North Shore Culture Map

Criteria for Inclusion on the Map

General Criteria

• All assets must have clear relevance to arts and culture.
• The North Shore Cultural Map is sorted into 10 categories.
• Some assets will be featured under multiple categories (up to three for the beta testing phase) and will be searchable within each category.
• An asset must have a geographic location that can appear on the map. Each asset location must be publicly accessible, open and available to the public.
• For privacy reasons, we will not include assets that are private residences unless the asset is built out of residential space and/or we have permission to include it from the residence owner. All other criteria must be met.
• Location information should also be publicly available on websites, social media channels, and include operating hours open to the general public (if applicable).
• There must be a sense of permanence or longevity. An asset may have a long-standing history or presence on the North Shore.
• Keywords featured as part of an asset’s listing will help with identifying and searching for specific assets.

Other Information

1. We will not include individual artists on the map. Artists may be listed in association with an existing asset, be included in keywords that are searchable by users, and/or be featured as part of a festival or event listing. Artists may choose to form a collective, cooperative, or create a new organization/group that may be featured on the map, so long as they meet all of the other criteria. Individual artist studios, where there are operating hours open and accessible to the public, may be included.
2. Gallery exhibitions/performances will be listed under Festivals and Events.
3. Annual Festival and Events must be reoccurring and held a minimum of one year to be listed as an asset on the map. Permanent listings will be collected and added to the map category using our online form for assets. This ensures festivals and events are featured on the map on an ongoing basis. Annual festivals and event listings may also list current dates via our event listing form. Both the asset listing and event listing will appear at the same location. Listings expire once the event is over, and will be removed from the map following the end date.
4. Other festivals and events (those that only occur once, daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, bi-annually) will be populated using the online event listings form. If an arts and culture event meets criteria for inclusion,  it will be added to the map.
5. Public art such as statues, installations, murals, or monuments and their locations will also be featured on the map. Public art that is transitory, such as paintings in a library public building, private pieces or those works currently in storage will not be featured.

Existing online presence

1. Where applicable, assets are required to provide a link to either a website or social media channel that includes contact information.
2. Exceptions would be intangibles, public art and historic organizations that may have dissolved, but had a historical impact on the North Shore story. These stories may be incorporated into the narratives of current assets (i.e. they may share the same geographic location, or were integral in creating the asset).

An asset does not require a formal organization structure

Assets are not required to be a non-profit society, charity, business, or otherwise. An asset may be an unincorporated group.

Goals

We will strive to include as many assets on the map that fit the criteria. We hope to achieve the following:

1. To have representation and visibility of diverse assets taking into consideration:

• Geography – diversity within the region
• Location – a physical location
• Ethnic representation – culturally specific and self-identified
• Generational demographics
• Diverse services and sector
• Capacity (size defined as the number of annual audience/outreach)
• Maintain ethical standards, only so far as adhering to local, provincial and federal laws
• Sustainability – Assist (where possible) to sustain the listing of an asset on the map within available resources.
• Adhere to FOIPPA BC- BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Act and regulations on information privacy and data storage.
• Honour protocols, and respect the interests of the assets.

Definition

Culture

We define Culture as the manifestation of shared values, art, beliefs, aesthetics, and identity cultivated by a group of individuals who are associated with that respective group. We define Community as a collective of individuals who can be recognized as a group based on self-identification, shared values, active engagement, and/or place. A place can be defined as physical, geographical, and online. Part of creating a greater regional identity is increasing inter-connectivity between organizations, residents, and visitors.