First United Is Bringing More Art to the Downtown Eastside

Within communities, art plays an important role in creating a shared sense of purpose, dignity and belonging that can help give people the strength to overcome incredible challenges. The prevalence or lack of public art in urban neighbourhoods says something about us as a society; it says which communities we think are worthy of beautiful things.

“Art is one of the main ways we as people and as communities share our culture and our stories. Representation in art matters,” says First United executive director Amanda Burrows. “Who is included, who is excluded, and who is even creating these stories matters.”

When complete in November 2025, First United’s new building at 320 E. Hastings will offer four floors of purpose-built community services and amenities, operated by First United, and seven floors of below-market Indigenous social housing, operated by Lu’ma Native Housing Society.

Informed by conversations with Indigenous consultants, the exterior of the building respectfully integrates works by Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh artists, holding space for host nation art on traditional host nation lands, contributing to an ongoing revival of Salish art forms, and standing as a visual welcome to the community.

Notable among these exterior features is a woven brickwork pattern by well-known Musqueam master weaver and designer Debra Sparrow. Translating traditional Salish weaving into brick, Sparrow’s pattern will blanket the outdoor deck and lightwell and be visible to the public, building residents and those accessing First United services.

The City of Vancouver’s Public Art Policy requires commercial, residential, institutional and industrial development projects to invest in public art. The required budget is calculated based on floor area and can be fulfilled by either building works of art on site or by contributing to the City’s Signature Projects Reserve Fund, which commissions artwork for key sites around the city. Social development projects, like the First United redevelopment, are exempt.

“This isn’t a bad thing,” says Burrows. “It helps keep development costs lower at a time when social housing is badly needed.” But she adds that for First United, including art was never a question.

“If we’re only building public art in high-income neighbourhoods, we’re creating and perpetuating inequity in our urban environments, so we want to do something about that,” says Burrows.

“And in the Downtown Eastside, where histories of colonialism and oppression are tied directly to the suppression and erasure of culture, particularly Indigenous culture, we believe that access to and inclusion in art is incredibly important to healing and reconciliation in this community.”

Other planned exterior works include vertical sunscreens with laser-cut designs by Tsleil-Waututh carver, weaver and visual artist Ocean Hyland; feature art panels on both the Hastings and Gore facades by Musqueam visual artist Mack Paul; and three house posts, one for each host nation, carved by Musqueam master carver Brent Sparrow, Squamish Junior Elder and Hereditary Chief Floyd Joseph, and Tsleil-Waututh carver and emerging artist Jonas Jones.

The interior of the building will feature works by urban Indigenous and Downtown Eastside artists, ensuring that the stories and voices of the Downtown Eastside community — their history, their strength, their perseverance — are represented.

Many of the planned features have been thoughtfully incorporated into the building’s exterior façade and interior spaces, leveraging costs that would have existed with or without the inclusion of art. The associated design, materials, fabrication and installation costs of the planned art, architectural, interior and landscape design elements account for approximately $3 million of First United’s overall $37 million capital campaign fundraising target.

On Nov. 14, the Audain Foundation announced $1 million in support of First United’s art initiative. To date First United has raised over $1.5 million towards its $3 million art campaign goal, bringing their total raised to over $31 million.

“We’re pleased to support First United’s public art initiative which contributes to a sense of hope and placemaking in the Downtown Eastside, a community that deserves not only housing, but vibrant artistic expressions that create a sense of belonging,” says Michael Audain, chair of the Audain Foundation.

“By weaving together the vision of host nation artists with the vital supply of social housing, the building façade will reflect the rich heritage and diverse experience of Indigenous communities in a way that is meaningful and accessible to all.”

This fall, the public is invited to support First United’s art campaign and redevelopment project by buying a symbolic brick in support of healing and reconciliation in the Downtown Eastside. Based on Debra Sparrow’s brickwork pattern, the interactive digital brick wall allows donors to choose the colour and location of their brick, and make dedications. Brick donations start at $50 and, thanks to the generosity of another leadership donor, every gift will be triple matched up to $250,000.

About First United

First United is a responsive, low-barrier service provider, serving low-income, underhoused and homeless individuals in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, operating for nearly 140 years.

As a registered charity, it provides meals, legal advocacy, tax filing, spiritual care, mail and phone services, overdose response, essential items like clothing and toiletries, and shelter to residents in the community. First United also engages in systems change work to reduce homelessness, break the cycle of poverty, and address the racialization of poverty.