 |
 |
 |
|
Home | Resources > Newsletter | Synergy - December 15, 2006
|
||
|
Synergy December 15, 2006 -- Volume 17 Number 11 IN THIS ISSUE: A word from the Executive DirectorA word from the Editor 1. Federal finance committee recommends Canada Council increase 2. Canada Council announces plans for new money 3. Report on the 2007 provincial budget consultations 4. Writers win partial victory in freelance case 5. Artists/community initiative to be permanent at Canada Council 6. Telefilm Canada changes financing rules 7. New website for Canadian Arts Coalition 8. New Vancouver Program Officer for Canada Council 9. Research and literature 10. In memoriam 11. Calls, grants and awards 12. Kudos 13. Calendar 14. Endquote A word from the Executive Director It is with sadness and excitement that I write my final message to you as Executive Director of the Alliance. As many of you may have already heard, I will be taking over as Executive Director at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre in January. The Board of Directors has undertaken a search to find my successor and I will work with the new Executive Director to ensure a smooth transition. The Alliance has the benefit of having a highly professional staff that will ensure that our members are not impacted by the change. I have been blessed over the past two and a half years to work with people that are highly skilled and are dedicated to improving the lives of artists. I have also worked with many tremendous board members who have supported the work of the Executive Director by presenting a unified voice for the Alliance. I would especially like to thank Hazel Currie who was the Board President for most of my tenure. She is frank, supportive, fair, tenacious, works tirelessly and is a team player. The membership of the Alliance is lucky to have Hazel on their side. Ian Forsyth, our newly minted President, has a hard act to follow, but his dedication to the Alliance through his work on the board of directors will serve the members and the new Executive Director well. The “new person” has a board and staff of the highest calibre to work with. We have had some successes over the past couple of months. The unification of the provincial arts community under the banner “Arts Future BC,” and the resulting enthusiastic presentations of the “arts case” at meetings across the province resulted in a strong recommendation from the finance committee to significantly increase funding to the BC Arts Council. Hopefully, this will translate into increases in the 2007 budgets and we are continuing to lobby Minister Stan Hagen to include the request in his submission to the Treasury Board. If you feel moved to drop the Minister a line you can find information on how to do so by clicking here. The Federal Finance Committee has also made a strong recommendation in its report to increase funding to the Canada Council for the Arts. Clearly, there is momentum at all levels of government and more and more people from all walks of life are realizing the benefits of the arts to their communities. We must keep spreading the word and asking our volunteer board members, friends, families, students, suppliers, colleagues and others to do so as well. The Alliance website has a myriad of resources if you would like to find out more. On the civic front, arts organizations played a part in ensuring the naming rights policy allowed for some flexibility for cultural organizations in civic-owned facilities. January will be a busy month at the City of Vancouver as budget estimates are tabled. The arts community must work together to ensure that none of the additional $1 million increase promised in the 2007 budget is cut. The budget process also creates an opportunity to recover the $300,000 that was promised in 2006 and was cut from the estimates. I believe over the past two and a half years the Alliance has become more focused on its core values and services. Together we have come a long way but there are miles to go before we sleep. Thank goodness! It means we are always learning and finding new ways to work together to better the common good. I will continue to play a part in the Alliance, but in my new role at “The Cultch,” and to support my successor as they take this unique and remarkable Alliance into the future. From all of us at the Alliance, may you find light through peace, kinship, creative thoughts and love through this, the darkest time of the year and may the new year be filled with opportunities for each of you. Thanks to all of you for a rich and fulfilling two and a half years. Let’s keep it up! It’s been a slice! Heather Redfern This is a significant newsletter of sorts, as it marks Heather Redfern's last as the Alliance's Executive Director and also my one-year anniversary as Director of Communications here. It has been an exciting and stimulating year, in no small part due to the support and guidance of Heather. She is a true visionary and works endlessly for the betterment of this community and the arts and culture sector. On behalf of the entire staff at the Alliance, I'd like to express thanks and bon voyage to Heather. She will be missed but it is wonderful to know that her energy is heading in great directions. Best wishes for the season to one and all. Laurie Guy On December 7, the Standing Committee on Finance released its report to the Minister of Finance, the Hon. James Flaherty, regarding its 2007 federal pre-budget consultations. Overall, the Committee has made forty-two recommendations about measures it would like to see reflected in the next federal budget. Three recommendations are of direct interest to the arts and culture sector, and one includes the suggestion to “increase funds allocated to the arts and cultural sector. In particular, funding increases should be considered for the Canada Council for the Arts, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Canadian Television Fund, and Telefilm
2. Canada Council announces plan for new federal money
The Canada Council for the Arts has outlined how it intends to distribute the $20 million and $30 million it expects to see added to its 2006-07 and 2007-08 federal budgets. The plan is subject to approval of the new funds by Parliament through the Supplementary Estimates. The director of the Council said in a news release that: "Key objectives are to enhance the long-term growth potential of the Canadian arts sector and to have a significant impact on Canadians across the country." The plan calls for new money to be allocated through a competitive process, either through a special competition of through the Council's regular programs. Approximately two-thirds of the new funding will be allocated for supplementary grants to arts organizations, while the remainder will be divided equally between support for individual artists and public access activities. Organizations currently receiving operating funding will be eligible to apply for a supplementary grant.
Further details and commentary can be found through the: 3. Report on the 2007 provincial budget consultations The Provincial Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services has released its report on the 2007 budget consultation process. In the section titled New or expanded programs and services, the report noted that: "We were particularly intrigued by the potential benefits that could accrue to the province by making increased investments in the promotion of British Columbia’s agricultural products as well as additional investments to promote arts and culture in British Columbia...Requests for additional funding to the arts community were prominent during this year’s budget consultation process. In nearly every community we visited, we heard how the arts play an important role in delivering provincial priorities — from creating employment opportunities, to promoting diversity, as well as fostering community spirit. Comparatively speaking, the Committee believes that the combined efforts of the arts community in British Columbia present a compelling argument for a significant increase to the core funding provided to the B.C. Arts Council to support arts and culture in B.C. leading up to the Olympic Games." Therefore, the Committee recommended that the government "increase funding to the B.C. Arts Council to enhance arts and culture in the province." The full report can be read online (see pages 37 and 38 for the above noted sections). 4. Writers win partial victory in freelance copyright case
A recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling means that newspapers and magazines do not have the right to republish articles written by freelancers in electronic databases without the consent of the authors. The ruling pertained to a case brought forward by Canadian freelance writer Heather Robertson over two articles she submitted to the Globe and Mail in 1995. After having published the two pieces in its print edition, the Globe then included them in three electronic databases: Info Globe Online, the electronic version of the Canadian Periodical Index (CPI.Q) and a CD-ROM that comprises a year's worth of several Canadian newspapers. Robertson then filed a class-action lawsuit against the Globe and Thomson Corp. in 1996 for unauthorized reproduction of her work and the work of thousands of other freelance writers. The ruling judges wrote: "The transfer of articles from their newspaper format and environment to Info Globe Online and CPI.Q, unlike the conversion to microfilm or microfiche, is no mere conversion of the newspaper from the print realm to the electronic world…The result is a different product that infringes the copyrights of freelance authors whose works appear in those databases." However, the Supreme Court did make an allowance for the CD-ROMs to include freelance articles as they "preserve the linkage to the original daily newspaper." 5. Artists/community initiative to be permanent at Canada Council The Canada Council's Artists and Community Collaboration Fund (ACCF), which started as a temporary initiative in 2002, will soon become a permanent Canada Council program. Canada Council support for artist-in-community projects began with a limited pilot program in 1997. In April 2002, the Council launched the ACCF on a temporary basis. Artists and community collaboration allows professional artists and the non-arts community – including youth – to work together in the creation, production or presentation of artistic work. The fund offers opportunities for communities in all regions of the country to express themselves through creative collaborations with leading professional artists and to offer financial support to projects that connect professional artists and communities. As of April 1, 2007, the ACCF will be renamed the Artist and Community Collaboration Program (ACCP) and be permanently integrated into the Canada Council’s regular funding programs in all artistic disciplines. More information about the ACCP can be found on the Canada Council’s web site at www.canadacouncil.ca. 6. Telefilm Canada changes financing rules Telefilm Canada announced major changes to how it finances the making and marketing of English-language and French-language movies in Canada, changes it believes will put more Canadian films, including documentaries, on the country's screens and increase audiences for them. Changes announced yesterday to the $81-million Canadian Feature Film Fund derive, in large part, from the creation this year of two working groups, one for each official language, to review the fund and make recommendations "to bring [it] more in step with market realities." One of the biggest changes on the English side is a lowering of the assistance threshold for access to Telefilm's "performance envelope" system. On the Quebec side, the "selective" component is going to be increased by $1-million, while the number of performance-based envelopes is to be reduced to five from 12. 7. New website for Canadian Arts Coalition The Canadian Arts Coalition has launched a new and improved website at http://www.canadianartscoalition.ca/en/. The Canadian Arts Coalition is the largest consortium of arts supporters -- business leaders and arts philanthropists, sponsors and volunteers, artists and arts organizations -- ever assembled in Canada. The Coalition works from the belief that the future of our citizens, their towns and cities, and indeed, the nation itself depends on a rich, vibrant and diverse arts community. 8. Bernard Sauvé new Program Officer for Canada CouncilBernard Sauve has been awarded a six month contract (October 10, 2006 - March 9, 2007) to serve as Program Officer for the Canada Council Dance Section. Bernard's program responsibilities include support services to the dance milieu, dance touring grants, International Co-Production Program for Dance (pilot), support for creation-based collaborations: local, national and international (pilot), grants to dance professionals and production project grants in dance. Bernard has been active in the dance sector for 20 years, first as a dancer with Ballet British Columbia, then as an arts manager with Jumpstart, Ballet British Columbia and The Dance Centre, among others. In 1998 he co-founded Eponymous Productions and Management Inc, working in dance, film, music, theatre and the visual arts with The Holy Body Tattoo, Lola Dance, Kidd Pivot and others. He has experience in touring and with young audiences. New study shows how artists build careers in the creative economy Artists move fluidly among commercial, non-profit and community sectors despite formidable barriers, finds a new study from the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. The artists' ability to "cross over" is a major stimulant to economic activity and the quality of life. The study, Crossover: How artists build careers across commercial, non-profit and community work, reports how artists develop successful cross-sectoral careers in ways little understood by employers, funders and policymakers. The study addresses how employers, schools, service organizations, funders, the media, government, arts advocacy groups and artists can encourage crossover. Flexible Management Models
This report examines flexible management models for artists, collectives and small arts organizations, based on a literature review, funding program information as well as discussions with arts agency staff, arts foundation staff, artists, arts organizations, agents and producers. With "an environment of rapid change and instability and a lack of financial and human resources", the report argues that traditional models of arts management do not work for all artists and arts organizations. "As the growth of the arts sector is outstripping the available resources -- human, time, financial, material and space -- new administrative and technical frameworks will be required" to ensure that the arts continue to thrive. Canadian Association of Arts Administration Educators Graduate Survey This report, based on a survey of graduates of cultural management and arts administration programs in Canada, outlines the situation of young cultural managers in Canada. The report finds that about two-thirds of respondents currently work in the cultural sector. It is not clear from the report whether cultural management graduates working in the cultural sector have higher or lower incomes (on average) than those working outside the cultural sector. The skills that survey respondents cited most frequently as being learned through cultural management education, training and professional development are: sales and marketing; fundraising and development; and communications. The key skills and abilities for respondents' career success include communications skills, adaptability and flexibility, and the ability to demonstrate positive attitudes and behaviours. The report concludes by highlighting "three ongoing challenges" affecting arts management. Record level of individual donations to cultural organizations in 2004 A new report from Hill Strategies Research, entitled Individual Donors to Arts and Culture Organizations in Canada in 2004, provides a picture of arts and culture fundraising in 2004. The report shows that 732,000 Canadians 15 years of age or older made financial donations worth a total of $188 million to arts and culture organizations in 2004. This represents a record level of donations by individuals to arts and culture organizations ñ much higher than amounts captured in surveys conducted in 2000 and 1997. The report also provides a summary of the number of donors in each province and rough estimates of the value of donations to arts and culture organizations by region. Burt Norman Harris. July 29, 1958 - November 2, 2006 Burt passed away at his home, surrounded by his family after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Born in Drumheller, and raised in Turner Valley and Calgary, Alberta, Burt is survived by his wife Beth Macdonald, his children: Emma and Nathan, as well as his mother and father Ken and Helen Harris of Cathedral City, California, his brother and sister Jim and Lynn of Calgary, his brother Tim of Sylvan Lake, Alberta, and his many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends that loved him very much. Burt was devoted to his family and his love for music. He spent many years as a drummer in bands in Calgary and then dedicated his career life to representing musicians and other artists in the entertainment industry as an entertainment lawyer. He was instrumental in creating the first legal outreach program for artists through the Alliance for Arts and Culture. In lieu of flowers, donations in Burt's memory may be made to the Centre for Integrated Healing at 200 - 1330 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6H 4A6 Ernie Fladell. 1925 - December 8, 2006 After moving to Canada in 1971 Ernie Fladell and his wife, Judy, opened Graphic House, a Gastown shop that sold and framed art posters. In 1972, Ernie joined the City of Vancouver's Social Planning Department where he was instrumental in increasing the civic government's involvement in the arts. In 1976, Mr. Fladell became the civic co-ordinator for Habitat Forum, an unprecedented city-sponsored music, drama and dance festival at Jericho Beach, held in conjunction with the United Nations Habitat Conference on Human Settlements. The successful event resulted in a $40,000 surplus and Ernie poured the money right into a festival fund, which was used to create the Vancouver International Children's Festival and the Vancouver Folk Music Festival -- both of which will be celebrating their 30th anniversary this summer. He is survived by his wife Judy, son Matthew and daughter Anne Goodwyne. In lieu of flowers, the Fladells request donations to the Vancouver International Children's Festival or the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. 2007 Vancity Award The Vancity Award invests $1 million each year in a community project sponsored by a non-profit organization that supports the social, environmental or economic well being of the community. Letters of intent will be accepted until December 20, 2006. For more information, visit www.vancity.com/award. City of Vancouver Poet Laureate Call for Expressions of Interest Nominations/applications are invited from published poets who are currently resident in the City of Vancouver, and who have either an established body of work or been recognized for notable contributions
Gibraltar Point International Artist Residency Program The Gibraltar Point Residency transcends political, aesthetic and geographic boundaries, welcomes diversity and provides a spawning ground for unique cultural alliances. The program is open to Canadian and international artists who are engaged in the research, development or creation of work. Emerging, mid-career and established professional artists are invited to apply. Participants in the residency program receive accommodation, a private work studio and all meals at no cost. Travel and material costs are the responsibility of participating artists. The program is designed and managed by Artscape and takes place June 1 -30, 2007 at the Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts on Toronto Island. Deadline for Submissions: February 21, 2007 4:00 p.m. EST For more information visit: http://www.torontoartscape.on.ca/gpiarp Donna Spencer is the recipient of the GVPTA 2006 Volunteerism Award. Donna, who is Artistic Director of the Firehall Arts Centre, was instrumental in designing many of the GVPTA’s programs including the Making a Scene conference, and for leading the organization through a period of strategic planning and change during her tenure as President. Jean Barman’s Stanley Park’s Secret (Harbour Publishing) and James Delgado’s Waterfront (Stanton Atkins & Dosil) were chosen as co-winners of the City of Vancouver Book Award. Mayor Sam Sullivan presented the award to Barman and Mark Stanton (Delgado’s publisher) during a Vancouver City Council meeting. Barman and Delgado will split the $2,000 prize. The City of Vancouver Book Award is presented annually to authors of books in any genre that demonstrate excellence and enhance our understanding of Vancouver’s rich history and culture. The other finalists for this year’s award were: Derek Hayes for Historical Atlas of Vancouver and the Lower Fraser Valley (Douglas & McIntyre) and Abraham J. Rogatnick, Ian M. Thom, and Adele Weder for B.C. Binning (Douglas & McIntyre). Three Vancouver-based artists were among the 2006 winners of the Canada Council’s seven Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Awards, which are worth $15,000 each and recognize outstanding mid-career artists in the seven disciplines: music, theatre, dance, visual arts, media arts, writing and publishing and interdisciplinary arts. Peter Knudtson won the writing award, trumpeter, pianist, drummer and composer Brad Turner, won the music award and Ron Terada won the visual art award. The Leon and Thea Koerner Foundation has announced the awarding of $107,550 to seventeen arts and social services organizations in ten communities in British Columbia. These awards are the first since the Foundation moved to multi-year grants and larger one-year grants for eligible charitable organizations in British Columbia. The grants awarded toVancouver cultural organizations went to the Canadian Institute of the Arts for Young , Audiences ($6,600), the Carousel Theatre Society ($7,500), Elektra Women’s Choir ($4,000), Morris and Helen Belkin Gallery ($10,000), Pacific Baroque Orchestra ($4,000), VDC Dance Centre ($14,000), Wen Wei Dance Society ($10,000).
Holiday Closure The Alliance for Arts will close for the holidays at 5 pm on Friday, December 15 and will re-open at 9 am on Tuesday, January 2. "I wonder when Vancouver and other cities in Western Canada grow up, can they be like Montreal?" -Colin Miles, Regional Director, Canadian Music Centre commenting on the article below, 14 September 2006 Montreal was the place to be on September 6, as the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, their city and their province welcomed new music director, Kent Nagano. The concert itself as well as the open dress rehearsal was sold out. Through the support of Radio-Canada, however, another 7,000 people gathered to watch the concert live on a giant screen on the Place des Arts Esplanade. In addition, all of the city's churches rang their bells at 8:30 p.m. that evening to mark the event, and Radio-Canada televised images of the outdoor performance during a special program entitled La Symhonie éclatée Bienvenue Maestro! The entire concert was re-broadcast on September 7, and it has been reported that over 300,000 viewers tuned in. Our thanks The Alliance for Arts and Culture gratefully acknowledges the support from the following: City of Vancouver, Service Canada, the British Columbia Arts Council and the British Columbia Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch. Comments? Send a message to: SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE You can subscribe to receive Synergy by emailing info@allianceforarts.com with the “Synergy Subscribe” in the subject line. To remove your name from this email list, please email info@allianceforarts.com with “Synergy Un-Subscribe” in the subject line. We do not rent, exchange, sell or give this email list to any other organization. Unless specifically stated, any part of this newsletter may be reproduced with appropriate credit given to the Alliance for Arts and Culture. If you have any questions about your privacy, please call 604-681-3535 or email privacy@allianceforarts.com. Last Updated:
Copyright © Alliance for Arts and Culture, 2006 |
||
 |
 |
|
