Code of Conduct for the Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival
At the Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival, we are dedicated to fostering a safe and inclusive space where people of all backgrounds, experiences, genders, sexualities, races, ethnicities, abilities, and identities can come together and feel safe to express themselves and their ideas.
We believe in promoting respect, empathy, and understanding among all festival participants, including artists, staff, volunteers, and attendees. To ensure a positive and welcoming environment, we have established the following Code of Conduct:
Respect and Inclusion:
- Treat all individuals with respect and dignity.
- Be open-minded and willing to learn from others’ experiences and perspectives.
- Be mindful of the impact of your words and actions, and consider how they may affect others.
- Support individuals who may be experiencing discomfort or distress by reporting concerns to festival staff or volunteers.
- Respect the boundaries, opinions, and creative expressions of others.
- Engage in constructive dialogue and be open to different perspectives.
No Tolerance for Hate and Discrimination:
- We stand firmly against all forms of hate, discrimination, and violence.
- We have a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour, language, or
actions that perpetuate or incite hate, violence, or discrimination against
any individual or group. - Racist, homophobic, transphobic, sexist, xenophobic, ableist, misogynistic, discriminatory and abusive language or behaviour of any kind will not be tolerated.
Reporting Incidents:
- If you witness or experience any behaviour that violates this Code of Conduct, including but not limited to, instances of anti-Semitic, anti-trans, or Asian hate, please report it immediately to festival staff or volunteers.
- All reports will be taken seriously, treated with confidentiality, and addressed promptly.
- We reserve the right to remove any individual who is creating an unsafe environment.
For further details or to report an incident, please contact us: voaf@cacv.ca 604-682-0010
Photography Consent
- Attendance at the festival constitutes an agreement that allows VOAF to use and distribute the attendees’ and/or participants’ likeness, artwork, performance recordings, on the Community Arts Council of Vancouver’s websites, social media and/or print and digital collateral.
- All attendees and participants have the right to opt-out of being photographed. Folks who would like to opt-out are asked to let a festival staff person know when they arrive at the festival so they may be given a red lanyard to wear so the photographers know not to photograph or record them.
Accessibility & Safety
Our programming is 100% free to attendees, and we continue to work towards improving the accessibility of the festival each year, including:
- ASL interpreters will be available for all possible performances and workshops.
- Service animals are welcome in the exhibition hall and performance theatre spaces.
- The venue and washroom facilities are wheelchair accessible.
COVID Safety
- While not mandatory, we encourage all staff, artists, and attendees to wear a mask if they are able to so we can create a safe environment for immunocompromised folks.
- Masks and sanitizer will be available for free to all attendees.
- All festival staff has received at least two COVID-19 vaccinations.
- Surfaces will be sanitized on a regular basis.
- Attendees are asked to not visit the festival if they are feeling unwell or have tested positive for COVID-19 within a week before the festival dates.
Have accessibility needs that are not listed here? Please reach out to our team at voaf@cacv.ca.
By abiding by this Code of Conduct, we can create an inclusive and welcoming environment for all participants to engage in the beauty of outsider art while ensuring the safety and well-being of everyone present.