Posts by samadmin

To mark the conclusion of the second annual Vancouver Creative City Conference at the Playhouse Theatre, Mayor Sam Sullivan will release a “to do list” of arts & culture initiatives over the next 30-45 days. It includes:

• approve funding for community celebrations – including annual Pride Parade, Celtic Fest, Chinese New Years Parade, Vaisakhi and Canada Day Fireworks
• promote Vancouver arts & culture on Board of Trade mission to Hong Kong
• support the campaign to keep the CBC Radio orchestra in Vancouver
• encourage Vancouver’s participation in Quebec’s 400th anniversary celebration
• introduce measures the City of Vancouver can support to make 2009 Juno Awards the best ever
• unveil details of first annual Mayor’s Arts Awards
• get final cultural tourism plan to Council for review and vote by end of July
• institute street closures to restore public order to downtown entertainment district
• work to further increase number of taxi licenses by end of 2008
• resume construction on Queen Elizabeth Theatre improvements

The Creative City Conversation is taking place throughout the day today and focused on four items that will help shape a Cultural Tourism Plan that Council can review and approve this summer:

• Facilities Review – including recommendations on how to convert boarded-up buildings to art studio space for students
• Public Art Reviews – including how to leverage over $1 million from Olympic Celebration Fund
• Multi-Year Grants – focused on how to provide increased certainty for community organizations
• Cultural Tourism Strategy – review best ways to allocate and leverage $1.5 million Cultural Tourism Fund and 2010 initiatives

Our community supports it. Former opponents now support it. Insite is proving it works.

You have all read about international surveys ranking Vancouver as one of the best places in the world to live, work and visit.

But for every one of those, you will also read about the social challenges of homelessness, drug addiction and mental health facing our city.

Recently, these issues have been raised in the context of the debate around Vancouver’s supervised injection site (Insite) – the only one in North America.

Some opponents have described Insite as a big party with free drugs. As Mayor, I see it more like a palliative care facility.

Despite apparent reservations about the future of Insite, Prime Minister Harper and his government deserve credit for significant federal investments in drug treatment, prevention and mental health. Over $30 million will be allocated to Vancouver priorities thanks to these recent announcements.

These initiatives – combined with the BC government’s leadership on social housing – have led to a renewed sense of hope that collaboration between all levels of government is a reality and a critical part of the solution for Vancouver.

Mayor Sam Sullivan is throwing his support behind new measures to increase access to art studio space in Vancouver. Limited access to studio space has been an ongoing concern for the local arts community for a number of years.

At next week’s Creative City Conversation in Vancouver, Mayor Sullivan will ask senior management at the City of Vancouver to modernize current rules that limit the ability of private entrepreneurs to convert derelict buildings into active and vibrant streetscapes.

In addition to cutting red tape and supporting cultural communities, these improvements will provide city staff with more flexibility to assist land owners interested in turning unused properties into low cost artist studios and creative space.

Mayor Sam Sullivan confirmed plans to support the current Vancouver Children’s Hospital capital campaign through a special partnership with the Sunny Hill Foundation for Children. The Children’s Hospital is planning to invest almost $500 million dollars to establish a state of the art medical facility in Vancouver – located within close proximity of the new Canada Line.

The partnership is focused on land owned by Sunny Hill at 3644 Slocan Street in Vancouver.
The site was purchased from the City of Vancouver for $26,450 in 1956. As part of the transaction, the City was granted an option to repurchase the land for the same price if Sunny Hill decided to stop using the site as a children’s hospital. As part of the Children’s Hospital expansion, Sunny Hill has confirmed their plans to relocate from the current Slocan site to the new Centre.