The Creative QueerPreneur Program aims to provide 2SLGBTQIA+ creative entrepreneurs with opportunities to connect, collaborate, and thrive through the support of community hubs across Vancouver Island. These hubs serve as vibrant gathering places where folks can access a network of resources, build meaningful relationships, and grow their creative ventures.
Each hub hosts a variety of engaging and impactful events tailored to the unique needs of their local community, from networking meetups and mentorship sessions, to skill-building and artist development workshops. Whether you’re looking to grow your creative business, develop new skills, or simply find a welcoming, inclusive space among like-minded creatives, Creative QueerPreneur is here to support you on your journey.
Join us in building a more connected 2SLGBTQIA+ creative community across Vancouver Island!
For more information about our hubs, upcoming events, or how to get involved, please email eunice@theoldschoolhouse.org.
OUR HUBS
Check out one of our community hubs to see what’s happening — join a workshop, meet some rad folks, find new opportunities, and walk away inspired!
Comox Valley: Queer Centre Comox Valley Comox Valley @queercentrecv
Tofino and Ucluelet: Coastal Queers @coastalqueers
Qualicum Beach: The Old School House Arts Centre @tosh.artcentre
Hornby Island: Emma De Walt with Hornby Arts
Nanaimo: bailey macabre @cedarsageskoden
Gabriola: Isla Helmus & Brooke Silver with the Gabriola Theatre Centre @gabriolatheatrecentre
Victoria: Aunty Collective @auntycollective
Virtual: The BC Museums Association, 2SLGBTQIA+ Network Advisory Group @the_bc_museum_association
Current Events and Offerings
Comox Valley
Hang out, create, and fill your bellies with fellow community members. Held monthly on a Friday. Upcoming dates: Dec 19, Jan 23, Feb 27, March 27, April 24, May 22, and June 26. Check @queercentrecv for updates.
Tofino and Ucluelet
Build community capacity through connection, creativity, and learning new skills, in a welcoming spot that holds space for complex conversations. This event is closed– welcome only folks who self-identify as
queer/2S/LGBTQIA+/not cisgender and/or not heterosexual. Held monthly in both Tofino and Ucluelet. Feb 5, 2026 is the next UCLUELET date at the Ucluelet Community Centre from 6-8pm; Feb 24, 2026 is the next TOFINO date at the Tofino Arts Council from 6-8pm. Look back here or follow @coastalqueers on their instagram and website for ongoing dates and locations.
Qualicum Beach
Come enjoy a low pressure hang out with fellow queer creatives making banners, signs, and other art for Oceanside’s first Pride Celebration. February 21st, 6-8 pm at The Old School House Arts Centre.
Nanaimo
Tell us what you think! Fill out the Nanaimo Hub’s survey to help develop the resources that you need to connect, grow, and thrive. Take the survey here.
Gabriola
Tell us what workshops, events, and other supports and opportunities that you need as an artist on Gabriola to help you grow and thrive. (All types of at are welcome!). Take the survey here.
Calling all musicians! Come workshop a song in this Performance Masterclass workshop series with NEAVV at the Gabriola Theatre Centre. Upcoming date is February 22nd at 1-4pm.
The BC Museum Association’s 2SLGBTQIA+ Advisory Group- Online Hub
Get insider tips and tricks on how to set yourself up as a small business! This is a 2-part series: the first session will be artist-friendly tax talk with artist-accountant Sarah Peace, and the other will be first-hand knowledge shared by creative entrepreneurs bailey macabre and Kelsi Delamarter. Join us online on Feb 20 and Mar 20 from 12-1pm at http://tinyurl.com/bcma-talks
Past Highlights
We would like to thank Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ Chamber of Commerce and the Government of Canada for supporting this impactful work through the 2SLGBTQI+ Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Fund, and The Old School House Arts Centre’s collaborative partners creative coast, 4VI, and Aunty Collective.
We respectfully acknowledge that we carry out our work on the ancestral, unceded, and stolen territories of the K’ómoks, Pentlatch, Snaw-naw-as (Nanoose), Snuneymuxw, Tla-o-qui-aht, Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ, Lekwungen (Songhees), and Esquimalt peoples on Vancouver Island. We honor their enduring connection to this land and walk thoughtfully and respectfully as we do our work here.