The BC Coalition of Arts, Culture, and Heritage

With the provincial election coming up in October 2024, this is a crucial time to advocate for a brighter future for BC’s arts, culture, and heritage sectors. In this period before the election, each of us taking time to meet the candidates and find the common ground between them and your values is key to positive outcomes after the election.  Together, we can ensure the sector receives the attention, investment, and support it deserves. 

At Heritage BC, we recognize that arts, culture, and heritage are not only the cornerstones of community identity but also vital drivers of economic growth and societal well-being. That’s why we proudly support the BC Coalition of Arts, Culture, and Heritage, a collective advocating for transformational change across these sectors. As active members and supporters of the Coalition, we are committed to addressing the urgent challenges facing arts, culture, and especially heritage in BC, advocating for sustainable funding, protection, and innovative solutions that reflect the needs of our province.

Who Is the BC Coalition of Arts, Culture, and Heritage?

The BC Coalition is a collaborative initiative made up of service organizations and cultural leaders from across the province. Representing thousands of arts, culture, and heritage organizations, it aims to ensure their growth, sustainability, and resilience in the face of challenges such as economic instability, climate change, and the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Heritage BC aligns with all of the Coalition’s goals, including sustainable growth and increased government investment in the heritage sector. We believe that through this partnership we can better amplify our specific advocacy efforts, highlighting heritage as a vital part of BC’s cultural landscape and contributing to economic development and community resilience.

Addressing Funding Challenges in the Heritage Sector

The Coalition advocates for increased, sustained funding for arts, culture, and heritage—an initiative that aligns with our own efforts. While heritage funding has unique qualities, we nonetheless need the Coalition to draw purposeful attention to the challenges being faced by arts, culture and heritage, and allow for decision makers to see heritage in the context of a broader community sector.  

While we are grateful that the Province made recent one-time funding investments such as the Community Economic Response Infrastructure Program: Unique Heritage (CERIP – 2020) and the 150 Time Immemorial Grant Program (150 TIGP – 2021), we are not comforted.  This heritage focused funding was heavily oversubscribed.  For example, CERIP received requests totaling over $73 million but could only fund 68 projects with $15.5 million. Similarly, the 150 TIGP grant was oversubscribed by 260%. This year the Heritage Legacy Fund, the only heritage focused, province wide, annual grant available, awarded slightly more than in previous years (a record $463,000 for the entire province) but received requests totalling $1.8 million. These examples highlight the pressing need for more resources and predictability in the frequency of access to resources for heritage related projects.  

The Call for a Provincial Heritage Action Plan

Heritage advocates have long recognized that heritage values align with change management in the community. Therefore, Heritage BC joins the Coalition in drawing attention to the need of a comprehensive provincial action plan to address the future of arts, culture and heritage.  Such a plan should integrate heritage into broader discussions on key issues like climate action, affordable housing, and economic development. The BC Coalition’s push for a provincial strategy offers an opportunity to develop coordinated, community-driven solutions to these challenges.  It will be exciting to have our perspective integrated into the conversations to come.   

Heritage BC’s Role in Supporting the Coalition

As a proud member of the BC Coalition of Arts, Culture, and Heritage, Heritage BC is committed to advancing the Coalition’s vision. Together, we work toward securing a future where arts, culture, and heritage not only survive but thrive, benefiting all British Columbians.

Through both financial support and active membership, we demonstrate our commitment to advocating for the transformational changes that will strengthen BC’s cultural sector and ensure its resilience in the face of future challenges.

How You Can Help

Support the work of the BC Coalition by contacting your local elected officials. The Coalition has provided resources such as template letters, key statistics, and talking points to help you effectively make your voice heard. Effective advocacy still requires the personal involvement of each of us taking the time to meet candidates, share focused goals and priorities and maintaining relationships long after election time.