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Alliance to seek new executive director
Lori Baxter stepping down after nearly a decade

On May 26, 2004 the board of directors of the Greater Vancouver Alliance for Arts and Culture regretfully accepted the resignation of executive director Lori Baxter. She has served in the position since 1994 and was a member of the board of directors from 1986 to 1992. In accepting her resignation, the board recognized Lori’s long and distinguished service to the organization and the arts and culture sector.

“The board, staff and members of the Alliance for Arts and Culture will miss Lori’s leadership,” says John McLachlan, chair of the Alliance’s board of directors. “She has made an enormous contribution to not only our organization, but to the cultural sector in the Lower Mainland through her work at the Alliance, and by being an excellent advocate for arts and culture.”

The Alliance for Arts and Culture is an arts marketing and advocacy organization, serving both individual and organizational members across the Lower Mainland. It oversees the Vancouver Arts Awards, Cultural Presentations for Council meetings, a self-employment program for cultural workers, and co-manages Tickets Tonight, Vancouver’s only day-of, half-price ticket booth, with Tourism Vancouver. The Alliance was established in 1986.

During Lori’s tenure, the Alliance has grown from an organization of 170 members to one serving over 300, and it expanded its mission to include community-based arts organizations as well as professional groups, and to include cultural industries. In addition, the Alliance expanded its mandate to include Greater Vancouver, from a scope that first included only Vancouver proper.

While programs and services continually shift to meet the needs of Alliance members and the sector, the underlying need for advocacy and to provide a strong and united voice for the arts has been constant. Two recent initiatives launched under Lori’s leadership have been Tickets Tonight, which returned close to half a million dollars to arts producers in 2003, and the first annual Vancouver Arts Awards, which will honour the city’s established and emerging creative talent for years to come.

“It’s been a true privilege to have had the support of the arts and culture sector for so many years and to have been entrusted with the leadership of this vital organization,” Lori said in tendering her resignation. “I will miss the daily contact with members, the challenge of finding common ground, and the joy of seeing policies put in place that benefit the community.”

Lori leaves to take a position with the non-profit society 2010 LegaciesNow, working as part of a team that will manage the recently announced Arts Now program.

The Alliance board of directors has struck a selection committee and ensures its members and those involved with the cultural community in Greater Vancouver that there will be a smooth transition from Lori to her successor, who will likely take the helm in late summer, 2004. The position will be posted publicly.


BACKGROUNDER: 2010 LEGACIESNOW - ARTS NOW!

What is 2010 LegaciesNow? …Arts Now?

2010 LegaciesNow is a not-for-profit organization created and funded by the Province of BC during the 2010 Olympic Bid to invest in an array of community based initiatives to strengthen the sport and recreation infrastructure in the province. The program was so successful, its original purpose has now been expanded to include: Sport and Recreation, the Arts, Literacy, Volunteerism and Community. In the last provincial budget $30 million was dedicated to 2010 LegaciesNow for all these programs.

Arts Now is a newly created dedicated arm of 2010 LegaciesNow. Its mandate is to invest in creative and cultural activities that will strengthen the arts and cultural sector, help the sector prepare for the Cultural Olympiad, and create lasting cultural legacies in communities throughout the province. Approximately $12 million will be invested through Arts Now programs.

Is this an Olympic Program?

No – this is a separate body created especially to invest in creative and cultural activities, to strengthen the arts and cultural sector, and to create legacies for communities prior to the Cultural Olympiad that begins in 2006.

How does that differ from the Olympic Arts Fund?

The Olympic Arts Fund (OAF) is a Provincial Legacy Fund created during the Olympic Bid. It currently stands at $20 million dollars, the interest from which will be spent annually to enhance the arts and cultural activities of the Olympiad and the Games. The provincial government is currently developing funding criteria for the OAF.

Who will be in charge of Arts Now?

The Arts Now team will consist of Burke Taylor, on part-time secondment from the City of Vancouver, and Lori Baxter, who has recently resigned as executive director of the Greater Vancouver Alliance for Arts and Culture.

How will the funds be distributed?

No decisions have yet been made in this regard. First steps will be to engage the community and consult about program and strategic investment priorities. Program opportunities and application deadlines will be announced in the Fall.

Olympic Information

Last Updated: Thursday, July 22, 2004