Selkirk College Film Camps
Film Production Camp (Ages 14–18)
Teens will collaborate as a cast and crew to create a film from start to finish. From acting to filming, sound, or editing, they’ll gain hands-on experience and celebrate their work at a big-screen premiere for family and friends.
July 6–10, 9am-3pm
Big Screen Dreams (Ages 8–13)
Perfect for younger creators! Kids will work together to turn a script into a finished film using professional equipment and techniques. Along the way, they’ll build teamwork, creativity, and leadership skills—ending the week with a screening of their films.
July 13–17, 9am-3pm (Ages 11–13)
July 20–24, 9am-3pm(Ages 8–10)
July 27–31, 9am-3pm(Ages 8–13)
Community Land Trust leases building to create community arts hub in Nelson
Listen to the broadcast version of this story that aired on Kootenay Morning, on Friday, May 1, 2026:
By Jaime Frederick, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Arts and cultural communities in Nelson are celebrating this week, after Nelson city council voted unanimously on Tuesday night to lease the Kootenay Studio Arts building at 606 Victoria Street to the non-profit Nelson Community Land Trust (NCLT).
Under the new agreement, which will take effect by January 1, 2027, the building will become a community arts hub rebranded as the 606 Arts Space. The facility will be home to multiple arts organizations, and will house studio spaces where artists and artisans will continue offering educational programming and do their own creative work as well.
Kallee Lins is one of the co-chairs of the working group that has been leading the charge to retain the building for use by Nelson’s arts and cultural community. She says this will create new opportunities for artists in the city.
“One of the reasons this is so critical is KSA has been churning out graduates from ceramics, fibre and metal and they haven’t had anywhere to go and to continue practicing, specifically here in Nelson,” she says. “So this is a really great opportunity to keep those artists and artisans in the area. It’ll be a real boon to cultural employment.”
The future of the building had been in question after Selkirk College announced last fall that it would be shutting down its Kootenay Studio Arts program and ending its lease at the end of 2026. That’s when the working group stepped in to find a community-based solution. Along the way, they joined forces with the NCLT, a non-profit that aims to bring land and buildings in Nelson into community ownership and create affordable spaces for artists, entrepreneurs, and community organizations.
NCLT co-founder and board member, Matt Wynne, explains: “It’s a really interesting model for democratizing property ownership,” he says. “What you’re doing basically is bringing buildings back into public ownership…. So it’s like we’re bringing the ownership of the building back to people rather than it being in private hands.”
For now, the Land Trust will lease the building from the City, under an agreement that sees rent payments waived for the first two years while the group works to establish the arts hub. The Land Trust takes over management of the facility, including liability, as well as operating and maintenance costs during that period.
The City has agreed to fund up to $150,000 of required capital upgrades. The Land Trust plans to secure grants to help offset those costs, and would ultimately have first right of refusal to purchase the building after the initial two-year period is up. Wynne says the group’s preference would be to buy the facility from the City at that time.
“It’s a vulnerable time for the art school, transitioning from being in Selkirk to going on their own,” he says. “So there’s a lot to do but if we can make it all work, if things go according to plan, then that’s what I think all of us would like to see. And the city is certainly amenable to that if we can make the numbers work.”
Part of making the numbers work is keeping the educational programs running now that they are no longer part of Selkirk College. Lins says key members of the working group have already been taking major steps to make that happen.
“The KSA folks, the existing instructors, largely those who are involved with ceramics at the moment, they basically reinvigorated a society called the Kootenay School of the Arts Society,” says Lins. “And so they are working on some fundraising efforts. They're working on student recruitment right now.… You also have the Blackbird Art Society, who is continuing the educational programming in metal. We don't have anyone taking over the educational fibre program at the moment, but at least within ceramics and metal, we have standalone nonprofits who are prepared to continue that educational development.”
As for the City, Nelson’s mayor, Janice Morrison, says that the agreement is yet another example of Nelson’s creative energy and community spirit.
“For nearly 70 years, arts education has helped shape Nelson’s creative spirit, contributing to our cultural identity, local economy, and quality of life,” said Morrison. “As it has many times before, the community has come together to find creative solutions and supports the arts sector. There is strong interest in preserving 606 Victoria Street as a vibrant arts and cultural space, and we wish the trust all the best going forward.”
For more information on the fundraising efforts for educational programs at 606 Arts Space, visit: https://gofund.me/24ede175d.
For more information about the Nelson Community Land Trust, visit nclt.ca.
