The North Shore arts community received a financial boost last week.
On Thursday, the provincial government announced more than $350,000 in B.C. Arts Council grants had been doled out to local arts and culture groups.
Four North Vancouver organizations received funds, including Presentation House Gallery ($128,500), North Vancouver Community Arts Council ($37,069), North Vancouver Museum and Archives Commission ($30,000) and Dancers of Damelahamid ($8,000).
Presentation House Gallery has plans to relocate from Chesterfield Avenue to a new purpose-built location at the foot of Lonsdale Avenue. Acclaimed street photographer Fred Herzog told the Vancouver Sun recently he plans to give the North Vancouver gallery a $10,000 chunk of the $30,000 award he received April 15 with his Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts.
B.C. Arts Council funding allotted to North Vancouver also includes two scholarships and a professional development grant, which were handed out to three residents. Kara Chan received a $6,000 scholarship for The Juilliard School, Kelsey Lamare received $5,000 for the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, and Jordan Nobles was awarded a $4,000 professional development grant for the performing arts.
Meanwhile, six arts and culture organizations serving West Vancouver and the Sea-to-Sky Corridor also received B.C. Arts Council money. They include West Vancouver Community Arts Council ($8,536), West Vancouver Museum ($16,000), Bowen Island Arts Council ($23,525), Britannia Mine Museum Society ($57,000), Deer Crossing - The Art Farm Society ($10,000) and Whistler Arts Council ($17,701). Post-secondary scholarships were awarded to three students in the region. Sepehr Samimi-Dehkordi received a $2,750 scholarship for Simon Fraser University, Jared Miller received $5,000 for the Juilliard School of Music, and Janice Redford was awarded $6,000 for the University of British Columbia.
The B.C. Arts Council is a publicly funded agency of the provincial government, which is providing $24 million to the council this year.
