The ED Report, April 2020

Dear friends and colleagues,

A lot has happened in the past month that has made all of us meditate on the fragility of our work and the need to come together in the hope that we can find a way through this time of COVID-19. I have been heartened by the way our community has responded – helping the most vulnerable in society with offers of food, shelter and transportation, and recognizing those courageous people on the front lines who are risking their health every day to serve others. I have also been encouraged by the number of people who are connecting via Zoom meetings and social media to stay informed, feel less alone and contribute to the search for solutions.  

As you know, we’ve been fighting to ensure that 2020 Cultural Grants from the City of Vancouver were approved by Council and Mayor this week. Last Friday, we sent out an advocacy alert after hearing from members of the arts community that a few council members were worried about the optics of giving money to the arts sector in a health crisis. With your help, we were able to mobile a successful letter writing campaign to make local politicians aware of the catastrophic impact the virus is having on our sector. On Tuesday, they voted unanimously in support. Please make sure and thank them all.

I’m happy to report that the BC Alliance recently received two Canada Council grants, one for the secnd cohort of Digital Ladders; and the other for Artists Brigade for Climate Action, a collaboration with committed individuals from the David Suzuki Foundation, the Vancouver Park Board, The Only Animal, Story Money Impact, and Indigenous artists lolehawk and Tasha Faye Evans. We are hoping that we can take Digital Ladders 2 online with a reimagining of the program by Sue Biely and Robert Ouimet.

We are also hoping to bring Why Art? Why Now? – a topic that is more important to us now than ever before – to an online format in June. The experience will examine the many ways that art and creative expression inform our lives and contribute to the health and well-being of our society.

Most of my time these days is spent responding to the needs that the crisis demands. I’ve been keeping in touch with governments at the provincial and federal level as well as with BC’s arts service organizations via Zoom. Those weekly meetings have allowed us to share resources and stories and begin to strategize for the future – so that when this crisis is over, our sector can lead the way forward to what is sure to be a new reality.

Thank you all for your support and for continuing to stay in touch. Please reach out to us if you have ideas about how we can work together to not only survive, but thrive in these challenging times. I do believe this is an opportunity for us to show the world how important artists truly are to the health and well-being of our communities.

Take good care of yourselves.

Brenda Leadlay
Executive Director
BC Alliance for Arts + Culture