Langley Centennial Museum has received $75,000 from the B.C. government as part of $1.9 million in arts and culture grants given out to organizations across the province.
The grant is aimed at creating a print making studio in the planned new Arts and Heritage Centre in Fort Langley, according to the Township’s Peter Tulumello, director of arts, culture, and community initiatives.
“When built it will be the only publicly accessible printmaking workshop in the Lower Mainland, outside of Vancouver,” Tulumello said. “We expect that there will be hundreds of artists wanting to book studio time to access the space in order to create affordable print editions that will sustain their arts practice.”
The studio is planned to be environmentally friendly with hand-cranked presses and safter printmaking materials including vegetable-based dyes and soy-based cleaning products, Tulumello said.
The museum’s grant is the maximum available for improving arts and culture spaces.
The funding was spread across 50 arts and culture groups, with 26 of those in the Lower Mainland, and is aimed at improving buildings or buying new equipment.
“Arts and culture groups operate vitally important spaces of belonging in communities throughout B.C., and this funding will help enhance their facilities so they can come back strong after the pandemic,” said Melanie Mark, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. “We’re supporting arts groups to upgrade their spaces, improve safety features, increase accessibility or buy equipment so they can continue to offer virtual programming and contribute to B.C.’s economic recovery.”
“These are grants that make a big impact in our communities,” said Bob D’Eith, Parliamentary Secretary for Arts and Film. “This program shows that the B.C. government is listening and responding to the needs of arts and culture groups.”
The Arts Infrastructure Program is run by the BC Arts Council, with a peer committee reviewing funding applications.
