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MEDIA MONITOR

Posted on: Feb 16th, 2010

Your Alliance keeps an eye out for news items and opinion pieces of interest to members and friends. Here is a list of recent “clippings” of note: RECENT NEWS STORIES: Vancouver Sun reporter Randy Shore takes another run at crunching the numbers involved in the provincial arts funding cuts. Vancouver Sun columnist Miro Cernetig gives front-page coverage to Vancouver Opera's Nixon In China and general manager Jim Wright's marketing acumen. bclocalnews.com picks...

Events: Dialogue for a Better BC on the impact of funding cuts

Posted on: Mar 8th, 2010

Saturday, March 20, 2010 from 9:00 AM — 3:00 PM Alice MacKay Room, Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St. Join members of the Coalition and concerned citizens for a dialogue on the impact of government funding cuts and come prepared to share your ideas on what we can do together to build a better BC. The strength of British Columbia is our people. We each contribute in unique and different ways, through our talents, ideas and hard work to build a...

NEWS: BC Govt. Shuts Arts Out Of Gaming Funding

Posted on: Mar 8th, 2010

COMMUNITY GAMING GRANTS FOR 2010-11 In a media release issued this morning (Monday, March 08 .10) by the ministry responsible for BC Gaming, the Government of British Columbia has announced measures to deny most non-youth oriented cultural programs and organizations any form of gaming funding for the foreseeable future. The key section of the release is as follows: “Youth arts, culture and sports groups will be eligible for grants this year, as will sports organizations serving...

NEWS: Cultural Workers Survey

Posted on: Mar 8th, 2010

Take part in a human resources survey for professional artists, cultural workers and employers! The Cultural Human Resources Council has engaged the Conference Board of Canada to undertake a survey to examine the HR issues faced by the cultural sector in Canada. We encourage you to complete the survey, and to forward it to other professional artists, cultural workers and employers in the cultural sector to get as many responses as possible. All...

DISCUSSION: Identifying Issues for Society Act Reform

Posted on: Mar 5th, 2010

In August 2009 the arts sector was faced with a significant cut to Gaming grants. As I write this it appears that those funds have not been restored in the new budget. Gaming monies have been used by many arts organizations to fund the vital administrative work that is necessary to keep them going. When the only paid staff person in a small artist run gallery has to handle all the day to day issues, negotiate the lease, do the bookkeeping, as well as the programming, it...

Arts Sector Key to Canada’s Economic and Social Prosperity

Posted on: Mar 5th, 2010

Ottawa, Thursday, March 4th, 2010 – The Canadian Arts Coalition is pleased to see that arts and culture investment has been sustained in Budget 2010 and that the Government will continue to deliver on stimulus measures for the cultural sector identified in the Economic Action Plan. In particular, we commend the Government for wisely protecting investment to the Canada Council for the Arts, and look forward with interest to the unveiling of the Canada Prizes with hopes that this...

NEWS: Federal Budget Holds The Line on Arts Funding

Posted on: Mar 4th, 2010

The federal government’s new budget holds the line on their commitment to arts funding, according to an analysis released by the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT). Minister of Finance, James M. Flaherty delivered a budget March 3 that offered few surprises for the arts sector. Budget 2010: Leading the Way on Jobs and Growth held steady with the current level of investment in this vibrant economic sector, but did not add any new programs. PACT had anticipated that the...

Reality Check: Arts Funding Cut By BC Budget

Posted on: Mar 3rd, 2010

"Arts funding was not restored to 2008/2009 levels in yesterday's budget, despite a unanimous recommendation by the government's Standing Committee on Finance", according to Alliance for Arts and Culture executive director Amir Ali Alibhai. "In fact what we have seen are further cuts to core funding" said Mr. Alibhai, "for a total loss of 32.4 per cent from funding levels in 2008/09." ----- Here are the basic facts from the March 2 budget: FACT: The BC Arts...

BREAKING NEWS: Arts Community Leaders Disappointed by Budget

Posted on: Mar 2nd, 2010

“Premier Ignored MLAs and His Own Finance Committee” VICTORIA: Emerging from today’s budget lockup at the BC Legislature, Alliance for Arts and Culture executive director Amir Ali Alibhai, Victoria Symphony executive director Mitchell Krieger, and ProArt Alliance of Greater Victoria coordinator Scott Walker expressed disappointment at the budget’s half-hearted support for the arts in British Columbia. “Premier Gordon Campbell and Finance Minister Colin Hansen...

NEWS: Moh & Yulanda Faris GG's Award Recipients

Posted on: Mar 2nd, 2010

The recipients of the 2010 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards have been announced and Vancouver’s Mohammed and Yulanda Faris are this year’s recipients of the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts. Moh and Yulanda have been an active force in the Vancouver arts community for close to 40 years. They have liberally donated their time and financial support (often anonymously) to opera, dance, the visual arts, and literature,...

EVENTs: Cultural Mapping & Planning Workshop

Posted on: Feb 25th, 2010

Seats are still available at a one-day workshop entitled Cultural Mapping and Cultural Planning: Making the Connection, on Monday, March 22 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m at the Simon Fraser University Surrey Campus. This is the third in a series of regional workshops presented by the Creative City Network of Canada, with funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage. Hosted by the City of Surrey, in partnership with Simon Fraser University, the workshop will bring together cultural workers for...

Join the conversation about proposed changes to the BC Society Act

Posted on: Feb 24th, 2010

The Provincial Government has announced a consultation with the not-for-profit sector about proposed changes to the BC Society Act. Most of us in the arts community will be affected by any changes - starting this week a new website/blog has been set up to get the word out and hopefully prompt a conversation about what we as a sector within the not for profit community would like to see in the new Act (or not). The website is yourtake.ca. Beginning next week the legal director of the...

Petition to Reinstate All Charitable Gaming Grants in British Columbia

Posted on: Feb 18th, 2010

All Residents of British Columbia: Petition to Reinstate All Charitable Gaming Grants in British Columbia Petition Summary and Background Provincial Cuts to Charitable Gaming Grants for 2009-2010 To Premier Gordon Campbell, Minister Rich Coleman and the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia: We the undersigned are deeply concerned with the cuts to Gaming Grants in the province of British Columbia and how it will affect our Communities. ...

VIEWPOINT: Dame Judi on World Theatre Day

Posted on: Feb 18th, 2010

World Theatre Day is an opportunity to celebrate Theatre in all its myriad forms. Theatre is a source of entertainment and inspiration and has the ability to unify the many diverse cultures and peoples that exist throughout the world. But theatre is more than that and also provides opportunities to educate and inform. Theatre is performed throughout the world and not always in a traditional theatre setting. Performances can occur in a small village in Africa, next to a mountain in Armenia...

NEWS: Announcing "Culture Days"

Posted on: Feb 17th, 2010

Culture Days: Celebrating Arts & Culture from Coast to Coast. Culture Days is a collaborative Canada-wide volunteer movement to raise the awareness, accessibility, participation and engagement by all Canadians in the arts and cultural life of their communities. The National Steering Committee, in collaboration with provincial committees, are self-mobilizing at the grassroots level to collaborate in the implementation of concurrent annual province-wide, and free public participation...

VIEWPOINT: Dear Premier Campbell

Posted on: Feb 15th, 2010

An open letter to Premier Gordon Campbell by Graham Scholes: Dear Premier Gordon Campbell, I am sure that the opening ceremonies for the Olympics moved you to the same extent as it did for millions of people across this Land. The Art of this performance with its visual and preforming qualities was what enabled the producers to build a sense of pride and meaning to our distinctive Canadian culture. I hope you now realize how powerful the arts can be for building BC’s economical and...

NEWS: A Time To Heal / A Fundraising Opportunity

Posted on: Feb 8th, 2010

Arts organizations have been offered a unique opportunity to support First United's well-known work on behalf of Vancouver's homeless, raise funds for their own strapped coffers, and support the Alliance for Arts and Culture at the same time. For every online purchase of the DVD A Time To Heal: Moving Beyond Homelessness, the buyer will be able to designate an arts group of their choice and 60 cents from their purchase will be donated to the Alliance and $7.40 will be donated to the chosen arts...

Creativity Counts - Restore Arts Funding Now

Posted on: Nov 24th, 2009

Vancouver artists and arts supporters took a metaphorical Wrecking Ball to the BC government’s devastating cuts to arts funding at a full-house event at the Vogue Theatre, and the Alliance took the opportunity to introduce a province-wide campaign, Creativity Counts: Restore Arts Funding Now, as our contribution to the groundswell of arts community protests against the devastating cuts in provincial arts funding this past fall. Now we have six action item requests to make of our...