Arts and culture make a community a vibrant and enriching place to live. An active and diverse mix of cultural offerings increases people's sense of satisfaction with their environment and community pride. How are we doing with respect to Arts and Culture? You told us: B+

Employment In 2008, 3,800 people were employed in cultural industries in Greater Victoria, down significantly from 4,700 in 2007. This accounted for 2.0% of total employment in Greater Victoria in 2008, compared to 2.3% in BC and 2.0% in Canada. Grade: C+
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Spending Households in Greater Victoria spent an average of $1,049 on arts and culture in 2007, up considerably from the $967 spent in 2006. Average spending per household in BC in 2007 was $941 and $932 in Canada. Grade: B+
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Resident satisfaction In 2008, 46.7% of Greater Victoria residents were satisfied or very satisfied with their opportunities to participate in artistic and cultural activities. This compares with 70.0% of residents who were satisfied or very satisfied with their opportunities to enjoy artistic and cultural activities as a spectator. Grade: B
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Library use Greater Victoria public libraries circulated16.2 items for every resident in 2007, slightly below the 16.4 items per resident in 2006 and 16.5 in 2005. Grade: B+
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Museum visits In 2007/08, the Royal BC Museum had 542,596 paid visits to their galleries. This is significantly higher than the 294,772 in 2006/07 and 318,808 in 2005/06. Of the paid visits in 2007/08, 67.6% were from BC residents compared to 43.7% in the previous year. Grade: A-
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Film Production in the Capital Region
Source: Victoria Film Commission

Photo: Artist - Pat Martin Bates