Arts funding for communities across B.C. will remain stable for the 2012/2013 fiscal year, says Minister of Community, Sport and Development Ida Chong.
The government is once again offering up $16,831,000 that will be distributed to artists and cultural organizations throughout the province by the B.C. Arts Council (BCAC), a 15-member publicly funded independent agency chaired by Stan Hamilton (since Oct. 2010).
Of that $16,831,000, $7.931 million comes from the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, $2.15 million from the BC150 Cultural Fund (a $150 million interest-generating endowment fund) and $6.75 million from the 2010 Sport and Arts Legacy.
Artists and other organizations apply for grants (bcartscouncil.ca) and the council enlists input from the arts community to evaluate funding applications through an independent peer review process.
Last year more than 1,000 grants were approved in 200 communities across the province. M