New administrator of Culture Quest Fund announced

The Dawson City Arts Society will now take over the administering of the Culture Quest Fund from the Yukon Arts Centre.

Joint news release with the Dawson City Arts Society

The Dawson City Arts Society (DCAS) will assume administration of the Culture Questfunding program starting in April 2019.

The Culture Quest program makes $157,000 available annually to inspire the growth of culture and arts in Yukon by supporting cultural crafts and skills, as well as visual, literary and performing arts. It also supports First Nations cultural gatherings and festivals around Yukon, and the preparation and development of work to be showcased nationally and internationally.

Through a community-based steering committee, DCAS will administer applications according to the Culture Quest objectives:

- support First Nations expression of art in relation to cultural practices;

- support  opportunities for artists to execute projects that explore and develop ties between contemporary art and cultural heritage or history through research,
residencies, creation and performance;

- support vitality, growth and development of creation, performance or presenting capacity in the cultural sector, particularly in underserved communities or sectors; and

- support artists to create or respond to trending territorial, national or international issues or events for their communities.

“We are excited for the Culture Quest program to be administered by the Dawson City Arts Society, which has a long history of arts development and strong connections within the arts community in the Yukon and across Canada. Their experience will help the Culture Quest program to initiate and support creative projects and build innovative community partnerships that grow the arts andculture sector in communities across the territory,” said Minister of Tourism and Culture Jeanie Dendys.

“We are pleased to take on the work of administrating the Culture Quest funding program. We view this as an important opportunity to help strengthen our mandate as leaders in the territory’s cultural sector,” added Peter Menzies, Dawson City Arts Society board president.

Culture Quest was first created in 2003 to prepare Yukon artists for the Canada Winter Games and subsequently funded artists to participate in national events such as
the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Canada’s Northern Scene, Magnetic North Theatre Festival and the Aboriginal Curatorial Collective.

DCAS was created in 1998 with the goal of creating and supporting art and art education in Yukon, and is the parent organization of the Klondike Institute of Art and Culture (KIAC).