The Victoria Conservatory of Music is grateful to the City of Victoria for its two recent investments into the Alix Goolden Performance Hall and surrounding neighbourhood.
City Council unanimously approved a grant to the Conservatory of $131,000 on August 1, 2024, as a pilot of the Major Community Initiatives and Events Grant program.
The Conservatory’s initiative aims to bring operators on the south side of Pandora’s 900 block in a collaborative process with Cascadia Architects to reimagine the streetscape, including the public plaza adjacent to the Conservatory. The resulting vision will be brought back to the City for further recommendations.
“This motion demonstrates a strong belief by the City that a thriving performing arts centre is one key to revitalization in the Harris Green neighbourhood,” says Conservatory CEO Nathan Medd. “We thank the City for its generous funding through this grant program, and for the consistent support for our facilities and public programming throughout the years.”
In the near term, visitors will notice the installation of heritage-inspired gates around the Conservatory’s property at the corner of Quadra and Pandora, and rehabilitated green space.
Heritage Style Gates around Alix Goolden Performance Hall will be installed in 2024/25. Rendering by Christine Lintott Architects Inc.
This result from the City wouldn’t have been possible without a lead gift from the Robert and Devi Jawl Foundation, which provided half of the required funding for this project,” says Medd. “We are deeply grateful to them, and the many members of the public who have written letters in support the Conservatory and Alix Goolden Performance Hall, for laying the groundwork for this major initiative.
In another competitive grant process this summer, the City provided $36,792 for seating refurbishment in Alix Goolden Performance Hall. Funded through Victoria’s Cultural Infrastructure Grant program, this project is scheduled for completion by winter 2024-25.
Both projects are intended to dovetail with the release of the City’s Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan due this fall. Their success will help ensure Conservatory will at last achieve the record-high year of performances that it was on track for in 2020.
The City of Victoria has made repeated investments in the Conservatory’s Alix Goolden Performance Hall in recent years. Past projects to benefit from City funding include a new energy-efficient lighting system, public programming spotlighting Conservatory musicians who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ community members or allies, and an artistic residency for composer and performer Ry Moran, a leading figure in Truth and Reconciliation.
The City has also invested in the annual Pacific Baroque Festival, presented by the Conservatory, through the Festival Investment Grant program. Intrepid Theatre has also received support for public programming at the Conservatory’s Wood Recital Hall and Metro Studio through Intrepid’s festivals OUTstages, Incoming, and the Victoria Fringe.
