Arts advocates across Canada are continuing to mobilize in the face of the federal government’s recent arts funding cuts.
Here are the most recent numbers (data from The Theatre Centre website):
• The Prom Art Program – $7,000,000
• Trade Routes – $9,000,000
• Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund – $1,500,000
• National Training Program in the Film and Video Sector – $2,500,000
• The Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada, for programs archiving important film, television and musical recordings – $300,000
There’s more, of course: the total culture and heritage cuts in Canada are said to be in the range of $48,000,000.
Over at her One Big Umbrella blog,
And tonight in Toronto, the Theatre Centre hosts its Town Hall Regarding Cuts to Cultural and Heritage granting programs. With its celeb-heavy lineup of speakers, this is not to be missed.
So. What else should arts communities be doing to prepare for the realities of the funding cuts? Should we start digging deeper into private funding sources? Or are these funding cuts just the kick in the pants independent theatre needs to ween itself from its addiction to public funding?
No, these funding cuts are just the kick in the pants artists need to become a force in political force. Calling an election immediately after slashing the arts in every possible way means that the Cons are not afraid of the political consequences of alienating art and artists.
THE DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE BEGINS TO CHANGE THAT TONIGHT AT THE THEATRE CENTRE 7PM.
If you can’t make this, the mother of all meetings, there will be more info and the ability to sign up later in the week here:
departmentofculture.ca
In general, anyone reading along should bookmark that site as it is going to have a lot of crazy high profile content throughout the election.
I’m going to try this again. :)
I have some definite ideas I’m going to expand on in my blog (have to drive traffic) but I’ll touch upon the two things I think are vital:
1. We have a huge PR problem. Look in the comments connected to the various press stories and you’ll see a ton of misinformation in terms of how we’re supported, what our revenue sources are, what we actually contribute to communities, and about our characters in general. If we don’t want to keep fighting this battle every few years, we have to start correcting errors where we see them.
I feel that we should be trying to ally ourselves with amateur athletes because they’re facing the same battle we are in this way. They will be getting a higher profile in the next couple of years with the Olympics coming and if we all believe we are two sides of the same coin, our collective voices will be much stronger into reaching the general public.
2. Let’s face it, Trade Routes really sucked. Our support for touring in the performing arts is pathetic. Since the program got canceled supposedly because it was not an effective use of money, let’s use this as an opportunity to develop a program that actually works.
My research into the Australian model is leading me into some interesting directions and I haven’t even started looking at New Zealand’s model yet. I’m also wondering where else to look.
Right now we can talk about how vital it is to have expanded markets for our work because we can easily say that we’re looking for the same level of support that other industries get. Making that connection in the general public’s collective mind is crucial.
But we also need to start seriously thinking about the next step, about what we truly need to become higher profile internationally. This will have the ability to not only give us a chance to further develop our work, but it will protect us because there will no longer be a question about the quality of our work. We can use the truism about having to be successful elsewhere to be appreciated at home to our advantage here. The more our artists have success abroad, the more we can silence the critical voices at home.
Russell Smith’s excellent column sums it up nicely:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080904.wrussell04/BNStory/Entertainment/home
Thanks Catherine!