It’s time for a dynamic, flexible and affordable space to take shape and serve our diverse community of artists and creative entrepreneurs in Victoria. This project is a concrete step forward to realizing the creative potential in Victoria through the development of 28 Bastion Square into a creative hub.
28 Bastion Square Creative Hub will support the cross pollination of ideas, sectors and projects under one roof to spur further collaboration and innovation. It will be a dynamic social space for the community to gather. A place where ideas and inspiration can happen.
With support from public and private sectors, the community at large and the energy and passion of the creative community, 28 Bastion Square Creative Hub is positioned to meet the growing creative sector in our city, and preserve a National Historic site in the heart of downtown Victoria. This project has been funded by the DVBA and through a City of Victoria Strategic Plan Grant.
28 Bastion Square Creative Hub is an exciting step forward towards affordable and accessible creative space in the Capital City. It will enable our creative sector to create, produce and share their creative talents with the wider community in the heart of our downtown.
Lisa Helps, Mayor, City of Victoria
During the engagement process for Create Victoria, the City of Victoria’s Arts and Culture Master Plan, the number one priority expressed by the community during the Create Victoria engagement was the need for affordable and accessible cultural spaces.
The Arts Consulting Group undertook a study to determine the feasibility of a shared creative hub. ACG’s findings determined there is significant interest, demand and need for a creative hub in Victoria.
The current real estate market has increased rent for arts organizations throughout the city and many artists and arts organizations are exiting the downtown core and outside of South Vancouver Island.
The structure of the culture sector is dominated by micro-businesses (less than 10 people), high numbers of self-employed people, and there is an emphasis on contract-based work. The sector is open and inclined to clustering together in a physical location. Small creative entities are nimble, but have limited access to infrastructure—clustering offers efficiency gains leading to competitive advantages they couldn’t achieve solo.
A Creative Hub will be an important element in furthering Victoria’s Urban Renaissance by adding an inclusive, energetic and engaging artistic space; crucial to successful and vibrant downtowns.
Jeff Bray, Executive Director, Downtown Victoria Business Association
28 Bastion Square Creative Hub will be located within the former Provincial Courthouse, a three-storey building in Bastion Square in the Old Town District of Victoria.
We would like to acknowledge with respect that the Creative Hub will operate on the unceded territory of the Lekwungen speaking peoples, the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations.
The Downtown Victoria Business Association and City of Victoria have been working closely with the Province of BC since the beginning of 2018, discussing the future potential of 28 Bastion Square.
It’s time for dynamic, flexible and affordable space to shape and serve our diverse community of artists and creatives.
Justin Love, Limbic Media
