Creativity, Arts & Community
Victoria should be a city where creative people can afford to stay, make things, perform, take chances and build something of their own.
Arts and culture are part of what makes Victoria feel like Victoria. They bring people together, animate neighbourhoods and commercial streets, support local jobs and businesses, attract visitors and give us shared experiences.
Make Room for Creativity
High housing and commercial costs make it increasingly difficult for artists, performers, cultural organizations and small creative businesses to find places to live and work.
City Hall has tools that can help with those pressures. I want us to make better use of City spaces, partnerships, planning and other practical tools to preserve and create affordable places to rehearse, perform, exhibit, make things and gather.
Small obstacles matter too. I want to hear ideas about how we can adjust permitting, temporary-use rules and City processes to make community activity easier to organize, while still protecting safety and neighbourhoods.
Listen to the People Creating the City
Artists, musicians, venues, cultural organizations, neighbourhood groups and local businesses often know where City rules are working and where they create unnecessary obstacles.
Victoria already has strong connections with its arts and cultural community. I want City Hall to build on that work, keep listening to the people actually creating and organizing things, and make even better use of their practical knowledge. Sometimes a small change in a rule or process can make a big difference without requiring a big new program or expense.
Use Public Support Wisely
Public support for arts and culture creates value that cannot always be reduced to a dollar figure. It can build community, create opportunities, bring life to public spaces and help people feel that Victoria belongs to them too.
I will expect City support to have a clear purpose and be transparent. Where public money, property or other City resources are involved, people should understand what we are trying to accomplish and the cultural, social, community and economic benefits that support is intended to create.
Leave Room for New Ideas
Creativity also includes entrepreneurs, designers, makers and people trying something that has never been done here before. A healthy city gives people room to experiment and sometimes fail before they succeed.
I want Victoria to be a place that attracts artists, musicians, entrepreneurs and people with new ideas, gives them reasons to stay, and lets them build a future here. When creative people cannot thrive here, Victoria loses some of the energy, originality and vibrancy that make this city such a special place to live.