The society behind a long and winding mission to get a West Shore arts centre off the ground is hoping a new committee will help lift the project.
Judith Cullington, president of the Juan de Fuca Performing Arts Centre Society, asked Langford’s community advisory committee to nominate a councillor to sit on an inter-municipality group it’s looking to start, with the aim of finding a location for the centre.
Forecasted to cost around $40 million, the centre has had an up-and-down journey, with potential locations coming and going over a number of years. The society formed in 2016, although the Capital Regional District identified a need for an arts centre back in 2002, according to Cullington.
The committee would include all five West Shore municipalities, plus potentially Sooke and look to find a location and also community partners.
“We think this should not be a standalone arts and culture centre. Land is too valuable, there are too many other community needs, we need to be working with others and the other community needs to see who else we should be building with,” Cullington said during the June 27 community advisory committee meeting.
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The vision is to have a 350-seat theatre on the West Shore for community groups to book for performances, and also include rehearsal and storage space, classrooms and other amenities.
View Royal and Highlands have already picked a councillor to sit on the committee.
Ultimately, Langford’s committee recommended council appoint one of its members to the arts committee by the end of September to allow it to be included in the city’s strategic plan, set to come out around the same time.
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