Kicking Horse Culture

About

Kicking Horse Culture

Kicking Horse Culture serves the regional community of Golden – population 7,000 approx. – collectively known as Kicking Horse Country. We are grateful to live and work on the traditional unceded territory of the Ktunaxa and Secwépemc Nations which is also home to Métis Nation Columbia River and many diverse indigenous persons.

With significant foundational operating support from our two local governments — Town of Golden and Columbia Shuswap Regional District Area ‘A’ — KHC plays a central, leadership role in the community by engaging collaborative partnerships to deliver a broad variety of professional cultural programming, arts education, and community arts activities. We strive to make our programming as diverse and inclusive as possible. We produce and present arts and cultural activities to build upon and enhance our local traditions and further develop a strong sense of place, to help make Golden a great place to live and visit.

On behalf of the Town of Golden, KHC also manages the operations of the renovated and restored Golden Civic Centre where we stage our concert performances, and where a variety of community activities (meetings, camps, weddings, and clubs) are held.

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History

The Golden District Arts Council was incorporated as a community arts council in 1970 and branded as Kicking Horse Culture in 2004.

In 2005 the KHC Board went to the Town of Golden and the Columbia Shuswap Regional District Area ‘A’ (branded as Kicking Horse Country) to ask for operating funding. At that time, we made and have stuck to the following three promises as our core goals:

  1. To partner with Kicking Horse Country, our provincial, federal, corporate funders and our audiences to deliver a vibrant, year-round palette of cultural activity that will make “where” and “how” we live an “attraction”
  2. To use cultural activity as a catalyst to build upon and enhance our local traditions and further develop a strong “sense of place”
  3. To help fuel pride in community, social & economic development, tourism and the very real feeling that this is “a great place to live and visit”

These are core values for KHC, the evidence of which, we believe, can be seen in everything we do. Since 2005 the arts council has grown from a budget of $50,000 and 35 members to an annual budget of over $500,000 and 700+ Members. Participation in our numerous programming activities confirms the arts council is an indispensable community organization that drives quality of life while paying forward an excellent return on the community’s financial and emotional investment.

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Programming

Kicking Horse Culture delivers a wide range of programs and events to engage, energize, and enrich the cultural life of Kicking Horse Country all year round.

Since its creation in 2007, our social enterprise the Art Gallery of Golden & Studio Gift Shop exhibits and sells the hand made arts and artisan work of over 100 artists from the Golden region and the Columbia River Basin.

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Governance

Kicking Horse Culture is governed by a volunteer board of community members and managed by professional staff. In 2013, the Board moved to establish Policy Governance® as our practice of governance.

KHC and the Art Gallery of Golden (all under one roof) provide full and part-time employment for 8 people.

Stakeholders

Kicking Horse Culture generates revenues primarily from sales, cultural service delivery agreements with a variety of public funders, sponsorships with local businesses and individuals, and some donations.

  • Kicking Horse Country: operating support in a 5 year combined service delivery agreement with the Town of Golden and the Columbia Shushwap Regional District Area A.
  • Province of BC Gaming Funds: support to delivery of programs.
  • Columbia Basin Trust
  • BC Arts Council (BCAC) Community Arts Council Operating Assistance
  • BCAC / BC Touring Council Community Presenter Assistance
  • Dept. Canadian Heritage: Canadian Arts Presentation Funds

 

Champions’ Campaign:
Each summer, the KHC Board holds a summer fundraising campaign to support the operational capacity and programming of KHC. We are very proud to receive the financial support from 36 small business and individual Champions each year.

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