IN THIS ISSUE:
1.   Leadership program launched
2.   The tax man cometh (for the artist?)
3.   Cultural Capitals
4.   How much is that artist in the window?
5.   Status of the Artist Act   
6.   Kudos   
7.   Media Spin
8.   Calendar

Editor: Allison Markin
amarkin@allianceforarts.com

1. Leadership program launched

The Royal British Columbia Museum, the Provincial Museum of Alberta and the University of Victoria recently announced the launch of a Museum Leadership Development Program, designed to develop "institutional management capacity", as stated in a joint press release from the three organizations. A combination of formal courses at UVic and mentored workplace learning at both museums will make up the program:  UVic will develop curriculum and instructional resources to support leadership and management training specific to museums as part of its graduate level certificate in public administration.
 
"The museums included in this partnership - and many others across Canada - are challenged by the need for increasingly specialized leadership and management skills that enable them to keep pace with significant changes in their community relationships, organizational capabilities, and funding models," says Pauline Rafferty, CEO of the Royal BC Museum.
 
Bruce McGillvray, executive director of the Provincial Museum of Alberta in Edmonton, notes that many of their staff are in their forties and fifties:  "A wave of retirements is beginning. We need more staff who understand the multiple challenges of running a museum - the political, financial and ethical considerations that have to guide every major decision."
 
The program begins this month with student recruitment and the first selected participants will begin their 10 month internships in June.
 
A $200,000 grant from Canadian Heritage will offset the $500,000 projected cost of the program and the Cultural Services Branch of the BC Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services is financially supporting curriculum development.
 
For more info, visit:
www.uvcs.uvic.ca/crmp/mldp

2. The tax man cometh (for the artist?)

On March 31 Wendy Lill, NDP member of parliament for Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, introduced a private members' motion in the House of Commons that would change Canada's Income Tax Act in such a way as to aid the arts and culture sector. The motion (M-293) is a more comprehensive iteration of the motion which former MP Nelson Riis introduced nearly three years ago. The current motion reads:
 
"That, in the opinion of this House, the government should celebrate and encourage Canada's magnificent and diverse culture by changing the Income Tax Act to exempt creative and interpretive artists from paying income tax on a percentage of income derived from the sale of any creative work."
 
As part of her address in the House, Lill stated:  "Although the motion involves changes to the Income Tax Act, the motion, strangely, is not about income. The motion is not about money, given the fact that artists are not making very much money to begin with. I would say it is more about recognition and respect for the creators in our country, and respect and recognition within one of the central laws of our country, the Income Tax Act." She also noted that there is already government support for cultural industries and institutions but that the artists and creators themselves are significantly undervalued.
 
Attendance was low in the House on March 31, but several MPs voiced their opposition to the motion, saying that artists already get tax breaks via funding provided to institution, agencies and cultural industries. Sheila Copps, the minister of Canadian Heritage, as well as several other key MPs were absent.
 
The Canadian Conference of the Arts is calling for support for the motion. Write your own MP, and copy your email to:
 
Sheila Copps:  Copps.S@parl.gc.ca
Wendy Lill:  Lill.W@parl.gc.ca
Carole-Marie Allard (the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage):  Allard.C@parl.gc.ca
 
The motion is expected to undergo further debate and a vote in late May.
 
To find your MP, visit:
http://canada.gc.ca/directories/direct_e.html
 
Abridged from the CCA Bulletin, the newsletter of the Canadian Conference of the Arts.

3. Cultural Capitals

Speaking of Sheila Copps, back in February the Minister announced the names of cities and towns competing for the title of Cultural Capital of Canada (CC) for 2003. Five CC designations are up for grabs and Vancouver is competing in the category for cities with populations of 125,000 or more. Langley is up for the 50,000 to 125,000 category and seven other locations in BC are up for other categories.
 
The CC program will publicly reward Canadian arts and culture centres by supporting their activities with a matching contribution of up to $500,000. Winners will be announced this spring.

4. How much is that artist in the window?

The Georgia Straight reports that Intracorp Development Ltd. has launched an artist-in-residence program out of the showroom of its yet-to-be-built Pintura building on West 8th Avenue and Granville in Vancouver. Between 12pm and 4pm on designated days (a calendar is available at www.pintura.ca, click on 'artist in residence') artists are working on their craft inside a windowed storefront. The program is aimed at linking the building, located in the South Granville area, with the artsy feel of the area and the developer's plans for a major installation outside the completed townhouse/apartment structure.
 
Part of the ArtScape project, artists will be on display through the summer. David Spriggs, Tanya Dubick and Jenny Hsieh will be in the window in April, with other artists getting their shot in the coming months, including Justin Ogilvie, who paints figurative work and portraits, and Mandy Boursicot, who depicts earth, wood and metal on canvas.

5. Status of the Artist Act

As mandated in government legislation, Canadian Heritage carried out an evaluative review of the Status of the Arts Act (SofA) last year, conducted by consultant Prairie Research Associations. Some of the findings are listed below, and the quotes are taken from the report and the government's response to it, both available at:  www.pch.gc.ca/progs/emcr/eval/2002/2002_25/11_e.cfm
 
In 1995, SofA was enacted to "express the federal government's commitment to improving the working conditions and economic circumstances of artists." The description of the sector at the time of the Act is still accurate:

• Canadian artists and their work received little recognition
• their working and living conditions were well below other workers
• professional artists were among the highest educated by lowest paid people in Canada
• artists were primarily self-employed
• they were predominantly engaged in part-time or seasonal work
• most did not enjoy the same job security and employment benefits available to others in the workforce

SofA consisted of two parts:  part one established the Canadian Council on the Status of the Artist, whose mandate was to advise the Minister of Canadian Heritage and to support and promote the professional status of artists in Canada. Part two established the Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal (CAPPRT), "a labour board responsible for administering the provisions of the Act that govern relations between self-employed artists and producers in the Canadian cultural sector within federal jurisdiction."
 
The Canadian Council on the Status of the Artist was only in existence for five years. The review indicates its demise was due to lack of time and expertise on the part of the members, and lack of direction from Canadian Heritage. The review notes that other organizations already carry out advocacy work in the sector, and suggests two possibilities:

• appoint a new Council with a broader representation and a direct line to the Minister
• eliminate the Council as the federal government already funds several arts organizations that play a similar advisory role

CAPPRT has two main functions:  certifying artists' associations for the purpose of collective bargaining with federal producers, and "hearing matters dealing with failure to bargain in good faith and complaints of unfair labour practices". The tribunal has largely accomplished the first part of its mandate; however, in the area of acting as a sounding board for labour complaints, the tribunal still has room for improvement. Suggestions are made in the review that CAPPRT could be merged with another federal labour board.
 
The review provides two areas where part two of the Act (concerning CAPPRT) could be amended:

• "include a provision for first contract negotiation within a stipulated time frame and provide for arbitration if the parties are unable to come to an agreement within that period"
• "contain a mechanism to encourage federal producers to form associations for the purpose of collective bargaining"

The consultant indicates that there are two main issues relating to CAPPRT which emerged during the evaluation:

• "a fundamental philosophical disagreement over the meaning of the term 'artist'"
• "a perceived lack of clarity regarding the appropriate scope and content of scale agreements...particularly with respect to copyright"; the report states that this is an issue for the courts to decide

Two further constraints in the legislation which were identified are:

• provisions laid out in part two do not apply to third party contractors
• artists who are not members of certified associations are not covered by SofA

One outstanding issue is who has the right to bargain with respect to pre-existing works. The federal court ruled that "nothing in the certification order indicates the scope of actual bargain or whether pre-existing works may be included or excluded...". Notwithstanding the federal court's decision, the review states "the issue remains unresolved from the perspective of various interested parties." It continues by indicating that, in the view of the majority of the respondents, "the two statutes (Status of the Artists and Copyright) treat distinctly separate aspects of artistic production" and that SofA is complementary to the Copyright Act and the Canada Labour Code.
 
The consultant asked artists to rank existing and potential measures in order of importance. The top two were income tax deductions for expenses and protection of economic rights with respect to copyright. Legal right to collective bargaining was last on the list.
 
Canadian Heritage and Human Resources Development Canada expressed their satisfaction with the report. The government's response lists the new monies which were announced for a three year period in May, 2001 and says "that there are elements of the working lives of artists which are not addressed through program funding alone."
 
The government's response concludes by stating:  "The recommendations in this report have been noted by both the Department of Canadian Heritage and Human Resources Development Canada. These departments will undertake further policy work which will include consultations with the arts community and other government departments. As a result of this work and consultations, amendments to the Act and other related legislation could be developed."
 
Abridged from the CCA Bulletin, the newsletter of the Canadian Conference of the Arts.

6. Kudos

The 2003 VIVA Awards
At a ceremony this evening at the Emily Carr Institute for Art and Design, BC artists Geoffrey Farmer and Kelly Wood will be announced as the recipients of the 2003 VIVA Awards for achievement in the visual arts. The VIVA Awards were established in 1987 by the Jack and Doris Shadbolt Foundation for the Visual Arts. Annual awards of $10,000 are given to two mid-career artists who have demonstrated strong creative potential and a long-term commitment to their craft. The work of this year's winners represents the extent to which contemporary BC artwork has evolved from Emily Carr's heritage of traditional, landscape-based painting. A new generation of artists has contributed to Canada's international profile with forms of art that are urban, often documentary, and politically oriented to social issues. Both Farmer and Wood are artists who work within these subjects.

More awards:  the Junos
The Juno Awards (often referred to as Canada's answer to the Grammys) were presented this past Sunday and broadcast on CTV. Congratulations to Juno winner Bramwell Tovey, who won in the category Best Classical Composition for Requiem for a Charred Skull. The piece was commissioned and premiered by the Hannaford Street Silver Band. Tovey is the music director at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and this is his first Juno.

Even more awards:  the Heritage Awards
 Earlier this week the Vancouver Museum was awarded the City of Vancouver Heritage Award for its preservation and restoration of the Birks Arch. The terracotta archway that once welcomed visitors to the Birks building at Georgia and Granville in downtown Vancouver is now hanging at the museum. It was nearly destroyed in 1974 when the battle to save the Birks building was lost. The arch, which was among 313 chunks of the building donated to the Museum nearly 30 years ago, was in storage until recently, when a new wing of the museum opened. Previously, there was no space in the museum that could sustain the weight of the arch. Reassembled and restored, the Birks Arch is now the focal point of the museum's new Joyce Walley Learning Centre.

VAG collection 72 pieces richer
Ron and Jacqueline Longstaffe, longtime supporters of the Vancouver Art Gallery, recently gave 72 artworks to the VAG's permanent collection, bringing the total number of works they have donated to more than 800. The Longstaffes began donating items to the VAG in 1978 and the total value of their gifts exceeds $5 million. This latest gift includes several Picasso etchings from the 1930s and pieces of Quebecois art by artists such as Guido Molinari, Betty Goodwin and Yves Gaucher. Pieces by local artists are also part of the donation, including works by Maxwell Bates, Robert Davidson, Gathie Falk, Robert Prince and Jack Shadbolt.

7. Media Spin

More news from the CanWest Global conglomerate. The company plans to introduce electronic versions of its newspapers, including the Vancouver Sun and The Province, with embedded video links to features including weather pages and advertising. According to the company's chief operating officer, Richard Camilleri, prototypes already exist and marketing of this online product could begin this summer. Camilleri said that the changes will 'drive off' hard-copy subscribers to newspapers, as consumers increasingly turn to online and interactive products. "The days of giving away the newspapers online for free will come to a close," he said at the annual conference of the Canadian Media Directors' Council.
 
TV advertisers could see their ads placed directly onto a newspaper page displayed on the subscriber's computer. Subscribers will only require a computer with a Pentium processor and an Internet connection (the faster, the better). Imagine advertising a performance event online, with a video clip of the show...
 
Speaking of shows, the not-for-profit Independent Community Television Co-operative, thanks to a CRTC ruling, has access to air time on Shaw TV (cable channel four) and will be broadcasting Artwatch, a half hour show produced by Georgia Scott and featuring host Valerie Jones, among other programs. Artwatch premiered this past weekend and airs monthly at 10:30pm on certain Saturdays. It examines contemporary visual art and showcases a variety of exhibitions from Vancouver galleries over the past two years. The next installments are:

• May 3:  "Nature's Prozac" by Shannon Belkin, at the Diane Farris Gallery
• June 7:  "Elements of Tradition" by Barbara Marchand and Kevin Mackenzie, at the grunt gallery
• July 5:  Peter Doig at the Morris and Helen Belkin Gallery
  August 2:  "On Purpose" by Brandon Thiessen, at the Tracy Lawrence Gallery
• September 6:  "Portraits" by Gathie Falk, at the Equinox Gallery

Art-lover Valerie Jones, a S.E.A.R.C.H. grad, as are several other folks at ICTV, comments on the social and cultural relevancy of the works on the show and offers her knowledge of the language and traditions of the visual arts.
 
ICTV is managed and operated by volunteers and is supported by membership, equipment rentals and a Canada Council artist-in-residence grant.

8. Calendar

Celebrate International Museums Day on May 18!

ENDQUOTE 

"...our current Income Tax Act is full of special statuses for classes of people, mostly people with money...When artists have come looking for tax recognition the government has said no because the finance department cries 'special status' as if it is a brand new concept. The fact is that art and culture in this country are special. Art and culture are special in the life of a nation."
 
-NDP MP Wendy Lill, addressing the House of Commons regarding her private members' motion to change the Income Tax Act. 

Comments? Send a message to:
amarkin@allianceforarts.com

Last Updated: Thursday, July 22, 2004