In the latest Langley Arts Council initiative, it is expanding how artists across the Lower Mainland and beyond are supported, focusing on art rentals and sales.
Although the arts council has been around for quite some time, established in 1968, it has continuously had to adapt to survive, often shifting its structure, programming, and capacity over the decades.
Challenges have included staffing, fluctuating funding, and community participation.
Even now with expanded programming and a wider reach, “We’re lean and mighty,” said executive director Claire Sarfeld.
A small team constantly adjusts to keep up with the pace within the art world as the LAC works with about 500 artists each year from Langley and its neighbouring communities.
She said the idea of the “starving artist” sterotype limits how people view creative work and something that the organization is trying to change, advocating for artists to earn a stable income.
Through programs like the LAC’s Ampersand Art Rentals and Sales program the council hopes to create more consistent and paid opportunities for artists.
“Artists need to make money from selling their work,” Sarfeld added, noting that even small, recurring income streams can help support long-term creative work. The name Ampersand reflects that reality.
Sarfeld described how artists have historically had to be “an artist and something,” balancing their creative practice with other jobs to make ends meet.
The symbol — “&” — was chosen to acknowledge that dual identity while also pointing to the program’s goal of changing it.
She said demand continues to outpace available exhibition space.
“We work with 500 visual artists a year, and we’re still not able to accommodate all the people that are applying and want to show with us.”
There are broader challenges in the art world at play, as not every community has the same access to arts infrastructure, and funding gaps across the sector often leave artists without local support in their own communities.
As many organizations struggle to secure consistent funding at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels, artists from all over the Lower Mainland turn to the LAC.
“Not all organizations have the same type of support,” said Sarfeld, noting that some communities lack the facilities, staffing, programming, or community participation needed to sustain an arts council.
Community participation remains key to sustaining the LAC’s work.
“Go to the events that happen in your community, because organizations like ours need people to show up for programming.”
The organization has expanded beyond its four gallery spaces, launching the program to bring art to private businesses and venues, offering paid opportunities to exhibit work outside traditional galleries.
For example, recent partnerships with Tinhorn Creek Vineyards and Black Hills Estate Winery in Oliver, B.C. have brought in artists’ work to be displayed.
Artists can submit a range of work, from two-dimensional pieces to large-scale sculptures, which can then be rented or purchased by clients.
An added digital catalogue also makes the work accessible to a larger audience.
As for businesses, they can find benefits in a flexible, non-committed way to have original art into their spaces, compared to permanent art acquisitions.
People can find more information about the program at www.langleyarts.ca/ars or view the art catalougue at langleyarts.ca/ars-26.
“We’re taking artists and bringing them to a new market or into a new community,” she said proudly.