Local Nanaimo arts and culture group shares concerns about provincial funding
Bright said what would help protect the arts and keep them healthy and alive is a long-term investment fund that arts and culture groups can rely on annually. Photo by Didier Phillispart courtesy of Crimson Coast Dance
Following concerns about the lack of funding renewal to the B.C. Fairs, Festivals, and Events Fund, the B.C. government has announced a new event fund that a local Nanaimo arts organization says is not good enough.
The Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, and Sport has offered the B.C. Fairs, Festivals, and Events Fund since 2021, following the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the ministry, the fund has provided nearly $80 million since the start for more than 3,000 events across the province. In 2024, over 20 Nanaimo festivals and events received funding, including VIEx, the Canada Day celebration, and the Nanaimo Blues Festival.
The Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport has informed CHLY that given the uncertainty of the current economic climate, all ministries are reviewing existing programs, including the BCFFE fund.
During the review, they stated that they are focusing on “ensuring that public dollars are used to ensure programs remain relevant, are efficient, protect services, and grow the economy.” They also said their priority is to continue working with the tourism sector to support B.C. communities while supporting a stronger economy.
Holly Bright is the Artistic Director & Founder of the Crimson Coast Dance Society. She said funding from all levels of government is an important part of keeping their work going.
Crimson Coast Dance currently runs three arts and culture festivals every year along with other shows and workshops. The InFrinGinG Dance Festival, African Connections Festival, and the Sumsháthut Festival all received funding from the BCFFE fund last year for a total of over $25,000.
Bright said the funding is important to keep the festivals running and to help subsidize the cost of tickets to audience members. The support turns a $125 ticket into a $35 ticket.
She said the funding also helps cover artists' fees which can change depending on the artists or where the artists come from. They make sure the artist’s fees are at a fair market rate.
“It covers travel, accommodation, per diem, and their performance. Their performance means that they come ready to perform, so they're fit, they've been rehearsing, they've got all of their props, gears, technical requirements, lighting, plot, they come in, set all of that up in a theatre for a full day in advance,” she said. “Then on the day of the show, they go in and continue to focus lights and space themselves in this new space, and then they perform.”
Crimson Coast Dance started receiving funding from BCFFE in 2022. Bright said she understands that right now the funding is being reconsidered which now leaves an empty line in their budget.
“I think that there's this expectation that when those opportunities come, or new funding comes for a period of time, that we won't somehow integrate the possibilities of those opportunities into our programming and into our vision,” Bright said. “Then it goes away, and suddenly there's a vacant space in our community, in our programming, in our staffing. Those things support some really, really important aspects of what we do.”
She said the funding was supposed to be bridge funding following the COVID-19 pandemic, but while the pandemic seems to be over, the effects of it still linger in how much it costs to fund the festivals.
Bright said what would help protect the arts and keep them healthy and alive is a long-term investment fund that arts and culture groups can rely on annually.
While the ministry reviews the B.C. Fairs, Festivals and Events Fund, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, and Sport has announced a new Destination Events Program that will support funding for operational expenses for arts and culture events throughout the province.
While Minister Spencer Chandra Herbert could not speak to CHLY about the new program, the ministry did tell CHLY by email that the $5 million Destination Events Program is “retooled from the Tourism Events Program and will bring stable, year-over-year funding to the event sector so communities can host events that attract overnight visitors, create jobs, boost local economies, and help communities thrive.”
The program will provide funding up to 10 per cent of the total event budget, with a maximum of $200,000 per event. Applications will open on April 7, 2025, and run until May 5, at 11:59 P.M.
According to the program website, the total event budget must be a minimum of $150,000 to be eligible to apply.
This, Bright said, prevents smaller festivals like the ones Crimson Coast Dance puts on from being eligible for the funding.
“You are required to have a $150,000 budget for that festival, which is a little frightening because we don't have that much,” Bright said.
She explains that $15,000 is around what they would receive for all three festivals. Having to have that same amount for each festival independently is something they can not afford.
“So it means that if that's really what the criteria are, we won't be able to apply for that,” she said.
As the BCFFE fund is under reconsideration and the new Destination Events Program does not seem to be a viable replacement, Bright said she is unsure what will come from the lack of funding and Crimson Coast Dance will have to review how they run their festivals.
Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.