Home | Resources > Newsletter | Synergy - June 13, 2006

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The Land Conservancy of BC (TLC) is the official owner of the Historic Joy Kogawa House in Marpole. Thanks to 550 donors from around the globe and one last minute donation of about $500,000 from an anonymous corporate donor, the cultural landmark will be saved as part of Canada’s history for future generations.

“The future of the Historic Joy Kogawa House is now completely in our hands, and we are proud of what we were able to accomplish with such a short deadline,” said TLC Deputy Executive Director Ian Fawcett. “This is one huge hurdle cleared. The next challenge is to continue raising the rest of the funds necessary to complete this project, to restore the house ($200,000) and to set up an endowment to offset the costs of establishing a writers-in-residence program ($300,000) in perpetuity.”

While formal funding requests to the City of Vancouver and to the Government of Canada are still not confirmed, TLC continues to work through the process with them, as well as with several other potential donors and grant agencies. Now that the immediate threat of demolition is gone, TLC urges the public to donate to the future of the historical site.

“When we look at the uncaring in our planet, here is evidence that relationships can be rehabilitated, and the formerly despised can be embraced. The dream that writers who are presently among the despised of the world can come and write their stories here fills me with hope,” said award-winning Canadian author Joy Kogawa. “Racism is a present tragedy in the world, as it has been in the past. Here is one small way that we can say in Canada, that racism can be overcome.”

After hearing the news that the Historic Joy Kogawa House will be saved, a Grade 3 student from Tomsett Elementary School in Richmond – one of many schools throughout the province that eagerly took up the fundraising school challenge for Kogawa House –said: “It’s not like anything I’ve done before. It changed every single way I think about every single thing. I think saving Kogawa House is a great way of learning about history. We learned about how people were discriminated against and how we should think more about other people’s feelings. I felt very proud of myself when I heard that the Kogawa House was saved.”

More information can be found at www.conservancy.bc.ca

2. US Senate passes artist Visa amendment

On Thursday May 25th, the U.S. Senate approved a provision to require U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to speed up visa processing for artists as part of the comprehensive immigration bill. This is a major milestone in the five-year quest to improve the visa process for foreign guest artists.

The amendment would reduce the current processing times for O and P arts-related visa petitions to a maximum of 45 days by requiring USCIS to treat any arts-related O and P visa petition that it fails to adjudicate within 30 days as a Premium Processing case, free of additional charge. This provision will improve opportunities for U.S. audiences to experience international artistry and will significantly reduce the anxiety, uncertainty, and financial costs currently suffered by nonprofit arts organizations pursuing artist visas.

The efforts to improve the visa process for guest artists is led by the Performing Arts Visa Task Force, which includes the American Arts Alliance, American Federation of Musicians, American Symphony Orchestra League,Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Dance/USA, North American Performing Arts Managers and Agents, OPERA America, and Theatre Communications Group.

For more information, click here. 

3. ACTRA says Canadian culture pays the price

Canadian performers are irked to see Canada's private broadcasters returning to the L.A. Screenings for their annual cross-border shopping trip for U.S. programming, at the expense of Canadian programs and culture.  Hollywood studios have already recouped their costs from U.S broadcasting licenses, so they are able to dump their programs into Canada at bargain basement prices that are impossible for Canadian producers to compete with. The sell-off of U.S. programs at cut-rate prices amounts to cultural product dumping.

For more information, click here.

4. CRTC looks at Canadian content rules for commercial radio

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) spent all of last week in Gatineau, Québec, holding a public hearing on the review of its Commercial Radio Policy.  The Commission received a total of 183 briefs from various individuals and organizations from all over the country. Of this number, fifty-five intervenors (including the Canadian Conference of the Arts) had obtained permission to participate in the public hearing and debate their views in front of a panel of five commissioners, including the President of the CRTC, Mr. Charles Dalfen. The main issues of the week were obvious after the very first day:  Canadian Content rules, diversity, emerging artist, contribution to talent development (CTD).

Read more here.

5. Canadian Conference of the Arts asks if Federal Accountability Act is a responsible piece of legislation to pass

This was the question on everyone's mind after a two and a half hour briefing meeting last week in the 22nd floor boardroom of the Department of Finance, organized by the Canadian Association of Manufacturers and Exporters and attended by myself and Cultural Policy Advisor, James Missen , on behalf of the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA).

Participants were representatives of national advocacy and lobby groups, mostly from the business, interested in knowing what the lengthy omnibus bill means for them and the work that they do.

Click here for more information.

 

6. Contract awarded for Queen E & Vancouver Playhouse upgrades

On May 16 Vancouver City Council approved the award of the general contract for the Queen Elizabeth Theatre / Vancouver Playhouse Theatre - Acoustic Separation along with an increase in funding. This was required so that rock concerts in the QE will no longer be heard in the Playhouse. Construction should be completed by October.

 

7. Law and The Artist: Open forum and information session

Monday, June 26, 2006 from 1 pm to 2:30 pm at the Alliance for Arts and Culture

Cost: No cost, but an RSVP is necessary.

RSVP to  604-681-3535, ext. 201 or info@allianceforarts.com

This workshop/open forum is open to any artist or arts organization representative who is, or has been faced with a law-related issue. The workshop/open forum will offer tactics on working with a lawyer as well as a dialogue on the development of an artist-centered legal information and advocacy program at the Alliance for Arts and Culture.

At some point in their career, many artists will be faced with a legal dilemma and wonder whether to hire a lawyer or go it alone. As a step toward bridging the gap between the law and the artist, the Alliance for Arts and Culture and Vancouver lawyers, Martha Rans and Jaime Mellott, are developing the Artists’ Legal Outreach (ALO). Offering a resource library, directed workshops and summary advice, the ALO will be a hub of information and advocacy for British Columbia artists. To ensure the ALO reflects your needs as an artist or member of an artists’ organization, we are inviting your input in an open forum/information session. Martha Rans and Jaime Mellott will facilitate a short workshop on the ins and outs of hiring a lawyer followed by a dialogue on the direction of the ALO. Discussion is encouraged so bring both your questions and your opinions.

At the end of this workshop/open forum you will have:

* An understanding of when you should hire a lawyer.

* A list of questions to take with you to your first meeting with a lawyer.

* An understanding of the process of hiring a lawyer, including payment options.

* An understanding of your rights when dealing with a lawyer, including what you should expect of your lawyer during your retainer, what to expect on the bill, and how to end the relationship if it is not meeting your needs.

* Input in the development and direction of a legal information and advocacy program at the Alliance for Arts and Culture.

The facilitators: Jaime Mellott is a relatively new call to the British Columbia Bar. She articled with an entertainment and labour law firm and has since been building a small practice in art, non-profit and charitable law. Her interest in the arts began as a (very) amateur actor in Edmonton.

Martha Rans has been practicing law in Vancouver since 1997. She was a board member of the Artists Legal Advice Services in Toronto and has maintained an active involvement in the arts. Among other things, she has provided advice to individual musicians, playwrights, producers, screenwriters, actors, Writers Guild and IATSE members, as well as many arts organizations, non profits and cooperatives.

The Artists’ Legal Outreach is a project of the Alliance for Arts & Culture that will provide legal support through referral, summary advice, on-line and print resources to artists in all disciplines.

8. New banners for bridges and streets of Vancouver

More than 750 banners, featuring the images by local artist and designer Rudy Kovach, will fly over Vancouver's bridges and streets. A series of Kovach's colour etchings, based on the life cycle of the salmon, are the foundation for more than 750 nylon banners that will be displayed through the summer.

 

9. BC representative to lead steering committee of Canadian Arts Summit

Arlene Gladstone, chair of the Vancouver Opera board, has been elected to lead the steering committee of the March 2007 event. The Summit will be held in Banff and draw representatives from Canadian dance companies, orchestras, theatres, and art galleries, to discuss long-term strategies for attracting private funding to these ambitious and often expensive operations.

10. Tax credit petition available

An online petition has been started to address the decision by the Government of Canada in its most recent budget to give a tax credit to the parents of children taking part in organized sports but not arts-related activities. 

The Towards the fair treatment and support of all children Petition to Government of Canada was created by and written by D. B. Scott (impresa@inforamp.net).  This petition is hosted at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. It asks that the government to reconsider the announced policy and to extend the tax credit to all children and to any activity in which parents enroll their children for their mental, artistic or physical well-being.

Find the petition here.

11. Public Seminar on Arts & the Economy: Vancouver at the Crossroads

The Creative City Network of Canada is presenting a public seminar with Professor Pier Luigi Sacco on June 21, 2006 at 7:30 pm

Modern economics, at least in the west, is no longer limited to the allocation of scarce resources.  Now, economics is focused more on individual and cultural identity.  This may be a time when the arts and culture are potent new drivers of the economy. Vancouver is not a head office city, nor is it a centre of manufacturing.  However, our geography, our people, and our ethnic mix confer upon us a cultural and locational crossroads; we are a unique North American bridge between Europe and Asia.  Our region is a beautiful mosaic that is creating a fascinating civil society and creative cultural milieu.

This uniqueness makes us attractive to others and is beginning to achieve world attention.  Perhaps Vancouver is on the edge of becoming Canada’s great creative city.

Location:  SFU Harbour Centre, Segal Centre Room, 515 West Hastings St.

12. Arts Now on the move

Legacies Now and Arts Now have a new address and new phone numbers. A toll free number has also been added for clients outside the lower mainland.

 2010 Legacies Now
Suite 400 – 1095 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC  V6E 2M6

Toll Free Number: 1-866-427-2010
General Number: 778-327-5150
Fax Number: 778-327-5199

Arts Now General Number: 778-327-5160

13. New arts management award announced by Canada Council

The Canada Council for the Arts will pay tribute to its former Director, John Hobday, with two new annual awards celebrating outstanding achievement in the field of arts management.

The John Hobday Awards in Arts Management are made possible by a $1 million donation from The Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation, which will create a permanent endowment for the awards. John Hobday, who left the Canada Council in January of this year, was Executive Director of the Foundation between 1983 and 2002.

14. Crisis in cultural legitimacy report

Cultural professionals have focused on satisfying the policy demands of their funders in an attempt to gain the same unquestioning support for culture that exists for health or education. But the truth is that politicians will never be able to give that support until there exists a more broadly based democratic consensus. The question is, where will this come from?

Read the report online at www.demos.co.uk

15. New website for new media training

The Cultural Human Resources Council has launched sprokit.ca for new media training. Built by a group of new media professionals in British Columbia and based on CHRC’s New Media chart and profile, the website identifies the competencies required to achieve excellence in interactive design. The site can be used by educators to plan courses; by employers to create job descriptions and recruit the right people; by content creators and students to develop their careers.

Visit the site at http://sprokit.ca.

16. Creative City Network releases phase one of a Intermunicipal Comparative Framework

Across Canada, local government plays a key role in their community’s cultural development, and in practice, there is a broad range and diversity of means in place to support cultural development. The Creative City Network has published the first phase of an Intermunicipal Comparative Framework Project to provide the ground-level information and comprehensive knowledge base required to compare practices and approaches. The Intermunicipal Comparative Framework Project is a structure around which to document and understand the infrastructure, scope, and nature of local government involvement and investment in Canadian cultural development, and to facilitate intermunicipal comparisons.

The long-term goal of the three-part Intermunicipal Comparative Framework is to have an accessible source of baseline information about municipalities across Canada.

The full report is available at www.creativecity.ca/framework.

17. Industry News

Coalition of Canadian visual art professional demand protection from copyright

Over 500 members of Canada’s art community released an open letter to the Ministers of Canadian Heritage and Industry calling on the Canadian government to adopt balanced copyright laws that respect the reality of contemporary art practice. Appropriation Art, A Coalition of Art Professionals, comprises artists, curators, arts organizations and art institutions who share a deep concern over Canada’s copyright policies and the impact these policies have on the creation and dissemination of contemporary art. The Coalition argues that Canada’s current copyright laws put at particular risk those artworks using appropriation, such as conceptual arts, art video & film, sound art and collage.

For more information, visit www.appropriationart.ca.

Telefilm Canada consolidates industry development activities to better help build the Canadian audiovisual industry

Telefilm Canada announced that it has consolidated its activities, targeted at building a strong Canadian audiovisual industry, under one new Industry Development Operations sector. This move means better support for talent and companies. Programs for training, professional development, Canadian festivals, international markets and festivals and coproduction are more closely aligned with corporate objectives as well as the multiplatform universe and its requirement for new skills and strategies.

Click here to read more.

Craig Hall, Artistic Producer of Rumble Productions Society has announced the appointment of Laura Efron as Rumble’s new General Manager

Laura Efron most recently held the position of Annual Campaigns Manager for the Arts Club Theatre Company where she has worked in various capacities for the past nine years. In addition to extensive marketing and administrative experience garnered from the Arts Club, she has also worked for a number of other local theatre companies, most frequently as a stage manager. In recent years, she has been a committee member for See Seven and has worked with the Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards Society, Down Stage Right Productions, Pacific Theatre, and a number of other Vancouver arts organizations.

Ilena Lee Cramer, current General Manager of Vancouver’s All Terrain Theatre Vehicle, has been with the company for five years, but will leave Rumble at the end of the month of July to refocus her energies and attention on her own Theatre Production Company, Screaming Weenie Productions. 

18. Calls, Grants and Awards

The Spirit of BC Commissioning Program assists arts and cultural organizations throughout the province to commission and develop the creation of original works of art by BC-based professional artists that contribute to the vitality of arts and culture in British Columbia.

The next deadline for applications is July 17, 2006. Click here for more information.

 

19. Kudos

Nominees for the 2006 Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards competition were announced on May 23 and over 130 individuals were nominated in more than 25 categories. In the Large Theatre category the nominations were shared among the theatre companies, leading the category was The Vancouver Playhouse receiving a total of 12 nominations for various productions. Touchstone Theatre received a total of 9 nominations and is the only company to have two productions nominated for Outstanding Production. The Arts Club Theatre Company also received 9 and Bard on the Beach received 7 nominations. The production of Stuides in Motion by The Electric Company Theatre garnered the most nominations, 7 in total, including Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Production. The Firehall Arts Centre’s production of Urinetown, The Musical and Pacific Theatre & Touchstone Theatre’s Prodigal Son each received 6 nominations, both receiving nominations for Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Production. In the Small Theatre category, Pacific Theatre garnered 10 nominations with Shadowlands receiving 6 nominations. Carousel Theatre received 12 nominations in the Theatre for Young Audiences category. The nominees for the Innovation Award sponsored by the Vancouver Sun are: Leaky Heaven Circus in Bonobo (Leaky Heaven Circus), Other Freds (The Only Animal), The Perfectionist, (Boca del Lupo), Studies in Motion, The Electric Company Theatre, and Vasily the Luckless (Boca del Lupo).

Additional awards that will be presented include the Canada Council for the Arts $10,000 cash prize for Outstanding Production for Theatre for Young Audiences, as well as the Mary Phillips Prize, The Ray Michal Award, and The Sam Payne Award for the Most Promising Newcomer.

The Jessie's will be held on June 19 at the Commodore Ballroom beginning at 6:30pm.  For more information visit http://www.jessies.ca/.

Rebecca Godfrey is the winner of the second annual B.C. Award for Canadian Non-Fiction for her book, Under The Bridge  about the murder of Victoria teenager Reena Virk in 1997.  The book was described by the judges as both "a compelling murder mystery and a larger portrait of a very contemporary Canadian society.” The B.C. Award for Canadian Non-Fiction comes with a $25,000 cash prize, which was given to Godfrey on Friday by Premier Gordon Campbell. The other three finalists for this year's award were J.B. MacKinnon for Dead Man in Paradise, John Terpstra for The Boys, or Waiting for the Electrician's Daughter  and John Vaillant for The Golden Spruce.  The award is one of three developed by the B.C. Achievement Foundation from a $6-million provincial endowment. The others are the B.C. Community Achievement Awards and the B.C. Creative Achievement Awards.