Creativity Counts
Wild Times For Arts Funding in Canada
Touchstone continues to advocate, along with the rest of the Arts community, for stable and healthy Arts funding in Canada. The last few years have brought many challenges to this stance. In 2008 the federal government’s international touring grants were cancelled. 2010 brought devastating cuts in arts and culture funding and gaming sourced revenue for Arts organizations in BC, followed by Alberta a short time later. In the heated discussions that led up to those cuts Touchstone’s Artistic Director Katrina Dunn appeared on the cover of the Province, and talked publicly about the impact the cuts would have on BC culture.
The summer of 2011 saw a number of controversial events that underscored the volatility of this issue in our country. Internationally-acclaimed Quebec dancer Margie Gillis was verbally attacked on the new Sun television channel for accepting government funding, and The SummerWorks Theatre Festival in Toronto lost their Canadian Heritage funding after conservative outcry around a play programmed in the 2010 festival. Read celebrated Canadian playwright Michael Healey’s excellent post on Kelly Nestruck’s Globe and Mail blog about why you should care about this. The SummerWorks situation led to a national campaign to support the festival and freedom of speech for Arts organizations. It was also announced that two national, Ottawa-based, arts service organizations, the Cultural Human Resources Council and the 60-year old Canadian Conference of the Arts will lose their federal funding. The City of Toronto released a report they commissioned which stated that the city may wish to consider reducing or eliminating funding in the realm of Arts and Culture. Margaret Atwood has launched a campaign to defend public libraries and we fully support this effort, especially in light of Toronto City Councillor Doug Ford’s dismissal of her impact.
Arts are essential to Canada and to Canadians. Strong arts communities bring economic prosperity, tourism and healthy communities. The cultural sector has about 600,000 workers, which is about double the level of employment in the forestry sector in Canada (300,000) and more than double the level of employment in Canadian banks (257,000). Source: A Statistical Profile of Artists in Canada : Based on the 2006 Census, Hill Strategies Research, 2009. Given the serious cuts, Arts organizations more than ever need to think sustainably, collectively and responsibly, and we are doing that. But we need our audiences and supporters to help. Below are some actions you can participate in, and you can find resources to keep you informed at the bottom of this post.
Support the recent positive advances in BC:
Thank the BC Government for restoring some funding to the BC Arts Council
In July 2011 the Ministry of Community Sport and Cultural Development issued a media release announcing transfer of funds from the 2010 Arts Legacy fund ($10Million for 2011/12) to the BC Arts Council. These funds will maintain the level of funding that the Arts Council receives compared with last year. We know that the amount required to sustain the arts and culture in this province is much higher than the $16.9 Million being provided. In fact in 2007 the Standing Committee on Finance recommended an increase of funding to $32 Million; we have a ways to go. It is important, however, that we express our gratitude for the restoration of funds to the BC Arts Council and the general direction of support demonstrated by this announcement. We urge you to write your own letter of thanks to Minister Chong and the Premier.
Participate in the Government’s Review of Community Gaming Grants Process
Also in July of 2011, the Government of BC announced a Review of Community Gaming Grants. This advance has excited the whole community, as the loss of these Gaming Grants has created enormous duress for many organizations including Touchstone. We urge our members and supporters to send in written submissions and/or sign up to make oral presentations to the Chair of the review, Skip Triplett. Whatever changes and recommendations are made should follow the spirit and social contract with British Columbians - that a significant portion of revenues from government gaming, be allocated to the charitable and non-profit sector. The Arts Community’s overarching recommendation is that the government recognize the original and inherent right that non-profits have to gaming receipts. We also strongly urge that eligibility criteria be re-expanded to include those organizations previously eligible, specifically professional and adult-based organizations and programs. In your submission, tell your own story about the work you have seen and the contributions you see Arts organizations and programs making in your community.
And keep believing! Over Touchstone’s long life cycle we’ve seen many ups and downs in
this debate. What is clear is that the more our audiences and supporters speak up about the
difference we make, the harder it is to cut us.
In moments of crisis, only imagination is more important than knowledge.
- Albert Einstein
End Note: The USA’s Theatre Communications Group Reported on July 29th 2011, that House Republicans and Democrats acted together to support funding for the Arts, defeating an amendment that would have further reduced National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) funding. This is an amazing victory for our American friends, who are struggling in an even more trying environment than us. Let’s hope some of this bi-partisan cooperation and goodwill towards the arts drifts northward.
Stay Updated
Join the awesome Facebook Group Defending Art and Culture in BC
For details of all developments and for advocacy initiatives read the Arts Alliance Blog