$225,650 For B.C. Arts Organizations

2010 Legacies Now, in partnership with the Province of B.C., is investing $225,650 in 29 provincial organizations as part of its commitment to strengthening the arts and cultural sector in B.C. Investments will be made in projects ranging from a First Nations film festival to a community mural project to mark the 150th anniversary of Princeton, B.C.

"The funding we have received from 2010 Legacies Now is just the beginning for public arts in our community," said Ed Staples, Vice President of the Princeton Arts Council. "This exterior mosaic mural project will serve as an opportunity to involve the community, beautify our arts centre, and will also be a catalyst for an ongoing community arts program for the town of Princeton."

2010 Legacies Now and the Province encourage and support creative activities through programs like Innovations, which help arts, cultural and heritage organizations create new opportunities for community members to participate in arts and culture.

"Grants like this from the 2010 Legacies Now Innovations program provide artists the ability to come together to create works that benefit the entire community," said the Hon. Kevin Krueger, Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts. "Through exciting programs and entertaining productions, people have the opportunity to not only showcase their talent, but build new relationships with each other and the community as a whole."

Lori Baxter, Director of Arts for 2010 Legacies Now, added: "Innovations supports a broad range of artistic work and creative collaborations that promise to offer new experiences for audiences. Many of these organizations are experimenting with a new process, technology or interactions across disciplines."

Today's announcement brings the Innovations program's overall investment in the arts since 2005 to $2 million into 195 community projects. 2010 Legacies Now is committed to increasing community engagement in creative activities, improving the arts and culture sector's economic base and organizational capacity, and strengthening the sector's ability to achieve artistic excellence.

Innovations invested in arts, cultural and heritage organizations wishing to create new opportunities for community members to participate in arts and cultural activities. The program supported new events and exhibitions, as well as projects for artists to share their knowledge with community members to produce collective works. Innovations was supported by the Province of British Columbia.