Совету города Уайт-Рок поручили разработать стратегию создания новых культурных пространств

White Rock needs more space for arts: report Published 6:00 pm Tuesday, August 25, 2026 White Rock council will be looking at the potential of providing more dedicated arts and cultural space in the city after it returns to regular meetings following the summer break. But meaningful action on a staff report on the issue will likely have to wait until after the Oct. 17 municipal election and the forming of a new council. At its last meeting before breaking for summer, on July 27, council received a cultural facilities needs assessment report for White Rock, prepared by consultants Cornerstone Planning Group and presented by company partner and project lead Quentin Talbot-Kelly and the city’s recreation and culture director John Woolgar. Woolgar’s summary of the assessment – which he said had been conducted with “extensive community and stakeholder engagement” – concluded that although White Rock’s cultural sector is “active and highly valued” it is “constrained by a combination of factors.” These include “limited and aging infrastructure, spaces not designed for arts and cultural programming, and a lack of affordable and accessible space for community organizations, artists, and cultural creators.” Critical to addressing these challenges – necessary to “support future growth, enhance community well-being, and strengthen White Rock’s cultural identity” – would be “strategic investment, coordinated planning, and a focus on flexible, purpose-built spaces,” Woolgar said. Council approved recommendations of the report, among which were directing the advisory committee for the future Community Hub to review the findings with an eye to including arts, culture and heritage space in the new facility. Council also approved directing recreation and culture staff to look at arts and culture spaces as part of any Kent Street Activity Centre renovation or expansion; and to work with planning and development staff to identify new or upcoming private development opportunities for such spaces. In presenting an overview of the facilities studied – which included such city-owned properties as Peninsula Productions’ black box theatre, the Kent Street Activity Centre, White Rock Museum and Archives and the White Rock Community Centre, and such privately owned properties as the Uptown Gallery, Nomad Gallery, White Rock Gallery the Oceana PARC Playhouse and Blue Frog Studios – Talbot-Kelly noted that engagement with the community had shown “there is a demand, or want for a centralized purpose-built facility to support arts and culture.” He also provided a demographic context that shows a projected population increase of some 20 per cent over the next 20 years, with the “fastest-growing cohort” being older adults (70-plus). There are changes to the way people are engaging with arts and cultural activities, he said, including an increasing demand for informal and flexible programming, away from structured approaches and more toward drop-in style alternatives. Another factor is rising costs and limited space, which creates continuing challenges for artists, and Talbot-Kelly suggested that “more robust agreements” between White Rock and the City of Surrey regarding use of Surrey-owned facilities could help meet some resident needs. To provide a dedicated purpose-built facility that would serve all the diverse arts and culture needs within the city, however, would require a major facility with an estimated “5,000 building gross square-metres” Talbot-Kelly said – a significant consideration since such a facility would likely come with at least a $10,000 per square metre construction cost. “There needs to be a business case and operational model developed to support it before any recommendations can really be made,” he added. Noting that the city’s intent of increasing arts and cultural space includes defining cultural identity, Coun. Susan Bains asked Talbot-Kelly how the assessment looked at the needs of White Rock’s different cultural and ethnic communities, beyond arts programming. “We’re seeing this in a number of communities as well, outside of White Rock,” he acknowledged. “How we are programming space into the future is around flexibility – there will be a large cultural diversity requirement for different kinds of activities that are outside of traditional arts and culture,” he added. “It comes down to how you’re activating those spaces. We look at this trying to provide the most flexibility across all of these spaces.” Coun. David Chesney queried the lack of use by the community of the performing arts space created two decades ago for the fine arts program within White Rock Elementary – although the space was originally touted as being available to the community. Woolgar said that, while he was unaware of the program, he would research it further.