April 23, 2013

Happy BC Arts and Culture Week!

Happy BC Arts and Culture Week! Taking place from April 21 to 27, 2013, this BC-wide celebration of all things art and culture turns the spotlight on the vital contribution that they make in learning and in life. Hundreds of arts councils, communities and schools across the province will be joining the fun by presenting a dazzling range of events and activities from pop-up dance performances to art crawls, exhibitions, open mics and much more.

Celebrate the arts in your life by attending one of the many events taking place this week. Find an event near you on bcartsweek.org/events.

Another great way to get involved is to submit a photo to I See Art Here: Mapping our Communities in BC. This is a collaborative project to express the many ways that arts and culture are alive in our province. Help "map" the different places, events, objects, people, etc., where you see art and culture happening in your community. Take a photo and upload it to the photo gallery.

On Monday, the official kick-off event for BC Arts and Culture Week 2013 took place at the Roundhouse in Vancouver. Winners of this year's Arts Champion Awards were honoured, and presented with their award and an piece of original commissioned artwork created by three BC artists: Sonny Assu, Karen Hibbard and Eli Schreyer Allen.

This year's winners are:

• Dianne Ocampo - Arts Champion Award, Youth category
• Bernice Heinzelman - Arts Champion Award, Administrator category
• Dianna David - Arts Champion Award, Artist category

Read more about the Arts Champion Awards.

Dianne Ocampo (left) and artist Eli Schreyer Allen (right)

Bernice Heinzelman (right) and artist Karen Hibbard (left)

Dianna David (right) and Juliana Bedoya (left) and Navida Nuraney (centre) from ArtStarts with artwork by Sonny Assu