Reports & Awards

The award-winning “A City Without Art? No Net Loss, Plus!” presents the findings of a comprehensive survey conducted by the Eastside Arts Society in 2019 to inventory artist production spaces in the city’s industrial areas. Captured through the EAS’s database, interviews, online artist surveys, discussions with building owners, and site-specific research, results reflect both existing as well as historical data and identify land use trends.

Vancouver’s Eastside has one of the highest densities of artists in Canada, which contributes to a thriving neighbourhood and local, creative economy. In 2019, the Eastside Arts Society completed a comprehensive study that documented 400,000 ft2 – almost 10 football fields – of visual art studio space that has been lost over the past 10 years. The significant amount of artist studio spaces lost on the Eastside are due to rising land values, land speculation and increasing property taxes which has meant rising rents, redevelopment and the loss of cultural production spaces.

These findings, along with a set of strategies to protect, preserve and enhance arts and culture spaces, were captured in the report which provides the background information for why the EAS is developing an Eastside Arts District.

Vancouver’s Eastside is a vibrant and distinct arts and culture ecology with the core characteristics that make a successful arts and cultural district. In formally establishing the Eastside Arts District, the Eastside Arts Society aims to lead and collectively advocate for the sustainability of all arts and culture on the Eastside.

The Eastside has the highest concentration of artists, musicians, performers, and cultural producers in Vancouver and is known nationally and internationally as a vital part of Vancouver’s cultural identity. Much of the Eastside was historically a lower-rent and primarily light industrial zone, but it is changing. Redevelopment and the economic consequences of the pandemic have exacerbated the financial burden on artists and cultural producers.

It is difficult to understate the sense of urgency regarding the preservation, provision and safeguarding of cultural space in the Eastside. Steps towards protecting the City’s arts and cultural identity should be taken sooner rather than later, as massive development changes will impact this area and community. This is the time to seize the moment of heightened public demand, celebrate Vancouver’s diverse creativity, and ensure this sector’s long-term sustainability.