Arts + Culture

Release in 2021 by Bard on the Beach, A Shakesperience is a 60-minute film that provides a new and innovative introduction to Shakespeare’s plays and poetry. “Rather than focusing on traditional understanding or appreciation,” says Bard on the Beach, “we celebrate the many and varied ways Shakespeare might resonate for us today.

This free and on-demand film is designed to be inclusive and accessible to a wide and diverse audience. It is also accompanied by fifteen curriculum activities that can be used by educators and individuals alike.

We are proud to have to had a part in this endeavour and helping to make Shakespeare more accessible.

Photo: Alexandra Lainfiesta & Agnes Tong| A Shakesperience (2021)

Founded in 2013, the Vancouver Youth Choir has become a thriving space for young singers ranging from the kindergarten age to 24 year old. It consists of five ensembles and is considered one of the finest youth choirs in Canada.

The Y. P. Heung Foundation has supported the Vancouver Youth Choir’s Subsidy Program for Marginalized Youth since 2020. This program offers free music education to young singers facing adversity in their community, aiming to remove barriers and make the VYC’s programs more accessible. Singers participating in this program have the same experience as paying choristers, but free of charge.

Check out the choir’s beautiful performance of “Spaséñiye, sodélal” by Pavel Tschesnokoff (recorded on March 8, 2020, at the BCIT Aerospace Campus in Richmond, B.C)

The Y. P. Heung Foundation has made a multi-year grant to strengthen and expand the Ballet BC Emerging Artists Program, which provides training for both national and international emerging young artists. Apprentices in this program immerse themselves in the work of a professional dancer, taking daily ballet classes, rehearsing in the studio, working with choreographers, and performing at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and abroad on tour. These emerging young artists also participate in community outreach and engagement, experiencing all aspects of professional creative process.

In 2022, the Y. P. Heung Foundation will also be helping to fund the repurposing and renovation of Ballet BC’s new home on Granville Island.

The Y. P. Heung Foundation proudly supported Music on Main’s Kessler Academy for its 2021 season. It is an intensive, six-day music mentorship, team-building, and skills development initiative for a diverse cohort of promising youth string players ranging from school-age to emerging professionals. The program is led by the Vancouver-based Microcosmos String Quartet.

Check out the Kessler Academy String Orchestra’s 2021 performance of Divertimento for String Orchestra by Bartók, here.

In 2019, the Y. P. Heung Foundation made a five-year commitment to funding Arts Umbrella’s Pacific Storm Program. It is a full-year theatre arts program delivered to he Grade 10 Social Development Class at Britannia Secondary School. The Class offers a small, protected setting for students with severe emotional difficulties. The goal of the program is for students to gain an increased awareness of themselves and of others, and have a positive experience being included as part of a Theatre team, supporting and relying on each other.

In 2021, the Y. P. Heung Foundation made a three-year commitment to support start-up costs for Green Thumb Theatre’s Playwrights’ Gym, a writing intensive, 4-week paid training program for early to mid-career playwrights provides time to study and develop skills specific to creating Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA). The goal of the program is not to support the creation of a single piece of theatre, but to develop a pool of skilled writers from diverse backgrounds who will be able to work in TYA for years to come.