Art and talents in the Comox Valley will benefit from funding granted to local artists and organizations.
A total of $37,000 is being allocated to artists and organizations in the area from the BC Arts Council. Among them is a local sculptor and retired North Island College instructor Anne Cumming, fine-arts student Gabrielle Moore-Pratt and the Comox Valley Art Gallery.
Cumming and Moore-Pratt are receiving $6,000 each in scholarship grants, while the art gallery will get $25,000 for art-based community development.
The funds are a part of over $2.7 million being given out. The BC Arts Council says the funds will support a more inclusive and diverse arts sector.
Grants range between $3,000 and $48,000.
Courtenay-Comox MLA Ronna-Rae Leonard says that the grants will help make the community closer.
“With these awards, recipients will have more support as they continue to pursue artistic passions, community programs, and so much more,” said Leonard.
“Community art and performance brings people together, fosters creativity, and makes Courtenay-Comox a more equitable and inclusive place to live.”
Minister of tourism, arts, culture and sport Lana Popham says the grants will help the culture recover following the pandemic.
“These grants are being provided at a critical time when B.C. artists and arts organizations are rebounding from the pandemic to increase opportunities and benefit a greater diversity of artists and arts organizations working in B.C.’s vibrant arts and culture sector,” said Popham.
More information about grant recipients can be found here.
