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Home | Resources > Newsletter | Synergy - February 16, 2006
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Synergy February 16, 2006 -- Volume 17 Number 3 IN THIS ISSUE: A word from the Executive Director
A word from the Executive Director With the federal election over, the Alliance is focusing on provincial advocacy. Arts supporters from around the province have been meeting with their MLA’s over the past two months to let them know about the social and economic benefits that investment in the arts can generate. In addition, the Alliance has been encouraging the government to include increases to the BC Arts Council in the 2006 provincial budget, which will be released on February 21. On that day I will be in Victoria taking part in the budget lock down and the Alliance will be distributing any arts relevant information to you that afternoon. I have met with several MLA’s over the past few months and one of the issues that comes up often is the lack of recognition that government members receive from arts and cultural organizations. In light of this, remember to invite your members of parliament to your events, and if they do attend, ensure they are publicly acknowledged with introductions. The fact that your MP, MLA or city councilor is attending your event is a positive reflection on them and it raises the profile of your organization within the community. By the way, we at the Alliance love to hear from you. If you have any comments about this issue of Synergy or anything else we are doing at the Alliance, please drop us a line. We are also interested in hearing about topics you would like to see covered in the newsletter, or about any interesting arts related articles or websites you may have found. Enjoy the sun and the great performances and exhibits that are taking place in the region over the next couple of weeks! Heather Redfern As I join the rest of the country in watching our athletes take the stage in the Winter Olympics, I find myself considering the role such international events play in the expression of Canadian identity. From the performance of athletes, to seeing our flag wave in the stands, to Canada’s artistic showcase in the closing ceremonies, it is a time when many pause to reflect on what it means to be Canadian in a global setting. During this pause, I also consider the following excerpt from Canadian Senator Viola Leger’s address to Senate on May 19, 2005: “The arts define us, and above all, help us understand who we are as Canadians and what our society is all about. …The same artists present us to the world and help project our country's image internationally.” Laurie Guy 1. Arts and culture figure prominently in Speech from the Throne The provincial government emphasized the importance of arts and culture in the February 14, 2006 Speech from the Throne and indicated that investments are forthcoming in these important sectors. “The new world is a truly global economy, driven by information, ideas, and discoveries. It is a creative economy, where art and culture are the building blocks of innovation, invention, and understanding,” said Lieutenant Governor Iona Campagnolo, in delivering the opening address of the second session of the 38th parliament. The Lieutenant Governor went on to say that: “New investments in languages, research, art, culture, and urban revitalization are not just critical elements in building an enlightened society. They are competitive advantages we will use to attract talent and create jobs.” Heather Redfern, Executive Director of the Alliance for Arts and Culture, said the references to arts and culture in the address highlight the role these sectors play in strong and viable communities. “We welcome the notable mention of arts and culture in the Speech from the Throne and hope this translates into concrete initiatives on February 21 when the provincial budget is unveiled,” said Redfern. In addition to stating: “new steps will be taken to support our arts community,” other mentions of arts and culture included a new digital media centre at Great Northern Way, a new Asia-Pacific Museum of Trade and Culture, a new national Centre of Northwest Aboriginal Art and Culture, and a new World Women’s History Museum. The Speech from the Throne can be read at http://www.legis.gov.bc.ca/38th2nd/4-8-38-2.htm. 2. Beverley J. Oda named Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women The Department of Canadian Heritage was placed in the hands of Beverley J. Oda, the re-elected Member of Parliament for the riding of Durham (Ontario), on February 6, 2005. Ms. Oda was also appointed a member of the Cabinet's Social Affairs committee. She was first elected as a Conservative Party MP in 2004 and served in the 38th Parliament of Canada as the Official Opposition's Critic for the Department of Canadian Heritage. According to her biography on the PMO website, prior to her election Ms. Oda spent more than two decades in the fields of public and private broadcasting. In 1999, Ms. Oda was appointed senior Vice-President, Industry Affairs at CTV. From 1987 to 1993 she served as a commissioner with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Ms. Oda began her broadcasting career at TV Ontario in 1973. In 1976 she moved to the field of commercial broadcasting. She has also worked as a consultant in the areas of multiculturalism, diversity and broadcasting. Ms. Oda was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario in 1944. She graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts. She served as chair of the Lakeridge Health Hospital Network and is a recipient of the Queen's Golden Jubilee medal. Other key Cabinet appointments to departments, whose policies impact the arts and culture sector, include: - Minister of Finance: Jim Flaherty 3. Reaction to federal cabinet appointment
Heritage Minister Appointed: Post-Gomery, will funding slow down?
He noted that the promised funding increases will become be a major priority for his group, along with multiculturalism, tax credits for artists and the need to stop too much foreign ownership in Canadian broadcasting. Before the election, Oda told reporters that she supported the promised Canada Council increases -- "We will honour the money," she told The Globe and Mail -- but she has also indicated that there must be guarantees that the money is reaching artists.
The Globe and Mail February 7, 2006 By Guy Dixon and Kate Taylor Retired broadcasting executive, former regulator, member of the Canadian Broadcasters Hall of Fame: Arts organizations aren't so worried about the newly appointed Heritage Minister Bev Oda being a defender of the arts in Canada. The question is more about the current, post-Gomery mood in Ottawa. Oda is already well known within the arts community, given her long résumé and recent role as Heritage critic for the Conservative Party, arts groups say. "It's terrific that we've got a minister that's so up to speed on the whole file," said Sarah Iley, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Arts Coalition, which has been lobbying for more arts funding. "She's been a very conscientious critic, so she's very familiar with all the different issues. I think that it's really good news for the arts and cultural community, because it means she can hit the ground running." That optimistic, honeymoon mood seemed to waft throughout the arts community yesterday. "We are thrilled that her hard work and dedication to heritage, culture and arts issues has been recognized by the new prime minister," John McAvity, the executive director of the Canadian Museum Association, said in a press release. Yet some suggest that the concern isn't about Oda, but the new drive to make the path of money through federal agencies more transparent and accountable. The worry is that this could slow down promised funding increases, particularly the past Liberal government's pre-election promise in November to double the budget of the Canada Council for the Arts, the umbrella arts funding agency, in three years to $301-million. “The processes of the Canada Council are among the clearest and best established, and the most transparent of processes," said Alain Pineau, national director of the Canadian Conference of the Arts. "They may be improved. But in terms of accountability, we think there are other areas [of government] up for scrutiny before this one. And given the fact that [the Canada Council money] is a phased-in increase that is much needed, it would not be the right thing to do to delay it or cancel it -- which would be even worse." In an interview with Le Devoir before the vote, she seemed to emphasize that point, suggesting that the Conservative government would first judge the plan's efficiency before giving out the money. Oda wasn't available for comment yesterday afternoon. Unlike Liza Frulla, the outgoing minister who would sweep into a room as if perpetually attending a gala performance, but who also lost her re-election bid last month, Oda has much more of a managerial demeanour. When she was the Heritage critic for the Conservatives, there was the sight of her bending down low as she read her notes, while grilling the CBC's top brass during a parliamentary standing committee hearing on the lockout of workers. Oda was widely seen as the obvious front-runner for the cabinet job. Yet the arts weren't a major campaign issue to say the least. Granted, public funding for the arts or, for instance, the CBC rarely gets any attention as an election issue. Still, Oda's campaign website continues to make little mention of arts interests, other than to detail her background in broadcasting. A graduate of the University of Toronto, she taught public school for six years in Mississauga, before working for TVO, the Ontario public broadcaster, in the mid-seventies. By the late eighties, after numerous production and management jobs at CITY-TV and other broadcasters, she joined the ranks of federal regulators, becoming a member of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in 1987. She served until 1993 and was involved in helping to free up the market for long-distance telephone competition. She then jumped to various executive positions. First, she was chair of a private film funding agency, the $2-million Harold Greenberg Fund. She later worked as senior vice-president of programming and then senior vice-president of industry affairs at CTV. But for all her managerial experience in broadcasting, some note that the pressure within the Conservative government to streamline cabinet responsibilities could effect Oda's new job too. "There has been all sorts of talk about the Heritage ministry reshaped and reconfigured," with some departmental functions going to other ministries, Pineau said. However, there hasn't been any indication of this yet, he added. "It is a fact that it's a rather unwieldy ministry," from arts and culture to the status of women and sports. And Oda will now become the government's public face for all of these interests.
Bev Oda called `terrific' choice: Ex-culture critic familiar with file At various times over the past half-century, the job has been called secretary of state, culture minister or heritage minister. But no matter what the title, there were two kinds. ype A was the francophone Quebecer, such as Liza Frulla (whose term ended with the fall of Paul Martin's Liberal government) and Marcel Masse (Brian Mulroney's man in the 1980s). Type B was the Ontario anglophone Caucasian, such as the late Judy LaMarsh (who served under Lester Pearson), Flora MacDonald (a Red Tory) and Sheila Copps, Jean Chrétien's cultural czarina. All that changed yesterday when Stephen Harper named Bev Oda, the Tory MP for Durham, the new heritage minister. Oda happens to be the first Japanese Canadian ever elected to Parliament. Even more significant is that for the first time in history, this country has a heritage minister who reflects the rich diversity of its arts milieu. It won't be clear for months how much Oda can deliver to the culture sector, and that may depend, as usual, on how much clout the minister has with her most powerful colleagues. But for the next while, she is going to have a lot of arts people knocking on her door, looking to her to solve their problems. "This is a woman who has been consistently positive about the arts," Karen Kain said yesterday, "so we're feeling optimistic." As chair of the Canada Council as well as artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada, Kain's biggest concern is whether Oda will honour the commitment made by the outgoing Liberal regime to give the council a big 50th birthday present, doubling its funding over the next few years to $305 million. During the campaign, Oda, who has 25 years of broadcasting experience, said the Conservatives would honour the commitment. But doubts were raised because Harper had said he would not be bound b by pledges made after the last budget, and because Oda set conditions about accountability how the money would be spent and where it was coming from. Another big question mark: $100 million in top-up funding for six Toronto capital projects, including two museum makeovers and an opera house. The Ontario government is onside to provide its $50 million share but requires a federal partner. "I think Oda's appointment is terrific news," says Sarah Iley, speaking from Banff, Alta., for the Canadian Arts Coalition, a broadly based arts umbrella organization. "This means we have someone who knows the files. As heritage critic, she has been diligent, and she is familiar with all the issues." So begins Oda's honeymoon with the arts community.
Heritage minister Oda has good track record, say producers Film and TV producers said Tuesday they’re pleased with this week’s appointment of Bev Oda as federal heritage minister, noting her lengthy experience in the industry will be an asset. "She understands the industry and she’s dedicated to content, supports Canadian content, so it’s all basically good," says Jeff Brinton, spokesman for the Canadian Film and Television Producers Association. "Obviously . . . we’re always trying to make the independent producer have more profile, be a little bit more well-funded by the government agencies." The Mississauga, Ont.-raised Oda, 61, spent more than 25 years in private broadcasting at TVOntario, Global, CTV and Omni 1. She also served on the CRTC and was inducted into Canada’s Broadcast Hall of Fame in 2003. Ian Morrison, spokesman for the watchdog agency Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, said the Conservative party declared in its candidates handbook that it believes in a strong role for the CBC. He said Oda is competent, level-headed and well-informed about the broadcast industry and he hopes that the new minority government might actually do something good for Canadian culture. But Arthur Lewis of another watchdog, Our Public Airwaves, said he’s seen no sign the Conservatives are strongly committed to either public broadcasting or Canadian programming. "In order to pay for some of its election promises, the Harper government will have to cut back on existing spending," said Lewis. "And with a right-wing budget-cutter like Jim Flaherty in finance, it’s our fear that CBC will take a big hit." ACTRA, the actors union, said it wants Oda to send a strong signal to the CRTC to enforce drama and expenditure requirements on the domestic networks. "Act quickly to signal the need for re-regulation of Canada’s private broadcasters before our TV screens are completely filled with U.S. product," said Stephen Waddell, the union’s national executive director. Ontario's Bev Oda named new heritage minister CBC.ca February 6, 2006 Beverley Oda, the first Japanese Canadian elected to the House of Commons, has been named the new Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women. Oda, 61, represents the southern Ontario riding of Durham, which includes the communities of Clarington, Scugog and Uxbridge. The Mississauga, Ont.-raised Oda began her political life after more than 25 years in private broadcasting. She retired from broadcasting in 1999. A graduate of the University of Toronto, Oda initially worked as a teacher but in the 1970s switched career tracks to broadcasting, taking a position at TV Ontario. In addition to working at Global Television and CTV, Oda helped launch Canada's First Multilingual Television station (CFMT), which is now Omni 1. A winner of the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal, Oda was also inducted into Canada's Broadcast Hall of Fame in 2003. Oda was involved with the Progressive Conservative party and served as campaign manager for Ontario MPP John O'Toole during his successful 2003 campaign. In January 2004, after the first meeting of the newly formed Conservative Party in her local riding, Oda emerged as president of the Durham riding association. Soon after, she was encouraged to run as the Conservative candidate and eventually won a narrow victory over Liberal candidate Tim Lang. During her first term, Oda was an outspoken Conservative culture critic, speaking up on many issues, including the lockout at the CBC. The first meeting of the new Conservative cabinet is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. EST. According to earlier reports, Harper could recall the 39th Parliament within weeks and deliver a budget by the end of March.
4. ACTRA urges new Heritage Minister to stand up for culture Toronto - ACTRA congratulates Bev Oda on her appointment as Minister of Canadian Heritage. Performers are now looking to Minister Oda to seize the opportunity to signal to the CRTC that TV drama content and expenditure requirements must be imposed on Canada's private broadcasters. "We know Bev Oda well - we've had the opportunity to meet with her on many occasions to discuss our issues, and we look forward to continuing that open relationship," said Stephen Waddell, ACTRA's National Executive Director. "As a result of her experience as an executive at CTV, and as a CRTC Commissioner, Minister Oda knows that the CRTC's 1999 Television Policy was destined to fail and needs to be fixed. She said so publicly during the election, and we're now looking to Minister Oda to follow through." During the recent federal election campaign, Minister Oda was attributed in the media as saying that had she been a CRTC Commissioner in 1999, she would not have agreed with the CRTC's 1999 Television Policy. The CRTC's policy resulted in a steep decline in the production of Canadian English-language TV drama that should have been foreseen. "Over the past five years, we repeatedly asked the Liberals to order the CRTC to fix the drama crisis and they wouldn't do it. So now it's time for Minister Oda and the Conservative government to step up and create a future for a strong, independent Canadian culture," Waddell challenged. "We hope that Minister Oda will act quickly to signal the need for re-regulation of Canada's private broadcasters before our TV screens are completely filled with U.S. product," he added. During the federal election, the Conservatives were the only party that did not respond to ACTRA's questionnaire on culture. However, performers hope the Conservatives will act to preserve Canada's cultural sovereignty by committing to increased, long-term funding for the Canadian Television Fund, Telefilm and the CBC and maintaining the current limits on foreign ownership of broadcasting. ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) is a national organization of professional performers working in the English-language recorded media in Canada. ACTRA represents the interests of 21,000 members across Canada - the foundation of Canada's highly acclaimed professional performing community. ACTRA celebrated its 60th Anniversary in 2003. For more information:
5. Centre of Expertise on Culture and Communities: Cultural Research Salon The Creative City Network's Centre of Expertise on Culture and Communities launched its first Cultural Research Salon at the end of January. The next Salon takes place on Friday, February 24 from 2 – 4 pm at Simon Fraser University’s Harbour Centre campus in downtown Vancouver. The Salon will feature guest speaker Derek Simons who will present research on livability in Vancouver, and Katie Warfield who will lead a discussion on livability issues arising from the case of North False Creek. The questions to be discussed include: What are the keys to livability? How does culture relate to your quality of life and sense of livability? What’s your definition of livable? Is livability always good? What fosters culture – programming in the arts, built infrastructure, seawalls, concrete high rises, big windows? Can you preplan and pre-build a community and culture? How does culture live in a community? This informative networking series is for faculty, students and members of the general public, who are interested in culture and the city in terms of issues like sustainability, infrastructure and community.For more information visit http://www.creativecity.ca/cecc/activities.html 6. Roberta Lando Beiser grant in fundraising management at BCIT One of Vancouver’s strongest supporters of the arts, Roberta Lando Beiser has created a $500 grant to assist staff or volunteers who work for arts and culture organizations and wish to improve their fundraising skills. The grant is applicable to the tuition and academic costs for a course, or courses, in the BCIT Fundraising Management Program. Criteria: 1. Preference will be given to candidates already employed in the arts and culture sector. For more information, contact meg_clarke@bcit.ca. Deadline for applications is March 3, 2006 7. Arts Partners in Organizational Development offers consultant Arts Partners in Organizational Development (ArtsPOD), a program of the Centre for Sustainability is now accepting applications from arts and heritage organizations in BC that would like to work with an experienced consultant to enhance organizational effectiveness. The deadline for submissions is March 3, 2006. For more information visit: www.artspod.ca.
8. Audience research guide for small to medium performing arts organizations The Australia Council and Arts Victoria have released a guide to conducting audience research, including advice on “how to plan an audience research campaign from inception through to analysis and implementation.” Different research techniques are covered, including informal observation, focus groups and questionnaires. The report argues that “the more you know about your audiences, the better you’ll be able to assess their needs and match them to your organization’s mission and vision”. It also stresses: “research is only worth doing if it is practical and useful and assists the organization to answer specific questions or make informed marketing and business decisions”. For more information, visit http://www.arts.vic.gov.au/arts/publications/publications/05audienceresearch.htm 9. Arts Manager: New guide for arts managers A free resource geared towards arts managers and arts administrators is now available and offering solutions to some of the diverse challenges faced by many not-for-profit arts organizations. For more information, visit www.artsmanager.org/home 10. Membership services: Members Advantage Program The Alliance for Arts and Culture introduced the Members Advantage Program (MAP) in 1999 to help members save money. MAP partners provide Alliance members with products and services at discounted rates. Our current partners include: Quantum Accounting – offering a 20 percent discount on specialized accounting services for the arts. Call-Fusion – offering a free trial and preferred pricing on interactive audio and web conference solutions. Gift Tool - offering a discount on set-up fees for stand-alone and integrated e-commerce and e-philanthropy services. Heath Insurance - offering comprehensive group insurance benefits at low group rates through Heath Benefits Consulting Inc. Benefits include dental care, extended health, accidental death and dismemberment, long-term disability, life, and critical illness. Community Visa - offering merchant rates for VISA and MasterCard for as low as 2 per cent with Community VISA. Corporate Express – offering discount prices and next day delivery on office supplies. Club Card – offering discounts on printing full colour cards and on stickers, temporary tattoos, posters, and T-shirts. New dance program officer for Canada CouncilMark Shaub has joined the Canada Council for the Arts as a new program officer for the Dance Section. Originally from Oklahoma, Shaub graduated from York University with a BFA in dance in 1985. For over twenty years he danced for numerous choreographers in Toronto, Winnipeg and Montréal. Notably, Shaub spent fifteen years dancing in the works of Jean-Pierre Perreault, becoming Perreault's assistant in the last year of his life. He went on to become artistic coordinator at the Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault while the Fondation was still active. Shaub joined the Canada Council in November after a brief period with Le Cirque du Soleil as artistic coordinator. More information can be found at http://www.thedancecurrent.com/news.cfm
Documentary film unit launched at Capilano CollegeCapilano College’s Professional Film Studies department launched a new Documentary and Small Unit Production diploma program in January. The program will teach students how to become producers of documentaries and programming for specialty television channels. Offered at Capilano’s Sechelt campus on the Sunshine Coast, it is 16-month, full-time program covering project planning, financing, pre-production, directing, producing, writing, videography, sound and editing. Dave Gordon is the coordinator of the program with other industry professionals such as Charles Wilkinson and Michelle Mason serving as instructors. http://www.capcollege.bc.ca/programs/fine-arts/small-unit.html
Hugh Pickett: The Vancouver impresario who booked everyone from Frank Sinatra to Elvis to the Rolling Stones has died at the age of 92. Hugh Pickett was also close friends with many Hollywood celebrities including Katharine Hepburn, Lawrence Olivier and Marlene Dietrich. He went on to manage Dietrich's business affairs for 12 years. "I got along with famous people. I don't know why. Mainly because I knew what they had done. I knew what made them tick," he told CBC in an interview three years ago. Art Jones, president of the B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame, remembers Pickett as a long-time friend who got to know many greats of the entertainment field. "He had a sparkling wit and a wicked tongue and I think that made him a favourite, particularly with the great ladies of the theatre– Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn," he said. Pickett also led the campaign in the 1970s to save the landmark Orpheum Theatre. The native Vancouverite had been one of the driving forces in the city's entertainment industry since the late 1940s. Pickett told CBC he got his start when his friend Gordon Hilker offered him a job with his talent-booking agency. "He went bankrupt the next week and had to leave. And Holly Maxwell was his assistant, and she said, 'Look, you know as much about the business as I do, so why don't you just stick around?' And that's how it all got started, and it's been going every since. Vancouver big band leader Dal Richards, who was a close friend, says Pickett put Vancouver on the map in the world of entertainment. "He took chances for one thing. He was an impresario, and Vancouver needed him when he was operating in full flower." Richards says his friend died in his sleep on Monday afternoon. He is survived by his longtime companion Gordon Boyd http://www.cbc.ca/bc/story/bc_pickett20060214.html Keith Kelly Award for Cultural LeadershipThe Canadian Conference of the Arts presents the Keith Kelly Award for Cultural Leadership to a Canadian who has made a significant contribution to the arts through advocacy work or by playing a leading role in the development of public policy. The contribution recognized by the award may range from local to international in scope. The awards committee selects recipients from nominations submitted each year by the members of the CCA. Nomination must be received by April 30, 2006. For more information please visit www.ccarts.ca.
Diplôme d’honneurThe Canadian Conference of the Arts Diplôme d’honneur is presented annually to a Canadian who has made a sustained contribution to the cultural life of the country, whether through individual arts practice, volunteer activity, mentoring, patronage or other recognized support. The CCA awards committee chooses the recipient of the Diplôme d’honneur from nominations submitted each year by members of the CCA. Nominations must be received by April 30, 2006. For more information please visit www.ccarts.ca.
Cross Canada call for artists submissionsDTMInc, an independent production company focused on ecology and arts appreciation and promotion, is seeking proposals from visual artists that work in all mediums for inclusion in a traveling exhibition starting in the fall of 2006. The exhibition will arrive in Jasper September 2007, the 100th anniversary of Jasper National Park. Renowned the world over for its natural beauty and wild spaces the park has been a symbol of diversity and an attraction for lovers of nature since 1907. Unfortunately this centenary may mark the extinction of a species already at risk in this protected space – the Woodland Caribou. Through the exhibition "Tuktu Prayers" the organization hopes to educate and inspire Canadians to think in new ways about these protected places. One hundred pieces will be chosen for this traveling show and for inclusion in a publication to further promote species at risk. The submission deadline is March 1, 2006. For more information, visit http://www.dreamersanddoers.ca/cross_canada_call.htm Arts News Canada Arts News Canada wants to celebrate Canada's visual artists by offering artists a chance to show off their work to readers in all parts of Canada and around the world. On February 6, 2006, Arts News Canada made space on the main web page to display work and is inviting Canadian artists to participate. For more information, visit http://www.artsnews.ca/LinkedFiles/artistsubmission.html
YWCA Women of Distinction Award for Arts and CultureNominations are now being accepted for the 23rd Annual YWCA of Vancouver Women of Distinction Awards. Award categories include Arts & Culture, Business & the Professions, Community Leadership, Education, Training & Development, Entrepreneur/Innovator, Recreation, Sport and Healthy Living, Science & Technology, Young Women of Distinction and Innovative Workplace. Nominations are due on March 10, 2006. For more information, visit www.ywcavan.org/wod.
Vancouver-raised journalist, Finbarr O’Reilly had one of his photos selected as the World Press Photo of the Year. The photo, taken in an emergency feeding clinic in Niger, was chosen from more than 83,000 entries from photojournalists around the world.
Ballet BC dancer, Simone Orlando is the 2006 winner of the Banff Centre’s Clifford E. Lee Choreography Award given annually to an emerging choreographer. As part of the award, Ms. Orlando will create a new dance for the centre’s professional dance program to be performed during this year’s Banff Summer Arts Festival. At the 2004 Vancouver Arts Award, Ms. Orlando won the emerging artist award for the performing arts and her commissioned piece, Dédée was performed at the 2005 Vancouver Arts Awards Gala.
Acacia Schachte performing Dédée The Georgia Straight February 2, 2006 By Pieta Woolley For Vancouver animation students, the future is now. Or so says the head of one of the city’s biggest employers of new, locally trained grads, Mainframe. The 240-employee CGI animation studio hires about half their employees from Vancouver schools, and CEO Rick Michel said that’s just good business. “We have an interesting philosophy here,” Michel told the Straight, noting that the studio hires primarily from the Vancouver Film School, the Art Institute, and Capilano College. “We have a core group of senior talent who mentors the junior talent into the building. That way, we continue to grow our talent pool so we’re not reliant on recruiting senior talent from outside B.C.” This fall, Mainframe and other employers will have two new advanced schools to consider. At Emily Carr Institute, a new two-year master’s in applied arts will kick off the school’s first graduate program. Students can focus on one of three streams: design, media arts, or visual arts. If a student chooses to do advanced work in animation, that can be accommodated within this master’s program. In addition, the Great Northern Way Campus will offer a two-year master’s degree in digital entertainment. The GNWC is a collaborative campus, comprised of Emily Carr, Simon Fraser University, the University of British Columbia, and the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Neither master’s program has announced tuition fees yet. Film schools, including those involving animation, are typically expensive: up to about $30,000 per year. At Mainframe, staff took a few minutes to tell the Straight whether they thought it’s worth the cost. “A lot of my friends who went to film school are still working at Blockbuster because they didn’t push hard enough,” said business-development manager Michael O’Brien. “But all of those who pushed made it and are successful.” O’Brien suggested thinking of school as a long interview, because you never know if your instructors or classmates will be interviewing you for a job one day. Animation director Conrad Helton, who graduated from the Art Institute about nine years ago, said that about 20 percent of his class was hired within a few months of leaving school. “You gotta stay focused in school,” he advised. “I was a zombie in school; I had no girlfriend and ate dollar pizza. You have to be focused.” Michel said Vancouver is poised to be the North American epicentre of animation, due in part to the high quality of local film schools. COPE going it alone for arts' sake Vancouver Courier February 3, 2006 By Sandra Thomas Two renegade COPE parks board commissioners are forming their own arts and culture committee. Last month NPA board members voted to absorb the culture and recreation committee, which oversaw cultural programming in city parks and community centres, into a new parks and recreation planning committee. The culture committee had been formed by the previous COPE-dominated board. COPE commissioners Spencer Herbert and Loretta Woodcock announced the formation of their rebel committee this week. "We want to provide a venue where ideas can be discussed and we can think in a broader way," said Herbert. "It will be a volunteer committee, but [Woodcock] and I decided this was too important of an issue to let it fall off the park board agenda. We think the extra hour or two we spend each week will be worth it." Herbert, an associate producer of the upcoming UN World Urban Forum Arts and Culture Festival and a community developer with the Roundhouse Community Centre, told the Courier in an earlier interview he believes the board is shortchanging arts and culture by dismantling the committee. He vowed to be the "watchdog" for arts and culture. Forming this committee is a move towards keeping that commitment, he said. Herbert and Woodcock will head the committee and hope volunteers from the community will help out. While some meetings will be held at the board's main office on Beach Avenue, others will be held in the community. "We'd like to hold some meetings at the board office and are planning some forums about culture and programming in parks," said Herbert. "They'd be big brainstorming sessions to see what people want." Herbert said since word has gone out about the committee he's received emails and phone calls of support. "People are really excited about this," he said. Parks chair Heather Holden said while she thinks it's "great" Herbert and Woodcock are willing to give up more of their time to meet informally with people from the community, she believes their efforts will be a waste of time for everyone involved. "I think they'll be wasting their energy," said Holden. "I'm hoping Loretta and Spencer will remain a constructive part of the team and not a destructive part of the team." Holden said the board's new committee structure allows people from the arts and culture community to meet with board members twice a month, rather than just once as they did in the past three years under the COPE-dominated board. She said arts and culture now falls under planning, just as environment and programming do. "We're committed to arts and culture," said Holden. "This is just reactionary and that's unfortunate." Herbert insisted the new committee was vital to the proper running of the board. "It seems to me [NPA board members] treat arts and culture as a waste of time," said Herbert. "It hasn't been understood and it hasn't had the respect it deserves. We plan to change that."
Vancouver's Crystal Pistol name best of 2005 in the U.K. In its year-end issue, U.K.-based Classic Rock magazine named the hard-charging Vancouver-based Crystal Pistol's self-titled debut disc as one of the top 50 albums of 2005. Crystal Pistol ranked 36th in the list. This nod does not mark the beginning, or the end, of Classic Rock's support of CP, as the band's bassist, Greg Laikin, told the Straight. "They did a review on our album about three months ago, and then they did a story on us, and then this happened, and next month they're putting us on a compilation that comes with the magazine." Laikin said that the exposure has increased Crystal Pistol's profile among rock-hungry U.K. fans. "We're getting major hits every day on our Web site, and we're on Myspace too, and people are contacting us there," he explained. "It's really been helpful, after trying to deal with Canada for so long." Dependent on the whims of school boards With the school redevelopment that forced its closure now stuck in indefinite limbo, New Westminster, B.C.'s Massey Theatre is preparing to open its doors again by mid-March. But the brand-new integrated arts centre that was to have surrounded it will never be built -- on this site, anyway. The two main funders behind the project, the school board and now the City of New Westminster, have abandoned the plan. "I have hope we can still see an arts centre in a new location," said Colleen Winton, past chair and long-standing board member of the Massey Theatre Society. The Massey is struggling to emerge from the chaos since the 1,260-seat venue closed its doors last September 19. The society had emptied the building for the total reconstruction of the adjacent New Westminster secondary school, which was to have started in November. Due to expected budget overruns, that project was postponed until January and then indefinitely. The theatre board has decided it should allow groups to use its facilities, since there is obvious demand. Winton cannot yet put a dollar amount the theatre society losses. It had been booked 232 days out of its last season, and depends on ticket entries for 85 percent of its budget. "Forget just the loss of business, but think of the hard costs of moving equipment out, storing it, and moving it back in, and all the man hours to accomplish that," Winton said. The group is also searching for a new executive director. New board, new outlook On February 6, the Raymond Burr Performing Arts Centre in New Westminster, B.C. saw all but one of its original board members leave, electing eight new people to helm the beleaguered historic venue. The Raymond Burr Performing Arts Society restored the now city-owned venue to a theatre several years ago, but the group took a financial hit trying to produce its own shows; the last play took place in June 2005. Since then, it's opened for sporadic jazz concerts, standup comedy, and this weekend's Vancouver International Burlesque Festival. The theatre's capital plan, and its long-term goal of expanding the theatre from its current 230 seats to a 650-seat regional arts venue, are also at a standstill. New vice-president, actor James Rowley said he feared that if it didn't look like the capital-campaign fundraising was making progress, the city could look for other uses for the Burr. Rowley hopes to galvanize local theatre groups and others to restore the Burr to its former glory. "I personally am going to be looking for community partners in the theatre world, using models like the Stanley, the Pantages, and the Waterfront," he said. The Georgia Straight February 9, 2006 By Janet Smith Heritage Vancouver has named two theatres on its newly announced annual list of Top 10 Endangered Sites. The first is the Vogue Theatre, a National Historic Site venue that has been dark since January 1 as its new owners plan to convert it into a supper club/cabaret. In its press announcement, the heritage-activist group said such a use would be an "irrevocable compromise of the theatre's elaborate interior spaces". "Divorcing the theatre's architecture from its intended use cannot help but impair its historic status," said the press release. Stanley Park's Malkin Bowl, which Theatre Under the Stars is raising money to demolish to make way for a new building, also makes the list. "It will be replaced by a high-tech, telescoping, slab-mounted structure designed by Busby and Associates, architects of One Wall Centre," Heritage Vancouver's release warns. "Neither the Park Board nor TUTS has given serious consideration either to upgrading the existing facility for continued TUTS use or, alternatively, to restoring the Bowl as a musical performance venue, while locating the proposed new TUTS structure elsewhere." NEWS FROM AWAY… Art of the matter It’s a bit of a tricky question, especially for a Monday morning, but what exactly is art for? We know why science exists — to find a cure for cancer, fly us to the Moon or invent those weird bars of metal soap that claim to get the smell of chopped onions off your fingers and which, amazingly, actually work. But what about art? Determining the function and quantifying the success of a painting or a piece of music is almost impossible. Read more at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,585-2024422,00.html Provincial Budget Heritage Week 2006 For more information visit http://www.heritagebc.ca/heritage_week.htm The Lulu Series: Art in the City For more information, visit http://www.creativecity.ca/conference-events/events/Richmond-Lulu2.pdf “In creativity research, we refer to the three Bs – for the bathtub, the bed and the bus – places where ideas have famously and suddenly emerged,” says R. Keith Sawyer, author Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation. “When we take time off from working on a problem, we change what were doing and our context, and that can activate different areas of our brain…Take risks, and expect to make lots of mistakes, because creativity is a numbers game. Work hard, and take frequent breaks, but stay with it over time. Do what you love, because creativity breakthroughs take years of hard work. Develop a network of colleagues, and schedule time for freewheeling, unstructured discussions. Most of all, forgot those romantic myths that creativity is all about being artsy and gifted and not about hard work.” From Social Studies in the Globe and Mail, January 27, 2006
Our thanks The Alliance for Arts and Culture gratefully acknowledges the support from the following: City of Vancouver, the British Columbia Arts Council and the British Columbia Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch. Comments? Send a message to: Alliance for Arts and Culture http://www.allianceforarts.com
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