Two Richmond societies are among 30 recipients of the Heritage Legacy Fund this year.
Richmond's Cinevolution Media Arts Society and the Gulf of Georgia Cannery Society were selected under the heritage awareness categories for their projects.
Cinevolution was chosen for its interactive storytelling to reconstruct six largely forgotten and disappeared sites of Chinese migration while the Gulf of Georgia Cannery Society was selected for its exhibit with diverse representation from the community to further reconciliation within Steveston.
The 2024 Heritage Legacy Fund provides grants for heritage building conservation, awareness, planning and Indigenous partnership projects across B.C.
This year there were 94 applications with a total ask of $1.8 million.
The final 30 recipients were recommended after three juries of five members each with Heritage BC awarding an all-time high amount of $463,000.
Nine heritage conservation projects, five heritage planning, eight heritage awareness and eight Indigenous partnership projects were approved.
"We are pleased that there is increased awareness of the Heritage Legacy Fund, but concerned about the extreme need being demonstrated by the number and total funding requested for heritage conservation and reconciliation work throughout the province," said Kirstin Clausen, executive director of Heritage BC.
"We acknowledge the disappointment of many applicants, but draw attention to the remarkable heritage projects we are able to support."
The non-profit's goal is to work with the province to make sustaining and meaningful investments in B.C.'s tangible and intangible cultural resources, according to a Heritage BC media statement.
Britney Dack, chair of Heritage BC, said the legacy fund's budget this year was increased to meet the jurists' award recommendations.
"We were fortunate this year with some modest surplus that we could relocate to this purpose," said Dack.
"This is not something we expect to be repeatable in future years. There is definitely pressure on the Heritage Legacy Fund which uniquely supports the heritage sector in BC, and we are pleased to be able to do what we can."
Got an opinion on this story or any others in Richmond? Send us a letter or email your thoughts or story tips to [email protected]. To stay updated on Richmond news, sign up for our daily headline newsletter. Words missing in article? Your adblocker might be preventing hyperlinked text from appearing.
