Art Campaign

It's a lot more than a building we're building

Respectfully incorporating art by Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh artists, as well as giving space to Urban Indigenous and Downtown Eastside artists, the new FIRST UNITED building will stand as an example of what community-informed neighbourhood rejuvenation can look like.

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In any community, the sharing of culture and stories creates a sense of purpose, identity, and pride. Art is one of the key ways in which these stories are told.

Who is included and who is excluded from these public narratives matters.

In line with our vision of a neighbourhood where every person’s worth is celebrated and all people thrive, we are working with Indigenous artists and consultants to build a building that is worthy of this community. Worthy of the deep and rich history of the land on which the building stands, and worthy of the incredible strength of this community and the stories of perseverance and survival that often go unnoticed.

Everyone deserves the dignity of braver and beautiful spaces. Will you help make public art more accessible in the DTES?

Art Campaign

GOAL

$3 million

Secured Funds: $1.7 million

Funds to Raise: $1.3 million

Secured Funds

Funds to Raise

Donate Cash

If you would like to make your gift by cheque, please make your cheque(s) payable to First United and write “Art Campaign” in the memo.

Mail cheques via Canada Post to:

FIRST UNITED
320 East Hastings Street,
Vancouver, BC, V6A 1P4

Mail cheques by courier (UPS, FedEX, etc.) to:

FIRST UNITED Administration
368 Powell Street
Vancouver, BC, V6A 1G4

Donate by E-Transfer

For gifts of $3,000 or less, you can e-transfer. Add FIRST UNITED as a recipient and send your e-transfer to:

[email protected]

Send us an email at [email protected] letting us know that you’ve made a donation by e-transfer and include your full name and address so we can issue your charitable tax receipt. For gifts of more than $3,000, please send a wire transfer.

Donate by Wire Transfer

Need to make a bank transfer for an amount larger than $3,000? No problem. You can make a wire transfer using the following information:

Our legal name: First United Church Community Ministry Society
Our address: 320 E Hastings St, Vancouver V6A 1P4
Institution number: 003
Transit number: 07120
Account number: 1009059

Swift Code (international): ROYCCAT2VIC
Routing/ABA (U.S.): 02100021

Then send us an email at [email protected] letting us know that you’ve made a donation by wire transfer and include your full name and address so we can issue your charitable tax receipt.

Donate by Phone

If you would like to make a donation by phone using a credit card, our campaign team is happy to help. Give us a call at 604.336.3047.

Donate Online

Donating online via credit card, direct debit, Apple Pay or PayPal is easy! Go to our Buy a Brick Page to make a one-time gift or pledge.

Donate Securities

Complete our First Forward Securities Donation Form and then email it to [email protected]. Please note that securities must be received in our accounts by the last business day of the calendar year in order to be eligible for a charitable tax receipt for the same year.

Make a Corporate Gift

Participating in FIRST UNITED’s Art Campaign as a Buy-a-Brick sponsor is an excellent way to boost corporate citizenship, engage in team building, and support life-saving work in the Downtown Eastside. Learn more on our Buy a Brick Corporate Sponsorship page.

Make a Major or Leadership Gift

Interested in making a larger contribution to the art campaign and our redevelopment? Arts and Culture Major and Leadership Gifts start at $10,000 and come with opportunities including space dedications, special events, recognitions, and more.

To make an Arts and Culture Major and Leadership Gift, email [email protected].

The Art Campaign’s $3 million goal is part of the larger $37 million First Forward Capital Campaign goal and covers costs related to the design, materials, fabrication, and installation of the art and architectural features planned. These features have been thoughtfully incorporated into the building envelope and interior design to leverage costs that would have existed anyway.

Check out these Art Campaign resources

Art Campaign Brochure

HOST Art Plan

Ways to Give Form

Why We Give

We’re so excited to contribute to this campaign, and move FIRST UNITED forward into a beautiful, purpose-built facility. Just because you’re going through a hard time doesn’t mean you have to put up with poor conditions. We believe this community deserves better.

—Rudy Kerklaan, Co-chair, First Forward Cabinet and Elizabeth Kerklaan, FIRST UNITED Board Member and Golf Committee Chair

We’re pleased to support First United’s public art initiative which contributes to a sense of hope and placemaking in the Downtown Eastside, a community that deserves not only housing but vibrant artistic expressions that create a sense of belonging. By weaving together the vision of Host Nation artists with the vital supply of social housing, the building façade will reflect the rich heritage and diverse experience of Indigenous communities in a way that is meaningful and accessible to all.

—Michael Audain, Chair of the Audain Foundation

—Rudy Kerklaan, Co-chair, First Forward Cabinet and Elizabeth Kerklaan, FIRST UNITED Board Member and Golf Committee Chair

—Michael Audain, Chair of the Audain Foundation

—Rudy Kerklaan, Co-chair, First Forward Cabinet and Elizabeth Kerklaan, FIRST UNITED Board Member and Golf Committee Chair

Campaign Milestones

Enthusiastic support from both the public and private sectors has propelled First Forward. Check out some of our pivotal achievements.

March

2024

FIRST UNITED works with Indigenous-led HOST Consulting to create an Art Plan for the project.

June

2024

An Artist Call for submissions is sent for consideration to artists of each Host Nation.

July/August

2024

An all-Indigenous committee reviews and selects artists for the house post, solar shade, and art panel projects.

November

2024

The art campaign launches and the Audain Foundation announces $1 million in support.

Why Art Matters

Reconciliation in Action

In the Downtown Eastside, where histories of colonialism and oppression are tied directly to the suppression and erasure of culture, particularly Indigenous culture, we believe that access to and inclusion in public art is inextricably linked to reconciliation and healing in this community. FIRST UNITED has operated on the unceded and ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish) and səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) since 1885. We feel a deep responsibility to honour and uphold the nations on whose land our redevelopment is taking place by holding space for Host Nation artists, stories and design forms to be seen on their own territories.

Addressing Urban Inequity

In the City of Vancouver, developers of new commercial, residential, institutional and industrial projects are required to invest in public art. Social housing projects like FIRST UNITED'S redevelopment are exempt. But we're including art anyway. Why? Because if we’re only building art in higher income neighbourhoods, we’re actually creating and perpetuating inequity in our urban environments and we want to do something about that. For us, including public art was never a question, because we believe everyone deserves the dignity of braver and beautiful spaces.

Dignity and Belonging

The sharing of culture and stories creates a sense of purpose, identity and belonging. Art is one of the key ways these stories are told, so who is included, who is excluded, and who is even creating these stories matters. In the Downtown Eastside, folks are often told that they're less than human. They're shuffled from place-to-place and in and out of institutional spaces that do not feel safe or welcoming. By respectfully incorporating art, culture, and thoughtful design elements, we hope to create safer, beautiful spaces where people not only feel welcome but are inspired and encouraged to speak truth, hear truth, learn truth, and be brave.

A woven brickwork pattern designed by Debra Sparrow—ΘƏLIΧʷƏLʷƏT (Musqueam) will blanket the outdoor deck and lightwell of the building.

Art Campaign Video - Watch Now

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Latest news

FIRST UNITED’s Downtown Eastside Redevelopment Project Launches New Art Initiative and Confirms $1 Million in Support from Audain Foundation

Date 15 Nov, 2024

Category First Forward, Redevelopment

FIRST UNITED formally launches a new art initiative as part of its First Forward capital campaign at a reception hosted by Bruce Wright. Photo by Maxine Bulloch. xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) territory/Vancouver, B.C. – Construction of the FIRST UNITED redevelopment project at 320 East Hastings in the Downtown Eastside is approximately […]

Canada supports 103 new affordable homes in Vancouver at 320 E Hastings

Date 9 Nov, 2023

Category Blog, First Forward, Redevelopment

FIRST UNITED Executive Director Amanda Burrows (centre) pictured with Vancouver City Councillors Lenny Zhou, Rebecca Bligh, Lisa Dominato, Mike Klassen, and Christine Boyle, Lu’ma Native Housing Society President Dave Baspaly, and Vancouver-Mount Pleasant MLA Joan Phillip. Photo by Maxine Bulloch. Vancouver, British Columbia, November 6, 2023 Construction is underway on 103 units for Indigenous residents and […]

The Road to Redevelopment

Date 12 Jul, 2023

Category Blog, First Forward, Redevelopment

Timeline In 2017, community engagement, redevelopment and capital campaign feasibility studies set the stage for an incredibly ambitious project— the redevelopment of our site at 320 E Hastings. Five years later, site work got underway 2022 April– Street Use and Salvage & Abatement permits are received, clearing the way for preliminary work to begin on […]

Thank you to the artists and consultants

In line with our vision of a neighbourhood where everyone’s worth is celebrated and all people thrive, we’re working with Indigenous artists and consultants to respectfully incorporate art by xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish) and səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) artists, as well as Urban Indigenous and DTES artists. We are deeply grateful for the insight and participation of Xalek/Sekyu Siyam Chief Ian Campbell, Luugigyoo Dr. Patrick Stewart, artists Cory Douglas and Debra Sparrow, our housing partner Lu’ma Native Housing Society, and HOST Consulting for helping us to plan and integrate art and cultural elements into the project in respectful and appropriate ways. And thank you to the artists who are adding their creative vision to this project, including:

Deborah Sparrow—ΘƏLIΧʷƏLʷƏT

Bernie Williams—Skundaal

Jonas Jones

Floyd Joseph

Brent Sparrow

Mack Paul—kʷəlasəltən

Ocean Hyland—ts;simtelot

Community Endorsements

It is exactly 100 years since First Presbyterian Church in Vancouver received mission support from the national church. Its special ministry to low-income individuals and family has never wavered through the changing needs of the surrounding community required dramatic changes in program and service. We now have the opportunity to support the redevelopment paving the way for the next chapters in this amazing story.

—The Rev. Bob Burrows, Former Staff at FIRST UNITED

Congratulations to FIRST UNITED and Lu’ma Native Housing Society for successfully working together to bring new affordable and inclusive supportive housing to East Vancouver. I know the whole neighbourhood will benefit from this supportive space for people to live in community

—Niki Sharma, MLA Vancouver-Hastings, Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development and Non-Profits, B.C.

As a past volunteer and staff member at FIRST UNITED, I am excited about the potential for this new purpose-built space at 320 E Hastings, offering both services and housing for the neighbourhood. First United has been serving the Downtown Eastside since 1885 and consistently responds to the interests and needs of the community. I know this will continue to be a sanctuary in our city for those who access their services for years to come.

—Christine Boyle, MLA for Vancouver-Little Mountain, Former Vancouver City Councillor and United Church Minister

FIRST UNITED’s hugely important new four-floor service centre, combined with Lu’ma’s seven storeys of housing, gets underway in Spring 2022 and is slated to open in early 2024. Once again FIRST continues to lead the way, as it has for over 100 years, in providing kind and dignified service to the vulnerable Downtown Eastside people. As a big supporter of FIRST, I congratulate Carmen Landsdowne and her splendid team!

—Mike Harcourt, Honourary Chair - First Forward and former Mayor of Vancouver, Premier of BC, and FIRST UNITED volunteer in Legal Advocacy in 1969

FIRST UNITED has been serving low-income folks in the DTES, regardless of their religion, for as long as I can remember (andI’m 78 so that is a long time), providing advocacy, shelter, and housing. FIRST was the birthplace of the Downtown Eastside Residents Association. I hope this campaign is successful and we can get this amazing project built as soon as possible.

—Jean Swanson, Former Vancouver City Councillor

—The Rev. Bob Burrows, Former Staff at FIRST UNITED

—Niki Sharma, MLA Vancouver-Hastings, Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development and Non-Profits, B.C.

—Christine Boyle, MLA for Vancouver-Little Mountain, Former Vancouver City Councillor and United Church Minister

—Mike Harcourt, Honourary Chair - First Forward and former Mayor of Vancouver, Premier of BC, and FIRST UNITED volunteer in Legal Advocacy in 1969

—Jean Swanson, Former Vancouver City Councillor

—The Rev. Bob Burrows, Former Staff at FIRST UNITED

Thank you to the 530+ donors for helping us build braver and more beautiful spaces.

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When you buy a symbolic brick for $50, you'll help inspire healing and possibility in the neighbourhood and put reconciliation into action.

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