Key City Theatre colleagues Brenda Burley and Galen Olstead were at a conference in Calgary during Pride Week in 2022 and happened upon a display of photographs that captured members of the pride community and their stories. Burley remembers being electrified. “I immediately thought, ‘We have to do this in Cranbrook.
“Upon first viewing the exhibit, Jim immediately recognized the name of his elementary school teacher and told those of us in the vicinity that she was his teacher. That was the first time I witnessed a former internee discover a personal connection to their past through our exhibit, and it was very moving.”
Zines are meant to be hidden between shelves in the library, exchanged or shared in a variety of other ways. They’re raw, genuine, unpolished and are fairly accessible to make.
While B.C.’s arts and entertainment sector is thriving, data from WorkSafeBC reveals that injury rates persist and remain a key focus area. Each year, hundreds of workers experience injuries due to preventable incidents on sets, stages and event sites.
“Inspired by hearing stories across our communities of residencies that didn’t focus on our well-being over the production of work, we built a space to cultivate a supportive ecosystem where collective knowledge and creativity can flourish,”
On Thursday, June 19, filmmaker Carlo Alcos stood on stage at Nelson’s Capitol Theatre, humbly basking in the audience’s vibrant, joyous response to his first documentary film. The theatre held over 250 people – friends, family and strangers – celebrating the story he had just shared with us and his courage to tell it.
Making art can be physically, mentally and emotionally draining.
Now imagine you are an artist with a disability. The challenges—and perhaps the rewards—may be even greater. This article is based on my conversation with four artists from across the Columbia Basin who create art while living with disabilities or chronic illnesses.
Society is shifting, as are the expectations of funders, audiences and the communities we serve. The majority of arts, culture, and heritage organizations in B.C. are smaller, often volunteer-run non-profits operating in non-urban areas. All too often these organizations are doing their work in places of extreme precarity, with limited access to professional development resources or even the time to invest in learning and growth.