2024 Annual Report Draft

Courtenay and District Museum and Paleontology Centre

Renewed agreement supports Comox Valley Art Gallery and cultural programming The City of Courtenay has renewed its five-year License to Occupy and Grant Agreement with CVAG for the management and operation of the gallery, as well as the provision of public education and outreach programs in the community. Since 2004, CVAG has occupied the Centre for the Arts, offering contemporary visual arts exhibitions, educational programs and community projects. Through artist talks, workshops and discussions, the gallery fosters public engagement, accessibility and critical thinking, enriching the cultural, social and economic vitality of the Comox Valley. CVAG includes a gift shop that sells the work of hundreds of local artists. The gallery was established in 1974 and its programming includes: • The Youth Media Project – A training initiative that provides hands-on experience in digital storytelling and media production for young people. • Walk With Me – An arts-based community research project that explores the impacts of the toxic drug crisis, fostering dialogue and awareness through artistic expression. The Courtenay and District Museum and Paleontology Centre was established in 1961 as a non-profit organization with the mandate to collect, preserve and interpret natural and cultural heritage of the Comox Valley region. Throughout the year, the museum offers on-site and outdoor programming suitable for all age groups. Program subjects include fossils, geology, First Nations history, pioneer settlement history, social history of the Comox Valley, logging and lumber history and river way study, as well as a series of changing exhibitions spanning over 80 million years. In the fall of 2023, the museum's Elasmosaur was officially adopted in the Provincial Symbols and Honours Act as British Columbia's official fossil emblem. The Elasmosaur is a large marine reptile dating back to the Cretaceous period, approximately 80 million years ago.

Arts, culture and heritage

Courtenay and District Museum Total visits (general, school visits, fossil tours) Volunteer hours (collections management, public celebrations) Number of hired summer students and participation hours Travelling and temporary exhibitions International scientists working on research on museum fossils Scholars, authors and organizations carrying out social history research

28,100

2,450

3 students, 840 hours

5

12

9

Number of newsletters

12

Comox Valley Art Gallery Total visits School tour participants

25,200

2,350

Community make-art workshop participants

2,450

Youth Media Project new films

24

Volunteer hours

1,100

53

City of Courtenay | 2024 Annual Report