Eight art and culture creators and organizations will be treating Abbotsford residents to a diverse range of cultural experiences this year thanks to funding from the City of Abbotsford’s new Arts and Culture Grant Program.
Thirty-nine local applicants applied for the grants, which support cultural activities, programs and events that establish community connections, highlight diversity and contribute to economic growth. The selected projects offer a diverse range of new and enhanced arts and culture experiences for community participation spanning a wide variety of artistic disciplines:
- Abbotsford Film Society will be presenting a series of accessible community film screenings with emphasis on culturally diverse, Indigenous, and LGBTQ film selections.
- Abby Arts Collective will host a free community art event featuring exhibitions, open studios, live performances, food trucks, and interactive demonstrations from local artists, performers and vendors.
- Free Little Art Gallery creators Anuki Karunajeewa and Jennifer Shepit will use their portable, mobile art gallery to host pop-up exhibitions of local artists' work in venues around the community.
- The Fraser Valley Artists Society will host a free community art event including an exhibition and low-barrier, interactive demonstrations from local artists.
- Métis Spirit Dot Painting Workshop Series creator Michelle Bucholtz will hold intercultural workshops and interactive demonstrations of the traditional Métis art form hosted in venues around the community.
- Intercultural Community Storytelling Project creator Nike Famojuro will host a series of presentations focused on community engagement with spoken word and personal storytelling.
- South Asian Folk Heritage Project creator Sadhik Preet Singh will document local folk heritage though oral histories and interviews and will present in-person and virtual exhibitions for the community.
- Songs Strings and Steps will enhance their free Symphony in the Park community concert at Mill Lake Park by increasing youth participation in event planning and performance.
These recipients were selected by a panel of local arts, culture, community and events experts including representatives from the Abbotsford Community Foundation, Archway Community Services, Tourism Abbotsford Society, the Abbotsford Arts Council and Fraser Valley Regional Library. The applications were assessed based on criteria including community engagement and benefit; artistic merit, quality and cultural significance; and budget management.
Implementing this cultural grant program was a priority action in the City’s Culture Connect Strategy, which identified the need to enhance investments in culture through strategic funding, including developing a dedicated arts and culture grant program to support vibrant community-led programs, events and activities. This program also supports City Council’s vision of Abbotsford as not only the economic hub of the Fraser Valley, but its cultural centre as well.
Our congratulations to this year’s grant recipients. We look forward to seeing their projects come to fruition and we hope the community enjoys this upcoming selection of cultural and artistic events, activities and programs.
Abbotsford City Council