Two Maple Ridge organizations receive $5,000 each through Metro Vancouver’s grant

Two Maple Ridge-based organizations have received Metro Vancouver’s regional cultural project grant.

Maple Ridge Historical Society (Maple Ridge Museum) and Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Arts Council (The ACT Arts Centre) have received $5,000 each from Metro Vancouver. The $300,000 grant was distributed amongst 54 local arts and culture organizations.

Maple Ridge Museum director Shea Henry expressed her excitement over receiving this grant funding.

“Since it is a new grant for us, we are really excited to have it,” she said.

The museum will be putting the grant money towards their new and upcoming project, Museum on the Move. Under this project, the museum will be buying a tent, technology equipment and other educational material, to bring museum education and artifacts to parks, schools, events, etc., said Henry.

The museum had their first ever Museum in the Park event earlier in July this year, which served as a pilot for their upcoming Museum on the Move project.

“We are a small building here, and this way we can reach more people, and take the museum to the public,” said Henry.

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The funding through Metro Vancouver will help get the project off the ground however, the museum will still be on the lookout for additional funding opportunities to support the project, Henry explained.

The regional cultural project grant, is an annual grant opportunity through Metro Vancouver. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Metro Vancouver has used a portion of its provincial Safe Restart funding to double the grant fund for a one-time increase.

“We saw record-setting demand for cultural grants in 2021, both in terms of the number of applications and how much funding was being requested,” said Sav Dhaliwal, Chair of the Metro Vancouver Board of Directors. “Being able to award an additional $150,000 will help promote employment within creative sectors and enhance exposure to some of the most vibrant and artistic minds in our region.”

This year, Metro Vancouver received 106 applications from organizations seeking a total of $768,011 in funding for proposed projects as opposed to 54 applicants who sought $377,230 in funding, and 29 organizations shared $140,000 in grants in 2020.

The chair of Metro Vancouver’s regional culture committee, Lisa Muri acknowledged the impact that the pandemic has had on the region’s arts and culture sector.

“We are proud to support region‐serving arts and cultural organizations who have shown resilience and creativity as they safely recover from such a challenging time. I am excited to see the many innovative and intriguing projects that we have supported come to fruition,” said Muri.

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