TELUS STORYHIVE premiered 19 new short films from the second TELUS STORYHIVE Indigenous Storyteller Edition! These projects—featuring dramas, comedies, and documentaries—are produced by new and emerging Indigenous filmmakers from across B.C. and Alberta. Creative BC...
Funding Recipients
Rachel Iwaasa’s collaborative “Klavierklang” blurs lines between memory, sound, and film
Rachel Iwaasa has built her musical career around projects that explode expectations of what is possible at the piano. As a classically-trained pianist with a multidisciplinary perspective, coupled with a special interest in contemporary music, Rachel’s work...
From Cabin Conversations to Cultural Phenom: The Evolution of ValhallaFest
In November 2017, amidst the quiet solitude of a snow-bound cabin, artists and event organizers Erinn McPherson, Issa Ullman, Jordie Laidlaw, and Ray Pedersen conceived the idea of presenting a new EDM music festival. Acknowledging the challenges ahead, they aimed to...
Creating Honest Music with JJ Adrian
Hailing from Vancouver, BC, JJ Adrian is a singer-songwriter on a mission to create honest and soulful music that resonates with listeners on a profound level. Armed with a degree in Music Business from Berklee College of Music, Adrian seamlessly navigates the...
From Grassroots to Global: 25 Years of Shambhala
2024 marks the 25th anniversary of the Shambhala Music Festival, established in 1998. In its early days, 500 people came together at the Salmo River Ranch, nestled in the Kootenays in the town of Salmo, B.C., for a party that displayed local art and music. Arising...
Guitar manufacturing in Vancouver continues to grow thanks to Coloma Guitars
The beginnings of Coloma Guitars are what some would call a “happy accident.” Coloma Guitars got its start during the pandemic, when Head Luthier and founder Meredith Coloma was forced to shut down Pacific Wood Lab, where she was teaching guitar building and repair...
Collaboration between artist and producer enables Six Arils to tell powerful stories of memory and impermanence
As a composer, performer, and creator, Six Arils takes a methodical and comprehensive approach to developing their work for audiences from all walks of life. As they explain, “I compose and perform all lyrics, vocals, and instrumentation myself. The initial demos...
Thrillhouse’s “Space Disco” music video spins a story of Lovecraftian lore
As a musician and creator who continues to hone their craft with intention, the muti-talented Thrillhouse’s days revolve around strumming guitar strings and immersing themselves in music production. His aesthetic blends captivating sounds with a visually immersive...
Demo Recording grant enables collaboration and creativity to thrive between producer and artist
Filipino-Canadian immigrant and theatre artist Argel Monte de Ramos considers his lived experiences the backbone of his artistry. The creative self-expression that this artistry unlocks enables him to reflect on and process these lived experiences - for better and for...
Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival builds community, connection, and creativity in 2023
Since first taking flight with an inaugural event in 2019, the Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival has served as a showcase for leading talent from the Fraser Valley, Metro Vancouver, and the Province of BC at large. Each year, the Festival has enabled this talent...
Demo Recording grant enables music documenting the queer experience to take flight
As working artists, singer-songwriter Matthew Presidente and producer Matt Roach are no stranger to music’s emotive storytelling properties. Thanks to an investment from the Demo Recording program (offered jointly in 2022 by the City of Vancouver and the Province of...
The Tiny Lights Festival fosters creativity, community, and connection in Ymir, B.C.
Presented on an annual basis since 2012 as the chief programming arm of the nonprofit Renascence Arts and Sustainability Society, the Tiny Lights Festival has been building community and connectedness in the town of Ymir, B.C. year after year. The modest Kootenay town...
Music Video funding enables TYA to share an authentic side of herself with “Josephine” release
A self-identified anxious indie pop artist based in Lions Bay, BC, TYA makes use of music as both a mental health coping mechanism and a unique exploration of identity in the context of their gender and sexuality. Why? As TYA explains it in their characteristically...
Black Culture Celebration Festival unites international artistry with local talent to celebrate a hip-hop milestone at Sunset Beach in June 2023
Building on the successes seen in its inaugural run in 2022, the Black Culture Celebration Festival will return to Sunset Beach in June 2023. Slated for June 17, to commemorate Juneteenth, the second annual Festival will also showcase a wealth of notable Canadian...
Demo Recording grant enables singer-songwriter Crystal Lee to honor old friendships and chart new creative paths with upcoming ‘The Melting of the Moon’ EP release.
Singer-songwriter and instrumentalist Crystal Lee - also known by her stage name, Jia - draws creative and personal inspiration from indie rock, alongside the desert rock, psychedelic rock, and dream pop genres. Her work interrogates lived experience and emotions, and...
Incrowd app launch provides 5x Festival attendees with a pick-your-path journey to remember
Beyond its presence as the third largest pan-ethnic group in the Metro Vancouver area – one that grew 29.6 percent in size between 2016 and 2021, with a similar rate of increase anticipated in future years – the South Asian community is also a hotbed for homegrown and...
Laura Kelsey’s raw and reflective storytelling engages new audiences via ‘Hunting Season’ EP release
Over the past decade, Nanaimo-based vocalist Laura Kelsey has honed her skills in a variety of musical realms: metal, blues, and folk, as but a few examples. Fronting and performing in each of these genres have shaped her approach to creation, and resulted in a unique...
Cellar Music Group’s investments in jazz music and musicians enables creativity and opportunity to thrive
BC's own Cellar Music Group has over three hundred musical releases to its name. As of this year, at least one of them has been graced with a Grammy Award. In 2001, jazz saxophonist Cory Weeds created Cellar Music Group to showcase contemporary and traditional jazz...
Kathara Collective breathes new life into traditional songs of history, home, and community
With over 20 years of cross-cultural creativity and collaboration to its credit, and with the entirety of Turtle Island (known to some as ‘Canada’;) as its platform, Kathara is an artist collective comprised of musicians, dancers, actors, multimedia artists,...
UWIDO creates industry access, opportunity, and connection for BIPOC musical artists
When considering the rapid growth of UWIDO over the past two years, it quickly becomes evident what can arise when a community takes action that is guided by vision, informed by need, and supported by big dreams. UWIDO's owner and founder Francis Arevalo firmly...