Dear Creative Citizen of Vancouver,
These are complex times we live in. It feels like a turning point, where significant change is both a present reality and an ongoing challenge. The question is: how will we respond? At Community Arts Council of Vancouver we look at this question through the lens of social transformation, where the resilience of our various communities can be strengthened through collective creative action. We need each other more than ever, and we need to unleash imaginative possibilities to help shape our emerging future.
Community arts can have profound social impacts. Artistic work by groups of people sharing an identity or place can honor differences, strengthen belonging, surface hidden perspectives, heal what is broken, and change our understanding of what is possible.
Community arts can shift power and spread agency. Connect blocks and neighborhoods and generations across identities. Raise up critical social issues. Infuse joy and belonging into spaces where dark visions crowd out hope and daily reality is a struggle. And struggles can arise in unexpected places too. Everyone can benefit from more creative opportunities.
Community arts weaves together our frayed social fabric, providing a brave inviting space to come together to sing songs, tell stories, create a performance, dance in public, make artworks, learn new skills, heal…and celebrate human connection.
CACV is looking at the role we can play in shaping the future of our city.
Our vision is of a socially-engaged, inclusive, and vibrant city alive with community arts.
This is what drives our work here at CACV, informed by our values, shared by our Board, staff, and many volunteers, and manifested in our programs. The resources we need are volunteer hours, potent ideas, great partners, welcoming spaces, adequate dollars and quality snacks!
What’s your form of creative citizenship? How might you contribute to the work?
Sincerely,
Eric Rhys Miller
Executive Director