ABOUT US

 

Formed in 2005 the The Hope & District Arts Council had a vision to provide affordable, accessible arts and cultural programming to the community and surrounding area. 

 

A small group believed in the powerful impact of arts and culture on a community and were interested in re-establishing an arts council in Hope. Thanks to their dedication The Hope & District Arts Council was created.

 

From 2007-2009 we received provincial funding for administration and were able to hire staff members who worked endlessly to get the council  “off the ground.”

 

We put community interests first, fostering and promoting arts and culture by offering affordable, accessible arts programming and cultural activities.

The Hope & District Arts Council is an arts and cultural non-profit society with over 50 members.

MANDATE

To enhance the quality of life in Hope, British Columbia and District by:

•  fostering and promoting arts and culture

•  increasing and broadening opportunities for residents to participate in and enjoy cultural activities

 

MISSION

• Celebrate, preserve, support and advocate for the Arts in an inclusive way, bringing together the community’s artists and artistic organizations;

• Enrich the community’s quality of life by fostering public interest in, appreciation for and understanding of the Arts;

• Bridge cultures through the Arts;

• Promote the vision, creativity and energy of the community through the Arts;

• Encourage creative participation and excellence in artistic development; and

• Act as a clearing house for information and a forum for communication in the field of the Arts.

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CORE VALUES

To further its mandate, mission and goals, the Hope & District Arts Council will, at all times, be guided by the following core values:

1. Pursuit of Excellence

2. Celebration of Diversity

3. Leadership and Innovation

4. Communication and Consultation

5. Commitment

6. Respect and Inclusiveness

7. Integrity and Transparency

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Current situation in our community

 

Hope is a small community with a population consisting of families with young children and a high percentage of seniors, many of them with low incomes. Although we don't have an arts and cultural facility enjoyed by larger communities, we do have the Hope Arts Gallery and The Art Machine community arts program, where participants of all ages can participate, learn, experience, share and be creative either free of charge or at an affordable cost. They have become community gathering places for arts, culture and education. For these reasons, the Hope & District Arts Council feels the need to continue having an active role in directly providing arts and cultural events and programming in our community. HDAC feels that we are fulfilling a very real need in the area for arts based programming and we will continue in this capacity.