 |
 |
 |
|
Home | About Us > Annual Report 2005
|
||
 |
Alliance for Arts and Culture, Annual Report 2005 President's Report Ad•vo•ca•cy n. The act of pleading or arguing in favour of something, such as a cause; active support. This past year was certainly the year of advocacy at the Greater Vancouver Alliance for Arts and Culture. From liaising with the City of Vancouver Office of Cultural Affairs to determine how best to distribute an extra $1 million to arts groups, to working with the Canadian Arts Coalition during and after the federal election, to meeting with the Provincial Minister of Tourism, Sport and the Arts, the Alliance was front and centre representing its members and the arts community. And the results have been gratifying. The experience of 2005 has taught us that it is incredibly effective for the arts to speak as one voice. Politicians and funders are more inclined to listen attentively and act accordingly when the message is clear and concise. It is to this end that the Alliance will continue to focus its attention on working with other organizations both locally and nationally to support and promote the arts and, therefore, our members. I am pleased to report that the members of the Board of Directors are actively involved at the committee level. We now have in place the following committees: Advocacy, Fundraising and Membership. Membership at the committee level is not restricted to board members so if you would like to join a committee, please feel free to contact me. The more input we have from our members, the stronger we can be as a group. The second Vancouver Arts Awards event was held in 2005 – a grand success with award recipients once again presenting commissions to emerging artists. And the best part of the evening was experiencing the results of the 2004 commissions! The Vancouver Arts Awards is a win-win occasion that celebrates the very best of the arts in Vancouver and encourages and promotes artistic endeavor. We look forward to continued collaboration with the Society to Bridge Arts and Community and the City of Vancouver to establish the Vancouver Arts Awards as an annual event. We continue to raise funds for the Arts and Culture Legacy Fund that has been established to guarantee that the Alliance for Arts and Culture will be financially able to maintain the Arts Resource Centre at 938 Howe Street when the current “bonus” lease arrangement with the City of Vancouver expires. All donations are gratefully accepted and tax receipts will be issued by the VanCity Endowment Fund, which manages the funds on our behalf. In closing – and I know that it is pro forma to do so – I do want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the board members and staff who give so much of their time, expertise and passion to ensure that the Alliance for Arts and Culture represents its members fully and effectively. In particular, Heather Redfern, Executive Director, works like a demon on our behalf. She is fearless and determined and is a great asset to the organization. Respectfully submitted, Hazel Currie, President I am pleased to report that in 2005 the Alliance was finally able to retire its accumulated deficit. This was accomplished primarily through a concerted effort to review programs and services and modify or eliminate those that were not cost effective. I would like to thank Heather Redfern, Executive Director, for her diligence and persistence on the financial front; the rest of the staff at the Alliance for their support; Quantum Accounting’s Nigel Jones for his bookkeeping with good humour and the members of the Board of Directors for their unflagging commitment. Respectfully submitted, Barbara Clausen, Treasurer It is always very difficult when writing a year-end report to confine one’s self to the previous year. It is now June and we are in the middle of 2006 and excited about the prospects to come. However, as those of us working in the arts know, the post mortem - the reflection back - is an essential tool for moving forward with knowledge and grace. It is also an opportunity to remember what our mission is and what drives us to move forward. To me the fundamental purpose of the Alliance is very simple. We are here to create a better world for citizens and in particular, artists. Artists build upon the foundations their predecessors have laid and create the future through modes of expression that none of us have even dreamed of. They take that work into every community in the GVRD and work to create rich and vibrant societies. What does it mean to make a better world for artists? Lobbying for more resources so they can spend their time making art rather than raising money? Absolutely. But that is only the beginning. Advocacy also means talking about the role that arts and culture play in the life of each individual and in elevating the awareness of the value of the arts in all of the citizenry. It is about ensuring that the arts and artists are integrated into our society and have opportunities to make the most of their creativity and to share that with a broad community. This is what drives us here at the Alliance and we realize it through our member services, education, communications and advocacy activities. What can the Alliance do? It can speak with the voice of many rather than the voice of one. It can neutralize the negative response an artist or arts organization might receive if they are challenging the status quo. It can work with the arts community to find common ground across disciplines, organizational size and location so the sector can speak with a strong and unified voice. We have had several victories this year including an increase of funding for the arts at all three levels of government. Highlights include an increase of 67 per cent to the City of Vancouver’s operating grants program, the formation of the Renaissance Fund, and an increase to the Canada Council for the Arts. We have had disappointments as well, the lack of increased funding to the BC Arts Council in the 2006 budget, the lost promise of a doubling of the Canada Council’s budget over three years and a reduction in the allocated increase for 2006 from $1 million to $700,000 at the City of Vancouver. There have been some milestones at the Alliance over the past year: The end of the Artists in Council program at Vancouver City Council meetings; the graduation of the 100th group from the S.E.A.R.C.H. program; the presentation of the Vancouver Arts Awards for a second year and a new relationship with Tickets Tonight. After three years of operating and subsidizing Tickets Tonight, we decided to focus our resources on advocacy and member service activities and turn the operations of Tickets Tonight over to Tourism Vancouver. A special thanks to Paul Sontz, Stevie Jackson and our colleagues at Tourism Vancouver who not only worked diligently to ensure Tickets Tonight continued operations through a challenging year but that it has a strong foundation for the future. The Alliance is an ever-evolving organism and we look forward to the future. A few of the initiatives we are currently working on: The Artists Legal Outreach program; an increased presence in the municipalities of the GVRD; the beginnings of a provincial advocacy coalition; strengthening the connection between the arts and tourism; facilitating joint initiatives between specific member groups such as festivals or marketing personnel and continuing to make our website relevant, in depth and user-friendly. Throughout all of the victories and challenges I have been blessed with a truly supportive and amazing staff. I wish to thank each of them for their hard work and passion. They work together toward a common purpose and do it with respect and integrity. I want to mention Lisa Fedorak, Jesse Grey and Anne Coustalin, each of whom will be leaving the Alliance next month to undertake new adventures in their lives. All three have done a great job and I wish them all the best as they explore new paths. I would like to thank the Board of Directors for their work this year. They have provided unified support throughout the challenges and the victories. The Executive Committee - Hazel Currie, Ian Forsyth, Paddy MacLeod and Barbara Clausen - have provided good advice, stability and support and have ensured that the Alliance is working from a strong financial and philosophical base. Finally I would like to thank each of you, our members. Many of you have attended meetings, sat on committees, spoken at city council, expressed your support for our advocacy initiatives, given us encouragement, participated in workshops, given us informed and useful feedback, written letters to MP’s and MLA’s etc., etc. Together we are making a difference to the quality of life in our region and the artists that practice here. Respectfully submitted, Heather Redfern, Executive Director Executive President, Hazel Currie Vice-President, Ian Forsyth Treasurer, Barbara Clausen Past-President, Paddy Macleod Directors Glenn Alteen Merrill Fearon Francesca Fung Jennifer Johnstone Duncan Low John McLachlan Kirsten Schrader David Shefsiek Jim Smith Heather Redfern, Executive Director Contractors S.E.A.R.C.H. Facilitators Visit our programs and services page. In 2005, the Alliance had 340 members. A membership list is available at the Alliance office. Auditor's Report and Financial Statements Our 2005 Auditor's Report and Financial Statements are available in PDF format; your browser will open a new window. Advocacy In 2005 the Alliance advocated for the arts and culture community in the following areas:
Alliance representatives sat on the following committees:
Connection In 2005 the Alliance was a member of the following organizations:
In addition, we maintained reciprocal memberships with:
A number of meetings were held by the Alliance for Arts and Culture Marketing Council, which was chaired by Jonathan Harrison, Marketing Manager for Vancouver Opera, and facilitated by staff member Allison Markin, Director of Marketing and Communications. The council met five times to discuss joint marketing initiatives, listen to guest speakers, and pursue professional development activities. The Alliance additionally hosted a number of workshops and ExecNet networking sessions. Under the direction of Membership Coordinator, Lisa Fedorak, we expanded its Membership Advantage Program by adding a number of new partners. We also created a AAC Advocacy Alerts listserv to allow the exchange of advocacy information related to arts and culture in BC. We encourage all members of the listserv, which is managed through YahooGroups to share information related to cultural advocacy: municipal, provincial and national election issues and candidate forums, government funding for arts and culture, new programs to promote the arts, public policy, employment issues in the cultural sector and more. Information In 2005 we provided information to our membership and the community by:
Government Relations - Municipal In 2005, the Alliance continued to work with Vancouver City Council and the City of Vancouver's Office of Cultural Affairs, on issues affecting the arts and cultural sector in the city. We hosted a City of Vancouver pre-budget consultation and as a member of the City Creative Task Force, we were integral in advocating for the increased investment in cultural grants announced by City Council in the spring of 2005. The Council of the day approved a $1 million increase to cultural grants in 2005, a $2 million increase in 2006 and a $3 million increase in 2007. The Alliance also participated in, and facilitated participation in, the decision of how to allocate the $1 million for 2005. Leading up to the municipal elections of November 2005, the Alliance was busy in a pre-election role - providing campaign information to the arts community, encouraging participation in the electoral process and co-hosting a mayoral candidates debate on the arts. New relationship building began following the election of the new municipal government. An unfortunate piece of news following the elections was that the Alliance's contract with the City to administer Cultural Presentations for Council Meetings - a program which gave artists an opportunity to perform at regularly scheduled Council meetings - was not renewed. Government Relations - Provincial The Alliance continued to monitor changes in funding at the provincial level, alerting members to budget announcements, funding changes, and news regarding 2010 Legacies and Arts Now and the Spirit of BC Arts Fund. The continued advocacy efforts of the Alliance helped to secure a $3 million increase for the BC Arts Council as well as $25 million to establish the BC Arts Renaissance Fund, an arts and cultural endowment and development fund for the arts in all regions of the province. The Alliance was active leading up to the provincial election in the spring of 2005 and created a Campaign for Culture section on our website, which provided voting information, important links, electoral district information, candidate lists and campaign information to the arts community. In addition, we leveraged our communication tools to encouraged participation in the electoral process, co-hosted a provincial election community meeting and spearheaded an advertising campaign in community newspapers across the province under the banner: The Arts Build Communities. New relationship building began following the election of the new provincial government and a victory was scored with the announcement of a ministry with the world "Culture" in the title. Government Relations - Federal The Alliance worked closely with national counterparts including the Canadian Arts Coalition, Canada Council for the Arts and Canadian Conference of the Arts to advocate for federal investment in the arts and cultural sector. We organized a Cultural Policy Roundtable with Bev Oda, now Minister of Canadian Heritage, but at the time the Heritage Critic, and attended a federal lobby day for the arts and culture sector in Ottawa. The efforts were rewarded in November 2005 when the federal government of the day announced its intention to commit $306.5 million to the Canada Council for the Arts over the next three years. Unfortunately, that commitment was not upheld in the first budget of the newly elected federal government (however an increase of $20 million for the Canada Council budget in 2006 and an additional $10 million in 2007 was welcome news). We also began work with members of the cultural community to campaign for the arts prior to the federal election that occurred early in 2006. Tickets Tonight Discussions began in 2005 with Tickets Tonight partner, Tourism Vancouver, regarding the development of a business model that would allow for the long-term stability of Tickets Tonight. The initial business plan for Tickets Tonight was for three years, with that period ending early in 2006. Tickets Tonight had exceeded projected ticket sales as detailed in the initial business plan, but revenues have consistently been lower than projected and sponsorship was not forthcoming, resulting in a financial loss for the Alliance. Vancouver Arts Awards On September 23, 2005 we produced the second Vancouver Arts Awards at the Great Northern Way Campus. The awards honoured Vancouver's established artists, who in turn present commissions to emerging artists. This second high-profile event was very well received and attended. Our partner, CBC Vancouver made a half hour television program profiling the winners. The Awards were supported by a number of partners and sponsors. Our 2005 honorees were:
And they presented commissions to:
S.E.A.R.C.H.: Self-Employed Attitudes Results in Creative Hires Cultural workers (visual and literary arts, museum and heritage, theatre, music, dance, film, arts administration, and more) are among the most highly educated and underemployed members of Canada’s labour force. S.E.A.R.C.H. was developed to help participants discover the value and transferability of their existing skills, learn how the language of business applies to their work, and begin to develop the work-search and career self-management skills that are essential for accessing a broader range of options and opportunities for earning which are being created by a knowledge-based economy. S.E.A.R.C.H. is an intensive peer-led, hands-on process that increases the ability of cultural workers to access more sustainable paid work opportunities both within and outside the arts. These opportunities may include full-or part-time employment, contract work, freelancing, multiple jobholding or self-employment, as determined by each participant to achieve their goals and meet their income needs. Each session of this full-time program runs Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 4:30pm, over a four-week period. We continued to work with a broad range of creative people from all disciplines and walks of life in 2005. Word-of-mouth from past participants is our primary source of applicants, with some coming from employment centre info sessions. Between January and December, 155 people participated in ten sessions of the program. Of the over 1,500 participants in S.E.A.R.C.H., an average of 700 people are still actively connected to the network through the self-managed group email system (SEARCHgrads, a listserv hosted by the Vancouver Community Network). Contact with past participants reaches back as far as Session 1 (December 1996), as people continue to keep us in their network and report on their success. They also come back to participate as presenters and facilitators. Past SEARCHers make up about 80 per cent of the exemplary guests at the Artist-In-Business Round Tables, which are a highlight of the first week of the program. The Alliance for Arts and Culture gratefully acknowledges the following support:
Vancouver Arts Awards partners
Member Advantage Program partners
We are an alliance of arts and culture organizations and individuals drawn from all artistic disciplines. We lead Greater Vancouver’s arts and culture community by advocating for our sector, facilitating connections within the arts and with other sectors, and providing information to and about our community. We strive towards an environment that recognizes, respects, and responds to the contribution our sector makes to society’s well-being.
Copyright © Alliance for Arts and Culture, 2006 |
|
 |
|
|
