Vancouver Moving Theatre Society is an award-winning non-profit, professional arts organization located in Vancouver’s historic Downtown Eastside (DTES). The primary activity of the Society is the DTES Heart of the City Festival, an annual multidisciplinary community-engaged Festival founded in 2004. The Festival serves as a bridge-building force, amplifying the voices of the DTES, its cultural communities, neighbourhoods, and inner-city residents. The annual Festival (late Oct.-early Nov.) features over 80 events at over 40 venues and involves hundreds of artists and residents. Most events are free or by donation.
With over 21 years of community engagement experience, the DTES Heart of the City Festival supports and connects the arts and cultural systems in Vancouver’s DTES. The Festival brings together artists and organizations to promote, present, and support artists, art forms, cultural practices, history, activism, and great stories about Vancouver’s diverse DTES.
The Festival has presented over 2500 events, dozens of Canadian premieres and works-in-development; hosted panels and symposiums; employed artists and community members; strengthened community connections and fostered community pride. Activities include performances, art-making and educational workshops, public dialogues, story and cultural sharing, interactive events, walking tours, symposiums, community celebrations and commemorative events.
Project Description: Mayor of Oz is a community-engaged grassroots play developed by Carnegie Learning Centre volunteers with support from Capilano University and the Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival. Reimagining Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz through the lens of the DTES, the play explores housing instability, climate collapse, the toxic drug crisis, and gentrification, while celebrating resilience, solidarity, and community strength.
Many participants face housing precarity and are directly impacted by the play’s themes. After a successful script-reading at Carnegie Community Centre, a work-in-progress showing was presented during the 2024 DTES Heart of the City Festival to a full house with overwhelmingly positive feedback and requests for more shows. Participants were inspired and have called for further development and wider presentation.
This phase supports Mayor of Oz at the 2025 Festival. This process will encourage ongoing artistic expression and community storytelling, nurture lasting creative partnerships, and strengthen artistic development within the community.