News & Media
Stories about the Foundation and the programs we support.
Anna Gustafson takes the top award at the sixth biennial Salt Spring National Art Prize, a program closely tied to the Wilding Foundation’s Catalyst Grants.
The FabLab expands into fabricating assistive devices, from playing card holders to 3D-printed prosthetics, delivered free of charge.
The Driftwood profiles the FabLab as a beacon of innovation, highlighting the Wilding Foundation’s role in keeping it accessible and free.
The first 16 recipients of the Catalyst Grants are named, sharing $100,000 in arts funding from the Wilding Foundation.
FabLab
The FabLab at the Salt Spring Public Library is a community makerspace equipped with 3D printers, laser cutters, design software, and more. It offers islanders of all ages and backgrounds a place to learn, experiment, and create, all free of charge.
What began as a small, glass-walled room with unfamiliar equipment has grown into a thriving hub running six days a week at near-full capacity. In 2025, the FabLab logged over 1,100 appointments (up 24%) and 3,600 drop-in visits (up 79%), with STEAM program attendance reaching over 1,000 participants, a 71% increase year over year.
Through the FabLab, the Wilding Foundation also funds free Child & Youth STEAM programs, covering robotics, coding, 3D printing, drone piloting, and more. These programs are free for every child on Salt Spring Island ages 6 to 18, regardless of background or experience. Registrations are regularly waitlisted.
The FabLab has even expanded into fabricating assistive devices, including playing card holders, writing supports, pill pack openers, and 3D-printed prosthetics. These are delivered free of charge to those who need them.
GISS Robotics
The Cyber/Scorpions robotics team at Gulf Islands Secondary School brings together students from grades 8 to 12 who design, build, and compete with robots through the annual VEX Robotics Competition.
Meeting weekly since September each year, the team has grown steadily, fielding up to 30 students and seven independently designed robots in a single season. In February 2023, the Cyber/Scorpions hosted their first regional competition, welcoming 34 teams from across Vancouver Island to Salt Spring.
The Wilding Foundation is a key financial supporter of the program, helping ensure that students on Salt Spring have access to hands-on engineering, problem-solving, and teamwork experiences that would otherwise be out of reach for a small island school.
Catalyst Grants
Too often, promising art projects remain unfinished because the artist lacks the funds and resources to complete them. The Wilding Foundation created the Catalyst Grants program to address exactly this problem.
Administered in partnership with the Salt Spring National Art Prize (SSNAP), the program provided grants of $3,000 to $10,000 to visual artists across the Southern Gulf Islands and area First Nations. Over two years, the Foundation committed $100,000 annually to the program, empowering artists to pursue their creative visions without the financial constraints that so often stand in the way.
In its inaugural round, 16 artists were selected from approximately 45 applications, receiving funding to complete ongoing projects and explore new creative directions. The grants also served as a stepping stone for artists aspiring to participate in future SSNAP exhibitions.
As the Gulf Islands Driftwood editorial board noted, the program represented “smart arts funding”, a model that directly supports the working artist at the moment of greatest need.
Impact
Our commitment to Salt Spring Island, year after year.