Synergy
The electronic newsletter for people who value arts and culture
May 2008 -- Volume 19 Number 5
IN THIS ISSUE:
A word from the Executive Director
Dear Colleagues,
It’s time to celebrate!
The inaugural Mayor’s Arts Awards will be held on June 23rd at 7:00 at the Vancouver Playhouse.
This event, the first under the auspices of the Mayor of Vancouver, is the successor to the Vancouver Arts Awards presented in 2004 and 2005 by the Society to Bridge Arts and Community and the Alliance. This new event will be organized and presented by the Office of Cultural Affairs on behalf of the Mayor and Council of the City of Vancouver.
The Alliance was invited to manage the nomination and selection of the honourees, and we were happy to do so, with the assistance of Robert Blackwood, as in previous years. A who’s who of senior artists and administrators in the city (and in two cases – Volunteerism and Business Support – arts organizations) nominated and assessed a list of nominees that included many of the most gifted and influential artists in our community – artists who have made enormous contributions to their art forms and the community.
The event on June 23rd will include an awards presentation followed by a reception. Admission is free to all, but you need to register in advance. Please see the Awards website (www.mayorsartsawards.ca) for all the information you’ll need.
The honourees will receive cash awards of $2,500 and will nominate emerging artists, each of whom will also receive a cash award of $2,500.
The honourees are a stellar group: Richard Tetrault in Community Arts; Bing Wing Thom in Craft and Design; David Paperny in Film and New Media; Daphne Marlatt in Literary Arts; Vincent Trasov and the late John Mitchell in Public Art; Liz Magor in Visual Arts; Peter Bingham in Dance; Denise Ball in Music; Bill Millerd in Theatre; Robert Le Crom in Culinary Arts; Rob O’Dea for Volunteerism; Yulanda Faris for Philanthropy; and Odlum Brown Limited for Business support.
So put on yer best bib an’ tucker (or not, as you choose) and come help celebrate the contributions of some extraordinary people who make art, and make art happen.
That’s the Playhouse – Monday, June 23rd – 7:00.
See you there.
Andrew Wilhelm-Boyles
Executive Director
A word from the editor
There’s a report in here that you might find interesting. It was commissioned by 14 University presenters in the U.S. and was prepared by the WolfBrown research team. It is called Assessing the Intrinsic Impacts of a Live Performance.
More and more, arts organizations are asked to qualify their success through measurable statistics – how many tickets were sold, how many donations were secured - and often, are judged solely on the basis of those statistics. But what is arguably the most important measurement of artistic success cannot be quantified - that is, the personal and/or transformative effect of that show on individual audience members. This is what the WolfBrown study attempts to measure, and the results are quite interesting. You can access the study in the Reading & Literature section, or by clicking here.
Peter Boychuk
Director of Communications
1. Vancouver Art Gallery finds a new home
After years of uncertainty, the VAG has found a new home next to BC Stadium in the old Plaza of Nations site on the False Creek waterfront. The surprise announcement was shoehorned into the Premier’s press conference announcing that a retractable roof will be installed on BC Stadium. Kathleen Bartels, the director of the VAG, sent the following notice to their members:
“At 10:00 this morning at BC Place Stadium, Premier Gordon Campbell announced plans to re-develop a downtown district that includes BC Place, GM Place and the Plaza of Nations on the city’s False Creek. This proposed plan will feature a major renovation of the BC Place Stadium and a development of the lands adjacent to BC Place into a major cultural, entertainment and sports district. As part of this plan, the Premier is recommending the Vancouver Art Gallery consider constructing our new building on the current Plaza of Nations site. This False Creek location presents an exciting opportunity to imagine a new Gallery on this beautiful waterfront site, one that would serve as an anchor for this dynamic new downtown district.”
Given the size of the site, the gallery could be looking at a facility with twice as much space as the gallery’s current home on Robson Street. According to Bartels, an international competition will be held to design the new facility. She hopes it will be open in 2013 or 2014.
2. BC Arts Council releases 2008-2011 Service Plan
The British Columbia Arts Council has released its service plan for 2008-2011, which outlines four goals for the organization:
- Excellence, creativity and diversity in BC’s arts and cultural sector are recognized and encouraged.
- Artists and cultural organizations are thriving and sustainable.
- Opportunities to participate in arts and cultural activities are available throughout the province.
- Administrative, evaluative and policy development processes are effective and efficient.
The report goes on to outline the strategies the Council plans to use to accomplish these goals, including refining adjudications criteria, expanding arts awards to include all artistic disciplines, implementing a communications strategy which includes improvements to the Council’s website, and increasing transparency.
Because the plan was compiled in December, it does not take into account the new $150 million endowment, but Council representatives have given assurances that their priorities have not changed with this new windfall. To download the report in pdf format, click here.
3. Bill C-10 may turn into a confidence issue
Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, threatened to turn the controversial tax bill C-10 into a confidence issue if opponents continued to press for changes. "The bill should not be amended," he told reporters. "A tax bill is a confidence bill. We all know that." If amended, the bill would return to the House of Commons for a confidence vote.
The Liberals are strongly in support of changes. "Do we want to have a society that will bring censorship?" asked Denis Coderre, Liberal MP and party heritage critic. But there is skepticism among the NDP about whether the Liberals will stand by their conviction if the Bill goes to a vote.
4. Heritage Committee reviews changes to CBC Radio 2 changes
NDP heritage critic Bill Siksay brought forward the motion to hold hearings into the proposed changes to CBC Radio 2 and the disbandment of the CBC Radio orchestra. "I'm concerned that the commitment to classical music in Canada is a key part of the Canadian culture. CBC Radio 2 has been a key player in classical music," he said in a recent interview. The committee voted unanimously to examine the changes and review the CBC’s commitment to classical music.
Hearings will take place on May 27 and 29 and will be held by teleconference. For more information, visit the standonguardforcbc website.
5. $50,000 reward offered for return of Bill Reid artworks
The University of British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology has offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the recovery of the fifteen pieces of art that were stolen from the museum on May 24. “The theft of these art objects is a loss of cultural patrimony for the whole of Canada,” Museum Director Anthony Shelton said in a press release. “We are working with the RCMP as they conduct their investigation, and are hopeful that these cultural treasures will be recovered safely.”
6. Emily Carr becomes a University
"I'm ecstatic," said Emily Carr president Ron Burnett after Gordon Campbell announced on April 28 that Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design would be granted University status. "It's giving us the recognition that we've long sought. It allows us to enhance our name, our brand, our future."
However, not everyone is entirely pleased with the change. Shamus Reid, B.C. chair of the Canadian Federation of Students, voiced concerns in an interview with the Georgia Straight: “A number of institutions have been transitioned to universities, and our concern is that we definitely don’t want to see this used as a justification to raise tuition fees at these institutions.”
Capilano College, Malaspina University-College, Kwantlen University College, and the University College of the Fraser Valley were also granted University status.
7. Jeff Wall wins Audain Prize
Celebrated visual artist Jeff Wall is being honoured with the Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts. The $30,000 award will be presented at a ceremony at the Vancouver Art Gallery on May 22 where Wall will be honoured alongside up-and-coming artists Tim Lee and Kevin Schmidt, each of whom will receive $12,000 VIVA awards.
8. 2010 Legacies Now appoints new Manager
Sheryl McGraw has joined 2010 Legacies Now as the Manager of Sector Engagement for the Arts. She previously held the position of General Manager of Programs and Services for the Creative City Network of Canada, and worked for the BC Touring Council from 1994-2002 in various capacities including conference coordinator and administrator of the Community Presenters Assistance Program (CPAP).
9. The Parks Board holds public inquiry into Biennale sculptures
Following the controversy surrounding Device To Root Out Evil, the Dennis Oppenheim sculpture that will soon be relocated from its home at Harbour Green Park, the Vancouver Parks Board held a public consultation on May 20 in the West End Community Centre. The consultation focused on whether artwork from the Vancouver Sculpture Biennale should be allowed to remain in city parks as part of subsequent exhibitions.
The board has also issued a call for public input on the issue. The deadline to send letters is May 30, 2008. They can be sent via email to artsinfo@vancouver.ca, or can be mailed to:
Arts and Culture Office
181 Roundhouse Mews Vancouver, BC V6Z 2W3
Attn: jil p. weaving
10. The Maritime Museum loses corporate funding
Following on the announcement that the province will provide $9 million to the City of North Vancouver toward the construction of a national maritime centre in the Pier development east of Lonsdale Quay, the Vancouver Maritime Museum was told by the City that they would retain their funding if they closed their doors December 2009. However, that edict has had an unforeseen consequence: some of their corporate donors have pulled out. “We have our supporters who continue to give no matter what,” said Hector Williams, President of the Vancouver Maritime Museum Society, in an interview with The Georgia Straight, “but there are others who want to see value for dollar, and if they’re giving to an institution that the city may close down, then they’re not going to.”
The North Vancouver maritime facility is set to be located in the Pier development east of Lonsdale Quay. Construction has not yet begun.
11. BC Book Prizes handed out
Mary Novik, Robert Bringhurst, Rita Wong, J.B. MacKinnon, Alisa Smith and Ian McAllister were all honorees at the 24th annual BC Book Prizes gala, which took place April 26 at the Fairmont Waterfront hotel. Novik took home the $2,000 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize for her debut novel, Conceit. The $2,000 Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize went to Bringhurst's collection Everywhere Being Is Dancing. Wong's Forage won the $2,000 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. The $2,000 Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize went to MacKinnon and Smith for their book The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating. And the $2,000 BC Booksellers' Choice Award in Honour of Bill Duthie went to McAllister for The Last Wild Wolves: Ghosts of the Great Bear Rainforest.
12. In memory of Sheila Green (Oct 12, 1956 – May 10, 2008)
Sheila Green, a well known figure in the Vancouver arts community, passed away suddenly at home on Saturday May 10. She worked in arts administration for over fifteen years. Sheila worked for the Playwrights Theatre Centre, the Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance, Jumpstart Performance Society and most recently, since 2004, The Dance Centre. A book of condolence was delivered to the family at the service for Sheila on Tuesday, May 20th. To read an In Memoriam from Mirna Zagar, Executive Director at The Dance Centre, please click here.
13. Calls and Opportunities
Host a City Happening Community Grant Program, City of Vancouver
The City of Vancouver has launched the Host a City Happening Community Grant Program. The release reads:
The Host a City Happening Community Grant Program is just the ticket local groups and residents need to take advantage of the burgeoning enthusiasm and excitement for the 2010 Winter Games and Vancouver’s role as Host City. The program is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for your not-for-profit community group or cultural organization to initiate a special event or activity – a ‘happening’ – and receive financial support from the City of Vancouver. One-of-a-kind legacy projects will also be considered.
Organizations must be based in Vancouver and have been registered as a non-profit society for more than a year. All proposed events, activities and projects must also take place in Vancouver. The City of Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Operations Office will allocate funds based on the submissions from applying organizations. Decisions will be made based on the theme, content and type of event, with priority being given to projects with a budget of $10,000 or less.
If your project/event meets the eligibility criteria, an application form and further Host a City Happening Community Grant information will be forwarded to you by email or post.
For grant eligibility information, visit vancouver.ca/olympics.
The Grant Program has four application deadlines. The first is May 30, 2008, and the second is September 15, 2008. Your project must be completed no later than March 21, 2010. A final post-event summary of the event’s success and budget must be submitted within one month of the project’s completion. Organizations that fail to submit an evaluation report for their Host a City Happening Community Grant will forfeit 20% of their project funding.
More information and application forms are available from:
Greg Eng, Director of Community Relations/Special Projects
City of Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Operations
604-296-2861
hostcityhappenings@vancouver.ca
14. Media spin
Vancouver could be City of Literature
Vancouver Sun
April 22, 2008
By Rebecca Wigod
Could the city be designated a UNESCO City of Literature? That's what Alma Lee, founder of the Vancouver International Writers Festival, and her supporters are hoping. Read more…
Artist draws hope from mayor's change of heart
The Vancouver Courier
May 16, 2008
By Cheryl Rossi
A painter who lost a battle to preserve studio space for artists in the Downtown Eastside is cautiously optimistic about the mayor's sudden interest in protecting studio space to spruce up the neighbourhood. Read more…
Letter to the editor: The embodiment of the CBC mandate
The Vancouver Sun
May 14, 2008
By Chris Boyce, director of CBC Radio programming
Of late a lot has been written by letter writers in The Vancouver Sun about what we have in the works for CBC Radio 2. Some of what has been written, sadly, has been based on misleading or incomplete information. Read more…
Out of tune: CBC's closure of the Vancouver-based CBC Radio Orchestra--the last of its kind in North America--has created a wave of protest from listeners and musicians who say the broadcaster has abandoned its purpose
Vancouver Courier
May 23, 2008
By Susan Hollis
Imagine this scenario: The Vancouver Art Gallery decides it can no longer house the work of artists E.J. Hughes, Jeff Wall and Stan Douglas and shrugs off responsibility for their work. The paintings are relocated to the local Art Emporium where they hang next to the bargain bin. Read more…
15. Endquote
“Having said how tough and down-to-earth artists are, I also like to think of us as the frogs of the ecosystem. Biologists are always looking at frogs because they breathe through their skin. They are the first to absorb any toxic elements that exist in the environment and they react by becoming quite deformed and die. Artists are like that. That is our job. We have these antenna and we have this thin skin. Therefore, in certain circumstances, we are the first to become aware of dangerous toxic elements in the environment that other people may not be aware of as quickly.”
- David Cronenberg, Bill C-10 hearings, May 14, 2008
