A prominent non-profit arts venue in downtown Victoria has announced it will close its doors this month, after more than two decades of offering performance space to emerging artists.
The Victoria Event Centre said in a statement that it was informed by owners of the 1909 building last week that its lease of the Broad Street space would be terminated on Oct. 31 and new tenants would be moving into the space next month.
Kurt Archer, president of the Victoria Multicultural Society, which operates the venue, said in a statement that the centre has faced a number of financial challenges since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were seeing some positive signs of getting back on track, which the City of Victoria helped with, however, we were faced with a substantial rent increase and the owners felt they could no longer afford to partially subsidize the place,” he said.
In March, the centre received a $20,000 one-time boost in operational funding from the City of Victoria after the society made an urgent financial appeal to council.
In a statement announcing the closure on social media, centre staff thanked attendees, artists, and sponsors who have attended the space since 2003.
“It has been an honour hosting such a range of events and communities in our space over the years,” the statement said.
The centre’s last day will be Oct. 27.
New operators are expected to take over the second-floor space at 1415 Broad St. starting Nov. 1, the statement said.
As of Thursday, the venue was still advertising events into December.
Centre staff and board members did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
Initially known as the Victoria Multicultural Event Centre when it opened in early 2003, the venue dropped the word multicultural from its name within a year — though it would continue to retain a strong link to Latin music.
The centre has been the longtime home to the Atomic Vaudeville theatre group and is a mainstay for the city’s drag and burlesque performance community.
During the pandemic, the centre ran a takeout coffee shop that eventually turned into a daytime cafe that served free food for artists, people in low-income housing, and those belonging to a minority group.
