Exploring and Changing the Systems that have marginalized voices in British Columbia Arts

“Inclusion is not a strategy to help people fit into systems and structures which exist in our societies; it is about transforming those systems and structures to make it better for everyone. “

-Diane Richler

The Rural Arts Inclusion Lab is a project created to address the the systems that exclude marginalized voices from arts organizations, audiences and performers in rural British Columbia. 

This three year place-based project is a partnership between the Nelson Civic Theatre Foundation and the Tiny Lights Festival and is supported by a systems change grant from the Vancouver Foundation. 

Gathering as many perspectives as possible, we will be modelling a Social Innovation Lab and using this website to document our process so any rural arts organization can follow along. It is our hope that though sharing of information, we can have relevance beyond our specific geographic region.

This project is centred in the West Kootenays, we acknowledge our respect for, and deep gratitude, to the First Nations on whose traditional territories we are honoured to operate.

Where did this project originate?

This project was created as a result of being involved in the Arts and Social Innovation Cohort of the Vancouver Foundation.