Empowering Voices: How Victoria’s Festival Project Grant Fuels Culture, Equity, and Community Spirit
How one funding program is reshaping festivals, amplifying underrepresented voices, and strengthening civic life in Victoria
What happened: Grant programs, growth, and new priorities
The Festival Project Grant (formerly the Festival Investment Grant) has become a key lever in supporting local festivals and cultural celebrations. Since 1999, it has awarded over CAD $4.4 million to not-for-profit festivals that bring arts, culture, and community together.
In 2024–25, the City expanded funding—46 events received $450,000, up from previous years, with an extra $100,000 injected to meet rising demand.
The grant’s updated guidelines for 2025 reflect sharpened priorities: diversity, equity, accessible art, Indigenous inclusion, community participation, and sustainable tourism.
Why this matters: More than just events
Victoria isn’t alone in recognizing the role festivals play as cultural glue. But what sets this program apart is how it ties economic development, equity, and art into one framework.
Festivals contribute to:
- Local business vitality (food vendors, artisans, tourism).
- Social cohesion—bringing people from different neighborhoods and backgrounds together.
- Artist livelihoods—especially for those normally excluded from mainstream cultural funding.
The grant’s guidelines explicitly require paying professional artists, engaging equity-seeking communities, and offering free or low-barrier public programming.
In comparison, many arts grants are still structured in ways that favor established institutions or ticketed events. Victoria’s approach pushes toward inclusivity—a shift echoed in similar funding policies from the BC Arts Council.
Behind the scenes: Challenges, unsung heroes, and motivations
The hard work required to make festivals count
Running a festival is already complex—venue permissions, logistics, artist contracts, marketing. But under the new grant model, organizers face extra demands:
- Demonstrating inclusive practices, such as how they ensure underrepresented groups have access.
- Proving economic impact (not just cultural value).
- Meeting higher standards of artistic quality and professionalism.
These raise the bar, which is good for value and sustainability—but smaller or newer groups may struggle to meet all criteria, especially if they lack administrative capacity or funds for staff.
Unsung heroes include:
- Community volunteers who pull events together.
- Local-cultural collectives (including Indigenous and equity-seeking groups) who contribute authentic content.
- City arts staff who review grants, provide application feedback, and bridge gaps in capacity.
The City’s motivation seems grounded in more than just celebrating culture—it’s about making cultural life equitable, inclusive, resilient, and economically meaningful.
Impacts: What short-term gains and long-term change look like
Short-term effects:
- More festivals get funded. In 2024, 46 events benefitted—the biggest annual payout yet.
- Increased visibility for under-resourced events, like heritage and cultural festivals.
- Economic ripple effects: tourism, local spending, jobs for event staff and artists.
Long-term potential:
- A stronger, more resilient arts sector in Victoria.
- Improved social inclusion with consistent support for Indigenous and equity-seeking communities.
- Enhanced cultural tourism—festivals as both local highlights and visitor attractions.
- Shifting norms: that festivals should be accessible, have fair artist compensation, and reflect diverse voices.
Public sentiment and what’s missing
Community feedback has been largely positive: many organizers and attendees appreciate the shift toward equity and accessibility. But concerns remain:
- Smaller groups feel disadvantaged by the professional and administrative demands.
- Requests often exceed available funding, meaning not all worthy festivals are supported.
What’s missing in public discourse is deeper engagement with how to support the capacity building of underrepresented groups—helping them meet eligibility criteria without losing their unique voice.
What could be done: Suggestions and calls to action
- Capacity support grants or mentorships to help smaller or newer organizations with grant writing, budgeting, and marketing.
- Tiered or scaled criteria more forgiving for emerging groups.
- Transparency in selection: clearer reporting on equity goals, funding decisions, and representation.
- More flexible funding for grassroots art forms and experimental work.
Takeaway: Where this is heading
The Festival Project Grant is more than a funding program—it’s a statement about values: that culture should be accessible, that diverse voices deserve support, and that art and economics are linked.
If supported with care, this model could serve as a template for other cities. For Victoria, the promise is a festival scene that’s vibrant, inclusive, and lasting. For communities, it’s empowerment through expression—and that’s a strong foundation.
