Message from Executive Director

In 2021-22 we continued to look at ways to align our mandate, strategic goals, and community needs to deliver meaningful programmes supporting people, providing creative outlets, and building understanding for the value of community and a sense of place. Reports continue to show the value of arts & culture in our day to day lives, and positive benefits of participation in cultural activities, improving our health, sense of satisfaction, and community connections. We see the important role the sector plays in bringing community together to tackle challenging subjects like equity, inclusion, and truth & reconciliation, providing safe space for diverse communities to share and learn from each other. Despite all our achievements as a sector, we are still underfunded and considered a frill by many. We continue to advocate for the value of the arts to help everyone lead more meaningful, inspired, fun lives and hope that stable funding levels catch up to our immense capacity to imagine a better future with creativity and compassion at its core. Throughout the year our strategic priorities of inclusion and accessibility; new audiences and demographics; organizational sustainability; and post Covid-19 recovery, guided our decisions regarding programming, marketing & outreach, partnerships & development, advocacy, and equity, inclusion & accessibility. We showcased a wide variety of exhibitions both at CityScape Community ArtSpace and Art in the Community, along with our roster of Art Rental and Shop artists, reflecting diverse artistic voices and supporting artists through royalty payments. Arts in the Garden returned in-person to rave reviews, this year adding a Feather & Fungi event in partnership with Wild Bird Trust of BC at Maplewood Flats and the North Shore Neighbourhood House’s Edible Garden Project. Both these free venues complimented the 10 private ticketed gardens, increasing accessibility. Along with diverse visual artists and musicians, we introduced dance and spoken word artists to showcase a wider range of artistic expression. After great consideration and research regarding pandemic and flu season trends, we moved North Shore Art Crawl permanently to an October weekend. We were pleased to work with partners in delivering special projects, such as the Vancouver Mural Festival’s Edgemont Village murals; and the City of North Vancouver Mayor’s Social Resiliency Collective’s North Van City Mosaic Project, with the public art piece, sharing community Covid-19 experiences, installed on Grand Boulevard. Anonymous Art Show online sales continued to reach new audiences, promoting local artists across the country. Arts Education Kids Camps excelled, engaging young people to see their world through a creative lens. Rhythm & Word Music Therapy programme and Art & Mycology continued to support youth at risk at Mountainside Secondary. North Shore Culture Compass inspired more engagement with cultural assets across the region, using place-based technology to shine a light on not only the major cultural assets but hidden gems and important cultural stories, language, and art of the Indigenous peoples of this land. We have some financial challenges in front of us, with earned revenues still fluctuating due to continued pandemic impacts. We hope to achieve our major sponsorship goals for Culture Compass and CityScape exhibitions and to garner new private foundation support for Arts Education and other programmes we strive to keep accessible. Thanks to everyone who maintained or purchased a new membership, though overall our membership numbers were down. This seems to be a trend across non-profit sectors during the pandemic. We have plans to launch a membership drive to restore this critical source of earned revenues to pre-Covid levels. I want to thank our amazing staff of creative, thoughtful, talented folks who make everything we do possible. This year we said goodbye to Samantha Newton and welcomed Katherine Gear Chambers (a multi-year summer position) into the role of Events and Community Development Manager. Maureen Watt joined us as Administrative Coordinator, taking over volunteer management, rocking recruitment! Stephanie Blundell replaced Joyelle Goldbard as Arts Education Manager, bringing a wealth of knowledge from her work in England. Leo Dittmer, Culture Compass summer position, stayed on to take on map maintenance, outreach, and social media. Big thanks to the Board of Directors, especially the executive team: Don Rutherford, Katie Rodgers, and Anne-Marie Lawrence who do so much to run the Board and support the ED position. I also want to thank the volunteers, artists, instructors, members, partners, patrons, and funders who believe in our vision and support our goals. After 53 years, we are still a small organization making a big impact, with community building at the heart of everything we do.

Nancy Cottingham Powell Executive Director