A local 'DIY' hub supporting Indigenous artists has been granted full funding for the first time
Massy Books, an Indigenous woman-owned bookstore located in Vancouver's Chinatown, founded Massy Arts Society, an art gallery supporting Indigenous, Two Spirit, and queer artists. The bookstore has also republished one of the most significant texts on local Indigenous history.
The gallery has not received any grants or funding over its two years, leaving the gallery "very much a DIY space at this time," according to its website.
Until now.
On Tuesday (Oct. 11), Massy Books shared that the gallery has been granted nearly full funding of its literary series.
"After all the hard work over the last two years to fund and operate Massy Arts Society and all its literary events, we've just been notified by Canadian Heritage [that] they granted us full funding for our literary series!" the bookstore tweeted. "This means authors are going to get paid."
Massy Books adds that the funding covers the full amount that they requested, which was around 90 per cent of the total for the project.
The gallery hosts various events including book launches, debates, art shows, and fairs, as well as the Indigenous Brilliance series which aims to "celebrate Indigenous stories, the different ways we think, share, and perform," reads the series web page.
Indigenous Brilliance organizes quarterly reading series, community workshops, and podcast series to bring together and uplift Indigenous voices.
