Gabriola Arts Council

Gabriola Island is called the “Isle of the Arts” because it has one of the highest concentrations of artists per capita in Canada, fostering a vibrant community of visual artists, musicians, writers, and other cultural creators.

Every day is a celebration of arts and culture on Gabriola Island, known as the “Isle of the Arts” because it has one of the highest concentrations of artists per capita in Canada. Artists are an important part of the island’s social and economic engine, and the Gabriola Arts Council (GAC) is committed to increasing accessibility of the arts to people of all ages and interests. GAC supports local artists in all media and at all levels, ensures that local residents have opportunities to engage with art and artists, and makes off-island communities aware of our rich artistic resources.

GAC creates opportunities for our community to engage with the arts, and to support local artists through our programs:

·       Isle of the Arts Festival: an annual spring multi-day festival of hands-on arts-based workshops and events

·       Cultivate Festival Performing and Arts Festival: an annual summer festival of music, theatre, and performing arts

·       Thanksgiving Studio Tour: an annual three-day self-guided tour of participating studios all over Gabriola Island

·       Breaking Bannock–Building Bridges: this newest stream of programming is a community-driven and relationship building initiative that fosters reconciliation by creating opportunities for dialogue, cultural exchange, and allyship between the Snuneymuxw and non-Indigenous people on Gabriola Island

·       Kasahara Gabriola Trust Artist Residency: managed by the Gabriola Arts Council, brings Canadian artists to Gabriola and offers them the space and time to work, and to share their craft with our community

Learn more about all that the Gabriola Arts Council does at https://artsgabriola.ca/.