Vivo Media Arts Centre, a storied media arts centre in Vancouver, has launched an emergency fundraising appeal to avoid closure after five decades of operation. The centre faces a 30% rent increase imposed by the city of Vancouver, which consumes all of its operating revenue from the city, leaving nothing for staff or programming. It has raised nearly C$9,500 of the C$50,000 needed by the end of the year to sustain operations through early 2026.
This matters because Vivo is a vital cultural infrastructure in Vancouver, housing the Crista Dahl Media Library and Archive, one of Canada's most important video collections, and serving thousands of artists, students, and community members. Its potential loss would ripple across the city's cultural sector, threatening jobs, mentorship programs, and access to non-commercial media arts resources. The situation highlights broader pressures on artist-run centres from rising rents and inadequate municipal support.