Arts & Culture
Whistler is home to a vibrant and diverse arts and culture scene. Perhaps it's a combination of a relaxed lifestyle and inspirational natural surroundings, but Whistler attracts more than its share of highly creative artists and artisans, writers, musicians, filmmakers, photographers and fashion designers. The resort is home to numerous art galleries, studios and eclectic events that celebrate Whistler's unique local talents. Whistler was designated a Cultural Capital of Canada in 2009, a designation awarded to communities that demonstrate a strong and ongoing commitment to arts and culture.
The Whistler Arts Council (WAC) is the umbrella organization that oversees the strategies and events that integrate arts into the fabric of the community, including the Children's Arts Festival, ARTrageous, an annual performance series, Art Walks, theatre and street entertainment. WAC's mandate is to coordinate, stimulate and promote the growth of performing, literary and visual arts in the Whistler area through ongoing music, dance, theatre, festivals and other events for locals and visitors. www.whistlerartscouncil.com
Opened in summer 2008, the impressive Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre showcases and celebrates the joint history of the local Squamish and Lil'wat First Nations, past and present, by offering a unique glimpse into their histories, creative works and cultures. www.slcc.ca
The Whistler Film Festival Society (WFFS) is a not-for-profit organization that operates the annual Whistler Film Festival and its various offshoot programs. It also provides support and education for local filmmakers and film enthusiasts. The 2010 Whistler Film Festival will be a four days of innovative film-making featuring 90-plus films, special guests, Canadian and international independent film screenings, workshops and special cinematic events. In 2010, the event takes place from December 1-5. www.whistlerfilmfestival.com
In 2005, WFFS launched Whistler Stories, an Olympic-inspired short film commission series. To date, 22 films have been created including four short Whistler Stories Youth Program films, created by 17 youth from the Sea-to-Sky corridor. Some stories are documentaries that tell of historical events and people, while some are fictional stories that reflect an aspect of the community and the spirit of this great place. Given the fierce beauty of its surroundings and the passion and vision of those who came to settle here, Whistler is a natural repository of bigger-than-life tales and legends. During the 2010 Winter Games, these stories will reach the world by broadcast, Internet, on video screens in airliners, and as part of the WhistlerLive! program. View teaser clips from a selection of Whistler Stories here. Contact us to view the full five-minute length films, or to request access rights for broadcast.
The recently refurbished Whistler Museum and Archives educates visitors about the area's rich and entertaining cultural history. The rich and varied history of Whistler comes alive in a new and dynamic interactive exhibit called Whistler's Olympic Journey. Designed to celebrate Whistler's road to the 2010 Winter Games, Whistler's Olympic Journey chronicles the story and artifacts of Whistler's passionate visionaries that dreamed big and worked together as a community to make it all happen. The museum also provides insight into what makes Whistler the place it is today, chronicling its journey from its grassroots beginnings to one of the world's leading year-round destinations. The museum is open every day from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
www.whistlermuseum.org
Beyond the natural beauty of its surroundings, Whistler also boasts an array of public art pieces scattered throughout the Valley. The Resort Municipality of Whistler's Public Art Committee - founded in 1996 - regularly commissions pieces by local, regional and national artists with the help of other resort partners to be constructed and built into the Whistler environment. So far, over 20 pieces have been installed including everything from metal sculptures and wood carvings to murals and collaborative ceramics.