cutting annually to address the funding gap from their “broken funding model,” according to CEO Kevin Quinn. Translink anticipates a funding shortfall of more than $600 million per year when provincial relief funding comes to an end in 2026. [CBC] 

📈 10+%: The vacancy rate in over half of Vancouver’s business improvement association areas. A retail vacancy rate of more than 10% is considered “unhealthy,” according to the Business Tax Alliance. [Global]

CITY HALL

“Ken’s mojo dojo casa house”

What happened: Mayor Ken Sim is under fire for his decision to repurpose two rooms in City Hall into workout rooms, or “Ken’s mojo dojo casa house” (of Barbie fame) as Green Party Coun. Pete Fry put it Tuesday. 

Fry shared a screenshot of a January 2024 email from City Manager Paul Mochrie, which read, in part, “we have been advised by the Mayor’s office that they will be utilizing the Ceremonial Boardroom and the Grouse Room for regular operations of the Mayor and his office team.” 

• Mochrie went on to say that a replacement for the Grouse Room would be provided for “other business meetings involving members of Council.” 

Fry said he found the door to one of the rooms unlocked last week, and discovered it had been turned into a gym, with an exercise bike, workout rack, a box of weights, mats, and a detailed workout schedule posted to the wall, pictured on top of an ornate carpet. 

Not his first office workout: Sim is known for his eccentric behaviour during sit down interviews with reporters in his office — ripping off some pull-ups or taking his clothes off while chatting about news of the day. 

• “Previous inhabitants of this corner office at City Hall typically have not shown such bravado,” Vancouver Sun columnist Dan Fumano noted during one such instance. 

But Sim is taking his locker room communication style to new heights with this recent conversion. Never one to miss an opportunity for a quick pump, Sim hopped on the exercise bike for the cameras as he toured the space with reporters earlier this week. 

Governance issue: Fry and OneCity Coun. Christine Boyle said it’s an example of a lack of transparency from the mayor’s office. Boyle told CBC she was “infuriated” to see the room converted to a gym space, noting City Hall already has a gym. 

• According to Global, Sim said the space isn’t just for himself, and that “everyone” has been invited to use it, while Fry disagrees, saying the room is usually locked. 

Fry said the key issue for him is the room is a taxpayer-funded public space, and the “absolute absurdity” of the conversion underscores “a very real problem with process, transparency and good governance,” he wrote on X. 

SPONSORED BY THIRD PLACE WINE

An easy way to discover new wines

Looking to take your wine knowledge further? A complete newbie looking to explore new wines? Then Third Place Wine is for you.

It's a free newsletter exploring all things wine, including and lessons that you can use to build your wine knowledge and discover new things to drink.

Subscribe today for free.

THE AGENDA

🤔 Vancouver city council has unanimously voted to prioritize building a “new, modernized” Kits Pool, in part by asking “the public, corporations, and the philanthropic sector,” as well other levels of government, for the money to do so. In the short term, the motion asked for an “urgent” report from city and park board staff on how to sustain the use of the existing pool, which was closed for the remainder of the year because of structural issues. [City of Vancouver] 

🛣️ A tragic head-on collision on Highway 1 in West Vancouver killed two people on Wednesday night, was caused by a vehicle traveling on the wrong side of the road near Westport Road. Three other passengers from the two vehicles were injured and sent to hospital. [CityNews]

😢 Another day, another round of layoffs in Canadian media. This time it was media giant Corus Entertainment, owner and operator of CKNW here in Vancouver. Corus shuttered AM 730, their all-traffic station, suddenly on Wednesday as well as 880 News AM in Edmonton. My heart goes out to my former journalism classmates who were working at AM 730. [Vancouver Sun]

🛠️ A new app called ‘Level Up’ is offering B.C. construction workers a different set of tools — ones to prevent overdoses. The app, funded by Health Canada, provides information and resources for physical labourers, which is the sector hit hardest by toxic drug deaths in B.C.. [Vancouver Sun]

🏆 Congratulations to Quinn Hughes, Canucks superstar and captain, who became the first Canuck in franchise history to win the Norris Trophy for best defenceman in the NHL. [Canucks PR]

❌ Lisa Southern, the City of Vancouver’s integrity commissioner, found park board commissioner Jas Virdi breached the board’s code of conduct by falsely claiming that fellow (rival) commissioner Laura Christensen made an offensive comment about children with autism. [Vancouver Sun]

🧑‍🎤 Sad news for Neil Young and Crazy Horse fans in the Lower Mainland; the renowned rocker has cancelled much of the rest of his Love Earth tour due to illness, including two shows in Burnaby scheduled for July. Here’s hoping Neil and Co. get well soon. [City News]

🏒 The Canucks have been busy the last few days, signing breakout star Dakota Joshua, “chaos giraffe” Tyler Myers, and depth contributor Teddy Blueger to multi-year deals, while shipping Ilya Mikheyev and Sam Lafferty to Chicago. [Canucks PR] 

👋 Not specifically related to Vancouver, but in the lead up to B.C.’s provincial election in the fall, Green Party MLA Adam Olsen has announced he will not run for re-election. Olsen served two terms as the MLA for Saanich North and the Islands (the Southern Gulf Islands that is). Olsen said he’s not seeking re-election for the sake of his own mental and physical well-being. [Vancouver Sun]

SPECIAL EDITION: CITY HALL POLICY WATCH

Transit-Oriented Areas

Vancouver city council created a new bylaw to designate 29 Transit-Oriented Areas (TOAs) in the city, aligning their bylaws with provincial legislation passed late last year. The bylaw set out the areas included in the province’s legislation, which calls for minimum density requirements, which vary depending on the site’s proximity to these transit hubs. The 29 locations include all SkyTrain stations and two bus exchanges in the city: Dunbar and 41st, and Kootenay and Hastings. 

The rezoning policy accompanying the bylaw notes that this bylaw is not itself a rezoning, though the city may proactively rezone these areas through future council decisions. Importantly, this rezoning policy now prevails over all other conflicting city-wide policies (and some area, or community, plans) regarding height and density. 

This is a lot to take in, but essentially the takeaway is that the city is trying to follow the province’s lead, but stopping short of rezoning a big swath of the city overnight. However, we should expect this document will have a significant impact on the types of height and density that will be permitted in the areas in the future.

EVENTS

Vancouver International Jazz Festival | Various locations, times, and prices | It’s the final weekend of Jazz Fest! While Killer Mike is probably on most peoples’ radar, there’s a prodigious selection of concerts this weekend | Schedule and tickets 

Summer Movie Nights | šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl'e7énḵ Square (Vancouver Art Gallery North Plaza) | July 4, 5 PM | Join us this Thursday for Barbie! Put on your best pink outfit to walk the “pink carpet” and take photos in a life-sized Barbie box | Learn more [Sponsored]

Live and Local Concert Series | June 28, 6 pm | Edgemont Boulevard (North Vancouver) | Bitterly Divine, a Vancouver-based rock band whose roots trace back to Squamish Nation, will be playing this weekend | Free

Junction Public Market | every day this summer (excluding Mondays) starting June 28 | Granville Square (above Waterfront Station) | Eat, drink, shop and hang at this casual downtown market | Free admission 

Save the Wise Concert Series | June 28-29, 7 pm | Wise Hall | Come out to support the Wise in their fundraising efforts and catch an array of musical talent in this concert series finale | Tickets $35

Vancouver Whitecaps | June 29, 7:30 pm | BC Place | Catch Vancouver’s best soccer team in action this weekend as the Whitecaps host an Indigenous Peoples Celebration during their match against St. Louis City FC | Tickets $30

It’s a Charli Night, Baby | June 29, 10:30 pm | 1103 Union St. | Want to dance the night away with all your fellow BRAT lovers? This event will have you going B2b with all those Club Classics | Tickets $10

Vancouver Farmers Markets | June 29-30 (and every weekend), various times | Support local farmers and get delicious food in Kitsilano, the West End, Riley Park, Mount Pleasant, and Trout Lake this weekend | Free admission

Beehive Comedy | July 1 and every Monday, 9 pm | 1826 Triumph St. | A sort-of open mic night for amateur comics to work on their skills, while pros drop in to test their material | PWYC (pay what you can 🙂) 

Deckchair Cinema | July 4 and every Thursday, 9 pm | Cates Deck (Lonsdale Quay) | Catch The Harder They Come on July 4, or check out rest of the schedule with movies playing outdoors on the big screen all summer long | Admission by donation

Live Comedy! Live Snakes! | July 5, 7:30 pm | The new Little Mountain Gallery (Gastown) | Three comics, three snakes, one debatably worthwhile gimmick (yes, there will be actual snakes) | Tickets $18

PHOTO(S) OF THE DAY

I couldn’t resist a photo of the day double-dip. 📸

First off, the newly finished repairs to Maple Tree Square look good, but there’s not much in the way of places to sit or hang out (activations as planners would say) in this public space. Maybe it will look more lively once the Gastown Pedestrian Pilot starts in earnest next week.

And, a sold out Monday night crowd showed up at the Fox to hear Baltimore’s Marcus Brown, who performs under the name Nourished by Time. His banter was mid but his vocals were top notch!

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• The VSO will be back at Sunset Beach next week, playing a medley of pop tunes. [Georgia Straight] 

• East Van Cohousing is inviting folks to join their community-centric housing project on Duke Street. Learn more here!

• I’ll bet this isn’t what you expected to see strolling the streets of Central Lonsdale. [VIA]

• One Georgia Straight employee didn’t appreciate another media member bad-mouthing their publication at a public event. The takeaway? This town is big enough for all of us [Georgia Straight] 

• What would you call your new restaurant serving pizza and burgers? If you thought ‘Cheese Slap’ then you’re on the same wavelength as this business. Best part might be that they’re open until 4 am. [VIA]

Want to have your announcement featured? Learn how here.

GAME TIME

Congrats to Adriana who was the only one who correctly guessed Wednesday’s Vancouver Guesser was Sunset Beach. 

Today’s word is what every public institution seems to need these days. The real question is, who has it? Can you guess what it is?