BC Arts Council Strategy and Action Plan

Home Engagement Opportunities BC Arts Council Strategy and Action Plan

Overview

Dates: June 8 to July 31

Who: BC Arts Council

What: Development of the BC Arts Council’s Strategy and Action Plan

Where: Province-wide

Why: To ensure the council’s priorities, programs, and investments reflect the current needs, realities, and opportunities of B.C.’s arts and culture sector

How: Online

Category: Arts and Culture

Engagement summary

The BC Arts Council is engaging with artists, arts organizations, service organizations, and sector partners to inform the development of its Strategy and Action Plan.

The provincial agency is responsible for supporting and investing in and supporting arts and culture activities throughout B.C. It is seeking input to ensure its priorities, programs, and funding approaches align with the changing needs, opportunities, and realities of the arts and culture sector.

The council is seeking feedback on the following priority areas:

Reconciliation and Indigenous Leadership: Taking the lead from Indigenous peoples and self-determination in arts funding to further decolonization and reconciliation practices in BC Arts Council programs
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility: Improving access to BC Arts Council programs and supporting genuine forms of diversity by removing systemic barriers to arts funding
Regional and Community Arts Engagement: Recognizing and supporting the diversity of practice shaped by place, community, and region, representing a spectrum of community-led, grassroots, and professional arts practices and experiences
Sustainability, Resilience, and Strategic Innovation: Strengthening the long-term health of a vibrant and diverse arts sector that can develop, adapt, and innovate into the future
Collaboration, Partnerships, and Sector Capacity: Amplifying impacts of arts funding through strategic partnerships, community convenings, and expanded networks that build capacity in the arts sector

Specifically, participants are asked to provide feedback on:

How much these priorities reflect current realities B.C.’s arts and culture sector
Areas that need more clarity or attention
Realistic actions and approaches to advance each priority
New opportunities, challenges, and ideas that should inform the council’s future direction

Who should participate

The council welcomes perspectives from across B.C.’s arts and culture sector, including:

Indigenous artists and Indigenous-led organizations
Artists, cultural workers, and arts organizations across all disciplines, including community-based organizations and their staff and leaders
Arts service organizations
Funders and donors supporting arts and culture initiatives
Arts and culture‑related sectors, including education, tourism, municipalities, local governments, and creative industries
Arts and culture media, including critics and journalists
Equity-deserving communities, including Indigenous, Black, racialized, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, 2SLGBTQ+, and Francophone communities, as well as people with disabilities and people living in rural and remote areas
Youth, arts students, and emerging artists
Leaders, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and individuals with lived and professional experience in arts and culture

How to participate

Thank you to everyone who participated in Phase 1 of the BC Arts Council engagement process. The survey and written submission period have now closed, and no further responses are being accepted. The next phase of engagement will take place in September 2026 and will include a series of virtual engagement sessions as well as opportunities to provide feedback by email.

Registration pages for the virtual sessions will be available on August 10, 2026 on this page. Please check back for details and registration information.

Virtual sessions

Fall 2026

The BC Arts Council will host up to four virtual engagement sessions with artists, arts organizations, arts service organizations, and sector partners throughout B.C. These sessions will explore the proposed priorities and gather input on practical actions and approaches to support their implementation.

Participants may register for one session only. Sessions will be limited to 100 attendees each on a first come, first serve basis.

How your contribution makes a difference

Your feedback will directly inform the development of the BC Arts Council’s future Strategy and Action Plan. Feedback will help ensure the council’s priorities, programs, and investments reflect the current needs, opportunities, and realities of British Columbia’s arts and culture sector.