Who We Are

A Cultural Land Trust (CLT) is a non-profit organization that acquires, stewards, and protects land and buildings to ensure long-term, affordable access for arts and community use.

Unlike private landlords or developers, a CLT holds land in trust for community benefit, not for profit. This means cultural spaces — like artist studios, performance venues, and gathering spaces — can be made permanently accessible, even in cities facing displacement and rising costs.

At ACI, our cultural land trust model is rooted in public accountability, community leadership, and shared stewardship — creating space for creativity, connection, and care to thrive for the long term.

A non-profit landlord and property manager is an organization that owns or manages property not to generate profit, but to serve a social or community benefit.

At ACI, being a non-profit (or social) landlord means providing stable, affordable spaces for arts and community organizations — and supporting tenants with infrastructure needs like permitting, sustainability upgrades, and accessibility improvements.

Instead of maximizing rent or selling buildings for gain, we steward property for long-term public good, keeping cultural spaces in community hands.

The Arts Spaces Study is designed to understand the current challenges and future needs of arts and community organizations in Greater Victoria when it comes to finding and keeping space.

Through interviews, surveys, and community dialogue, the study aims to:

• Identify space-related barriers faced by artists and organizations
• Document past losses and current pressures (like rent increases or displacement)
• Explore sustainable models for long-term access to space
• Inform the development of a community-led, non-profit land trust

Ultimately, the goal is to co-create a roadmap toward stable, affordable, and community-controlled cultural spaces.

There are a few ways to get involved with ACI and the Arts Spaces project:

• Join the conversation – Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about events, updates, and opportunities to shape the future of arts spaces.
  
• Share your experience – We’re currently conducting interviews and surveys as part of the Arts Spaces Study. If your organization has faced challenges around space, we’d love to hear from you
  
• Support the movement – Express your interest in volunteering, being a speaker for Art Proxima, joining an advisory committee, or supporting efforts with your pocket book!

Yes! — the Arts & Community Infrastructure (ACI) Foundation is a registered charity, as of July 2025.

This means we are a public-benefit organization with a charitable mandate to support the long-term sustainability of arts and community spaces. Donations to the ACI Foundation may be eligible for a tax receipt, and our operations are guided by transparency, accountability, and community impact.

Not at this time.

Our current focus is on building the foundation for ACI’s long-term work. We’re grateful to have the support of a number of grant funders who are helping us through this early stage, including our strategic planning, community engagement, the annual Arts Spaces Forum, the Art Proxima series, and our Arts Spaces Study.

For now, we’re keeping our fundraising focused and our administrative capacity directed toward this work. We’re not currently set up to receive general donations through the website.

If you’re considering supporting ACI philanthropically, we’d still love to hear from you. Please contact us — we’re happy to have a conversation about what that could look like as our work develops.