Creative Industries

Greater Victoria boasts many success stories across its creative industries. It’s something Carla Sorrell and Will Sorrell saw when they moved to Victoria, leaving behind London, U.K.’s vibrant design world. The couple, who had worked in London’s Creative Industries sector, decided to shine the light on things designed and made in Greater Victoria and create opportunities for collaboration.

The result is Design Victoria. This annual four-day festival highlights the city’s growing creative industries scene, featuring special exhibitions and events created by local designers and design businesses. Design Victoria represents a convergence of the city’s rising creative and design sector, from furniture makers to architects, interior designers, and graphic artists.

Local firms have been acknowledged for their sustainable and community-focused designs, blending modern aesthetics with environmental consciousness. 

• Featured success story: DAUSTUDIO (D’ambrosio Architecture + Urbanism) is one of Greater Victoria’s best-known architectural and urban design practices, creating projects that “are viable, meaningful, beautiful and suited to their time, place, ecology and cultural contexts.” Notable projects include The Atrium (700 Yates) and Esquimalt Plaza, a mixed-use residential, civic and commercial project in a growing municipality. 

Greater Victoria has been a picturesque backdrop for various film and television productions, supported by local talent and production companies. The industry has grown to $60M per year in “production spend” thanks to the Vancouver Island South Film and Media Commission, which is vital in attracting and facilitating these productions. 

• Featured successes: Everyone loves to visit Hatley Castle and pretend they are visiting Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, which was featured in several blockbuster films in the X-Men and Deadpool franchises. More recently, Greater Victoria served as the backdrop for the Netflix hit series Maid, the streaming network’s 4th most viewed production in 2021, starring one of Hollywood’s rising stars, Margaret Qualley. 

From agile indie developers to established outposts of mainstream powerhouses such as EA, which acquired Victoria’s Metalhead Software in 2021. Victoria nurtures a dynamic ecosystem of game studios. Their internationally recognized, innovative titles are a key driver in the city’s burgeoning reputation within the digital entertainment sector.

• Featured successes: Codename Entertainment is the Victoria gaming studio behind Idle Champions and Crusaders of the Lost Idols. Both games are in the top one percent of most-played games on Steam, a popular video game distribution platform.

Institutions like the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and events such as the Victoria Fringe Festival showcase the region’s rich artistic landscape.

• Featured successes: Rockslide Studio & Gallery is perhaps the West Coast of Canada’s most dynamic hub of multidisciplinary artists. Home to over 80 artists across all disciplines, Rockslide is an independent arts organization committed to making studio, event and exhibition spaces accessible to local artists.

Enriched by the City’s Victoria Music Strategy, which supports infrastructure and development for local artists, Victoria’s vibrant music scene and dance companies offer performances from classical to contemporary. A cornerstone is Dance Victoria, which brings world-class professional dance companies from across Canada and internationally to perform here and supports new dance development for the international stage from its studios in Quadra Village.

• Featured success: As an urban music festival, Rifflandia Festival combines the musical energy of a traditional festival with the charisma of place, featuring a combination of venues and experiences around its main staging area in Rock Bay. The annual event has attracted artists from Iggy Pop, Moby and The Flaming Lips to Run the Jewels, Charli XCX and Post Malone.

Emphasizes the craftsmanship of the artisan, often resulting in unique, high-quality items in smaller quantities compared to industrial mass production. Greater Victoria is a centre of excellence for combining traditional trades with contemporary design excellence, from furniture making to metalworking. The artisanal manufacturing approach contributes to the local economy, preserving valuable skills and creating interesting hands-on jobs for the future.

• Featured success: When Ross Taylor, an entrepreneur specializing in custom furniture, met Duane Franklin, a mattress maker since age 18, Fawcett Mattress was born. The Greater Victoria business prides itself on making mattresses from natural, organic materials at competitive prices — all produced and manufactured locally.

Anything is possible when modern technologies merge with creative forces. Victoria’s culture is ripe with these types of creative mavericks, as creative sectors are inherently linked with innovation and technology advancements.

• Featured success: At the dynamic intersection of art and technology, you’ll find Limbic Media. This exceptional team of artist-engineers, driven by a shared passion for both disciplines, has cultivated a global reputation for crafting captivating interactive and responsive lighting products and immersive multimedia installations that redefine spatial experiences.