CONFERENCE

Where creatives and cultural workers come together.

Conference 2024 : Save the date!

We are thrilled to officially announce the dates and location of Arts BC’s highly anticipated bi-annual Provincial Conference:

Conference Dates: October 3 – 5, 2024

Location: Evergreen Cultural Centre, on the unceded, traditional and ancestral core territory of the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) First Nation, which lies within the shared territories of the səli̓lwətaɁɬ təməxʷ (Tsleil-Waututh), S’ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō), qiqéyt (Qayqayt) and sq̓əc̓iy̓aɁɬ təməxʷ (Katzie), xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish) nations in the region known today as the Tri-Cities.

Stay tuned! In the coming year, we will unveil our lineup of speakers, workshops, and a detailed conference schedule. Early bird registration will open in the Spring 2024, offering you the opportunity to secure your spot at a discounted rate.

Accommodations: We will provide more information about special rates for hotels in early 2024.

Keep an eye on your inbox and our social media channels (links below) for more updates, and bookmark this conference website page.

We’re looking forward to welcoming you to the Arts BC Conference 2024!

Regional Events

Arts BC Regional Events program and a change to Arts BC’s conference scheduling.

Arts BC has held annual conferences for many years, including virtually in 2020 and 2021. This year, as we planned for future conferences, we concluded that the best way to serve our members and community, is to increase Arts BC’s presence in additional communities throughout the province, and move from an annual to bi-annual conference schedule. This means opportunities for us to come to you in 2023 and that we will host the next in-person Arts BC Provincial Conference in 2024.

We came to this decision as we reflected on the impact of regionally-focused events, in addition to the full provincial conference. The majority of Arts BC’s members are based outside of urban centres, and we heard that the time and financial commitments required to travel long distances on an annual basis are challenging for many of our members.

We also weighed the skyrocketing conference production costs, as well as the costs of travel for everyone attending. It became apparent that if we held a full conference in 2023, we would have to charge higher registration costs, which is not aligned with our equity and accessibility mandates. The extra time we now have to plan next year’s conference will allow us to organize a richer and more sustainable experience.

Rest assured, we are committed to continuing to provide exceptional professional development opportunities to you, and ensure that our community remains engaged and connected.

Thanks to the feedback from our members, we know that there is a demand for Arts BC to co-create events in more communities with local organizations. We’re pleased to be working with local leadership in various communities to host a series of in-person Regional Events that bring people together and provide opportunities for Arts BC to engage with more members and communities. We also continue to host free and low-cost online events for learning and connecting with peers from across the province throughout the year.

We are excited to be moving forward with this new conference model and the Regional Events Program. Please let us know if you have any feedback or ideas as we plan ahead. In the meantime, please visit the events page for details about upcoming events.

About our Conference

Looking for skills development and networking with peers? Arts BC’s annual conference is where you need to be! Arts BC organizes a multi-day conference every year, where creatives and cultural workers are invited from across the province to explore and unpack all things arts and culture.

Our annual conference has been recognized as a must-attend event for those in the sector, and one of the most important programs we offer. It is a key opportunity for community arts and culture leaders to come together; share stories; foster peer learning; and offer deeper skills development for administrators and volunteers.