Cultural Strategic Plan

On November 28, 2023, the draft You Are Here Kamloops Cultural Strategic Plan 2024–2034 was presented to Council and received Council’s support to move forward by presenting the draft plan to the community. The project team will return to Council in early 2024 to share any proposed amendments and seek adoption.

You are invited to join us for a community conversation to continue planning for a vision for culture in Kamloops and to engage in cultural discussions as we share some of the early findings and themes from the cultural mapping sessions that took place at the Kamloops Museum and Archives this summer as part of the exhibition You Are Here. We will also be introducing Patricia Huntsman, a two-time nationally award-winning cultural strategist, who will be working with the community on the development and writing of the City’s Cultural Strategic Plan. Patricia will be reviewing our four-phase cultural planning process. A presentation will be given during the first half of this session followed by a facilitated workshop.

There are four (4) sessions available:

• Session 1 - Wednesday, November 23, 9:30 am–12:00 noon (morning)
• Session 2 - Wednesday, November 23, 6:30–9:00 pm (evening)
• Session 3 - Thursday, November 24, 1:30–4:00 pm (afternoon)
• Session 4 - Thursday, November 24, 6:30–9:00 pm (evening)
  

Sessions will be held at St. Andrew’s on the Square, 159 Seymour Street. RSVP required.

Due to space constraints, participants are asked to register in advance to the desired session they will be participating in. Please RVSP to jcyr@kamloops.ca and include your name, session #, and contact information. Additional community conversations will be added to the calendar if required to accommodate community interest.

August 25, 2022—The City of Kamloops is seeking residents’ input to help inform the update to the City’s Cultural Strategic Plan. This plan will provide direction concerning the development of culture in the city over the coming years. It is a comprehensive strategy that recognizes the diversity of the cultural sector in Kamloops, whether it be amateur or professional participants or small or large organizations from a range of different cultural sectors, such as the visual arts, heritage, the performing arts, and cultural industries. Read the full article...

August 15, 2022—The newest exhibit at Kamloops Museum and Archives is more than history, it’s about building a future.

You Are Here is a free space to share your vision for the cultural direction of the City of Kamloops. The interactive exhibition at the Kamloops Museum and Archives invites you to share your ideas in a guided research project led by the Researcher-in-Residence partnership—a joint initiative between Thompson Rivers University and the City. Centred on cultural mapping and featuring a range of ways to take part, the exhibit calls on you to participate and help build our community’s next landscape of culture. The data and vast mediums of participation that are collected will be analyzed by the researchers to help inform the City’s updated Cultural Strategic Plan.

There are several ways to participate—you choose your level of participation. One may describe the stages of participation in this exhibition as bronze, silver, and gold. Read the full story.

June 23, 2022—As the City of Kamloops undertakes its first Strategic Cultural Plan since 2003, the Kamloops Museum and Archives (KMA) is opening its doors in a new way. In collaboration with Thompson Rivers University (TRU) and the TRU/City of Kamloops Researcher-in-Residence partnership, You Are Here will transform the museum’s second floor into a summer-long cultural mapping research lab. Participants can drop in and help create a collective vision for Kamloops' cultural future.

Through You Are Here, the KMA and the TRU/City of Kamloops Researcher-in-Residence partnership want to understand how, where, and why—to create a landscape in which everyone’s culture has a chance to shine. Read the full news release.