Eastside Arts Society

The Eastside Arts District (EAD) is Vancouver’s creative heart, a thriving cultural hub that fuels artistic innovation, economic growth, and cultural production. Home to the highest density of artists in Canada, the EAD is a dynamic cultural ecology of studios, galleries, performance venues, and creative businesses. The district fosters collaboration, strengthens the local economy, and enhances Vancouver’s reputation as a centre for arts and culture.

Led by the Eastside Arts Society (EAS), the formalization of the EAD aims to unify and amplify collaboration within the arts and culture sector, ensuring a sustainable future for the creative community. Rooted in Indigenous knowledge, reciprocal relationships, and land acknowledgment, the EAD envisions a resilient, inclusive, and culturally rich environment where creativity, identity, celebration, and community thrive.
EAS recognizes that as arts districts grow in popularity, rising costs and development pressures often lead to artist displacement. To combat this, the EAD is committed to preventing displacement and ensuring no net loss of artists by prioritizing long-term policies and infrastructure that safeguard cultural spaces.

In 2019, the EAS published A City Without Art? No Net Loss, Plus!, an award-winning report that revealed the loss of 400,000 ft² of artist space in East Vancouver over the previous decade, equivalent to 4.5 CFL football fields. Recognized by the Planning Institute of British Columbia and the Canadian Institute of Planners, the report exposed the urgent crisis of displacement, unaffordability, and cultural erasure. It called for the formal establishment of the Eastside Arts District and urged all levels of government to implement policies, regulations, and incentives to protect and sustain spaces for art production and presentation.

Building on this foundation, the EAS released Seizing the Moment: Establishing the Eastside Arts District, outlining key strategies for the district’s long-term sustainability. The report advocates for incentives to preserve, replace, and expand cultural spaces, early engagement of arts stakeholders in redevelopment and rezoning processes, and community ownership models that leverage publicly owned assets to ensure affordability and protect the artistic community.

Through these efforts, the EAD will not only protect and sustain Vancouver’s arts community but also ensure its continued growth and vibrancy for generations to come.