City of Courtenay Annual Report 2022

ARTS AND CULTURE

CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS

The City of Courtenay owns and maintains three major cultural facilities downtown including the Sid Williams Theatre, Courtenay Museum & Paleontology Centre and the Comox Valley Centre for the Arts. The City has agreements with the cultural organizations which occupy the facilities, each with their own non-profit societies and board of directors. In 2020, the City of Courtenay signed an agreement with Comox Valley Arts that identified their role as a centralized resource for the local arts and culture industry. Museum Licence to Occupy, Operating Grant Council approved an agreement in September 2022 between the City of Courtenay and the Courtenay and District Historical Society for a License to Occupy and Management and Operating Grant . The Courtenay Museum building is a City asset, and this agreement helps establish the technical level of service offered to the Museum by the City. It also supports arts and culture and improves accessibility to this key City service. It includes the terms and conditions by which the Courtenay and District Historical Society will continue to manage the Courtenay Museum & Paleontology Centre. It also includes service expectations in return for grant funding, financial, and in-kind support provided by the City to the Society. Strategic Cultural Plan A Strategic Cultural Plan was initiated in 2022, with work continuing in 2023. The plan will highlight the importance of cultural services in the context of supporting the community, personal well-being, enhancing social inclusion, and as a tourism and economic driver for the region. The project will also identify, support and plan strategic priority recommendations for cultural services and the City’s cultural assets that support these services. These recommendations will be identified as action items for the short term (1-2 years), medium term (3-5 years) and long term (6-10 years). More information is available at courtenay.ca/strategicculturalplan

Sid Williams Theatre Live performances Virtual performances

123

10 64

Rehearsals, workshops, recording sessions

"Front door" public attendance

32,306

"Stage door" performer/cast attendance

6,092

Virtual event viewers

411

Volunteer hours (restarted August 2021)

4,123

Comox Valley Art Gallery Total visits School tour participants

25,000

2,200 2,500

Community make-art workshop participants

Youth Media Project new films

20

Volunteer hours

1,100

Courtenay and District Museum Total visits (includes field trips, special events)

26,500

Volunteer hours

100

Comox Valley Arts 30 Day Drawing Challenge Participants

1,700

Art kits distributed Volunteer hours

100 463

Simms Concert Series

City of Courtenay | 2022 Annual Report

42