PROJECT
CREATIVE QUEERPRENEUR
Building queer-led creative communities across Vancouver Island.
The Old School House Arts Centre, with support from Canada’s 2SLGBTQIA+ Chamber of Commerce, led a program to strengthen 2SLGBTQIA+ creative communities across Vancouver Island by building entrepreneurial skills and sustainable creative practices.
Eight regional hubs, in the Comox Valley, Tofino and Ucluelet, Hornby Island, Qualicum Beach, Nanaimo, Gabriola Island, Victoria, and online, delivered more than 60 gatherings with over 700 participants. Every hub was led by queer and Two-Spirit or Indigiqueer convenors, who shaped programming around the needs of their own communities.
Sessions blended the social, creative, and professional: art socials, songwriting, cedar weaving, zine-making, and screen printing alongside grant writing, marketing, and financial literacy. Paid facilitation roles and market opportunities created direct economic benefit for artists, while the hubs themselves built lasting regional networks.
Read the report
Download the full report:
Communities of Care, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship (PDF) – a guide and resource for artists, convenors, and funders, sharing what worked, what didn’t, and how to build inclusive creative programming.
Why this project matters
Vancouver Island has one of the highest concentrations of artists in Canada, but queer and Two-Spirit creatives face compounded barriers to professional development and community. Creative QueerPreneur showed that when programming is led with care and representation, it builds both belonging and livelihoods, and the relationships outlast the funding.
Project partners:
THE OLD SCHOOL HOUSE ARTS CENTRE
CANADA’S 2SLGBTQIA+ CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (CGLCC)
RELATED PROJECTS
PROJECT INFO:
DATE: OCTOBER 2024 – 2025
LEAD ORGANIZATIONS:
The Old School House Arts Centre; Creative Coast
SUPPORT:
Canada’s Queer Chamber of Commerce (formerly CGLCC)
PROJECT FOCUS:
2SLGBTQIA+ Creative Communities; Entrepreneurship & Community Building