Oak Bay has a rich history of being a destination for artists to live, work and create.
Below are some of the current organizations and venues for artists living or working in Oak Bay. If you would like to add your organization to this list, please contact the Arts and Culture Programmer at apass@oakbay.ca.
Performing Arts Schools
Canadian College of Performing Arts (CCPA) / Canadian Heritage Arts Society
University of Victoria School of Fine and Performing Arts
Sports View Lounge at Oak Bay Recreation Centre – Live Music Series
Performing Arts Venues
Oak Bay Beach Hotel David Foster Foundation Theatre
Phoenix Theatre at the University of Victoria
University Centre Farquhar Auditorium
Local churches and halls are also periodically used for performances:
Church of St. Mary the Virgin, 1701 Elgin Road
Oak Bay United Church, 1355 Mitchell Street
Oak Bay Community Artists Society
Founded in 2002, The Oak Bay Community Artists Society is a group of amateur, professional and emerging artists, living and working in Oak Bay in the beautiful city of Victoria, BC. The Society has over 40 members, and sponsors Oak Bay’s yearly outdoor summer arts show Bowker Creek Brush-Up.
Victoria Sketch Club
Victoria Sketch Club is the oldest Canadian art group west of Ontario, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2009. Its story began when a little band of enthusiasts decided to form an arts society. The upshot was the Island Arts Club, comprising 56 Charter Members, including such names as Samuel Maclure and Emily Carr. The Island Arts and Crafts Society, as it became known, dominated the local art scene throughout the inter-War period. By 1935 it was the largest group of its kind in the country. In addition to Emily Carr, its leading artists included Max Maynard, Jack Shadbolt and Ina Uhthoff.
Windsor Park Art Club
The Windsor Park Art Club was established in the 1970’s to give community members the opportunity to see and hear local artists talk about and present their various art styles and techniques either by lecture or as a ‘paint along.’ We are a multi-aged group of 40 members with different levels of expertise that gather to share and learn. The group meets on Monday afternoons in the upstairs, light filled activity room in the Windsor Park Pavilion.
Canadian Federation of Artists: Victoria Branch
The Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA) is a national organization which was founded in Kingston, Ontario in 1941 and is now headquartered in Vancouver. The Victoria Chapter, with 125 members from Sooke to Land’s End, and from Mill Bay to the Gulf Islands, offers regular programs and workshops designed to raise artistic standards by stimulating participants to greater heights of achievement.
The Victoria Chapter includes notables such as Robert Bateman, Dorothy Oxborough, David Goatley, Catherine Moffat, Clement Kwan, Marcia Semenoff, Margot Clayton, Marney Ward, Peter Paterson, Mary Ann Laing and Anne Hudec.
4Cats Arts Studio
4Cats Arts Studio offers classes and memberships focused on visual arts and ceramics.
A Guide to Oak Bay Artists & Fine Art Artisans
This guide includes fifteen categories of Oak Bay artists to browse (e.g. Acrylic painting, Ceramics, Mixed Media, Photography, Sculpting, Watercolour Painting, etc.)
ArtsVictoria.ca provides current event listings and multimedia arts portfolios, and creates an explorable, living archive of the arts in Victoria BC.
Greater Victoria Public Library - Oak Bay Branch
- 1442 Monterey AveVictoria, BC V8S 4W1
- 250-592-2489
The Oak Bay Branch of the Greater Victoria Public Library is a major draw within Oak Bay Village. The branch library is co-located with the Monterey Recreation Centre and can be accessed from both Monterey Avenue on the east and Hampshire Road on the west.
The Oak Bay Library is the second-busiest branch in all of Victoria (after the Central Library Branch), providing public Internet access, children’s services, audiobooks, movies, and more.
A unique aspect of the Oak Bay Branch library is its incorporation of floor space from a stately, older residence on the Hampshire Road side. On a small scale, it also features one of the region’s most appealing examples of public art, which is the literary-themed stained glass window in the entrance foyer.
For hours of operation and more details, view the official webpage for the Greater Victoria Public Library.
Acorn Arts Award and Criteria
Oak Bay’s Acorn Arts Award is an honorary artistic achievement award that recognizes a living individual, group or institution that has demonstrated an outstanding contribution to, and significant impact on, the arts in Oak Bay.
The award is adjudicated by the Oak Bay Arts Laureate’s Public Art Advisory Committee and is administered by Oak Bay Municipality through the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Culture. Although the award is honorary and has no monetary value, the honoree receives a bespoke acorn keepsake and is publicly recognized. The Acorn Arts Award is only awarded when a suitable candidate is identified.
Award Criteria
Oak Bay’s Acorn Arts Award is an honorary artistic achievement award that recognizes a living individual, group or institution who has demonstrated an outstanding contribution to, and significant impact on, the arts in Oak Bay. Individuals or groups that are active in Oak Bay or those who live here but are active elsewhere are eligible to apply.
The purpose of the award is to acknowledge and celebrate outstanding artistic merit in Oak Bay.
- To enhance awareness of the arts and their role in nourishing Oak Bay's economic, social and emotional well-being.
- To acknowledge persons, organizations, or businesses that have contributed to an enlivened, healthy, and meaningful community through the arts.
Recipients of the Acorn Arts Award may include but are not limited to:
Fine Arts works such as visual arts, craft, design, film, new media, music, dance, writing, public art, and theatre arts, as well as philanthropy, business supporting the arts, volunteerism in the arts, culinary arts, landscape art, or architecture.