About Us
The Mission of the Society is to support, advocate for and present arts, culture and heritage in Kaslo and the West Kootenay region, centered in the Langham building, Kaslo
We value and believe that:
Participation in arts, culture, and heritage makes a considerable contribution to community well being;
Excellence and diversity in programming fosters interest and pride in our contemporary and historic arts, culture, and heritage; and.
Collaboration with other arts, culture, and heritage organizations strengthens our work.
Langham Cultural Society (The Langham) is a charitable public arts heritage centre and Japanese Canadian Museum. It is located in Kaslo at the north end of Kootenay Lake in the West Kootenay region of BC. The Langham is governed by an autonomous society which was incorporated in 1975 by a group of people dedicated to the purchase and the restoration of the old Langham Hotel in 1974 for a centre for the visual, performing and literary arts.
With a strong Board of Directors, a supportive membership, and a tireless group of volunteers, it supports a wide variety of educational arts and multicultural programs. The heritage building houses the Japanese Canadian Museum, 2 galleries, a theatre, artist studios and a community multi-use room for classes in the visual, performing and literary arts.
The programs focus on the presentation of culturally diverse and engaging visual and literary arts including heritage exhibitions, along with theatre productions, concerts, international films plus multicultural activities relating to the Japanese Canadian Museum.
The Langham was built in the mid 1890’s. At the time, the Langham was a grand hotel with running water and electrical lights, in the silver-rich mining region of the West Kootenay, serving fortune seekers from the United States, Canada and elsewhere. Over the past century, the building has seen many incarnations, such as a bottling plant, a wooden boat factory, a bank and most importantly, an internment centre for Canadians of Japanese descent during WWII. In 1974 the Langham was run down, neglected and ready for demolition. An imaginative group of people saw its inherent potential and purchased the building and began restoration of this heritage building. Today it stands as one of Kaslo’s premier heritage buildings and is the centre of creativity in the community and also serves the wider West Kootenay region.
In 1977 the Langham Cultural Society was awarded The Park and Tilford Trophy “for exceptional efforts devoted to beautification and community benefit”. It also received the Heritage Canada National Prize Award, “for an outstanding contribution to heritage conservation in Canada.
In 2004, the Langham was awarded the Honouring the Arts award by the Assembly of the BC Arts Councils, for the Langham’s long term contribution to the arts in BC.
The Society currently employs 4 part-time positions: the executive director, curator, bookkeeper, and the janitor. All the programs offered are run and organized by volunteer committees. The Langham promotes the local community, region and province by offering programs to both locals and to visitors alike.
Within the cultural arts programming, the Langham focus on three core areas:
The Langham Gallery Program
The Langham Live Performence Program
The Langham Japanese Canadian Internment Museum Program
