Help Create A Strong Voice For Arts & Culture In Ottawa !

Mark your calendar for 3 p.m. on Thursday, January 12, 2012

The Canadian cultural sector is facing considerable changes in the environment in which it operates. One of those is an increasingly clear change in the way the federal government sees its role regarding arts and culture. Now, more than ever, is a time for greater solidarity in the arts, culture and heritage sector.

This is the message that Alain Pineau, national director of the Canadian Conference of the Arts is bringing to Vancouver on January 12 in a community meeting from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Scotiabank Dance Centre.

The CCA was founded 66 years ago to represent the interests of all of us in Ottawa.

It was instrumental in the creation of the Canada Council for the Arts, the federal Act on Status of the Artist, and the creation of the Cultural Human Resources Council (another organization losing its federal funding. It intervenes regularly on our behalf in front of parliamentary committees and regulatory bodies.

As some of you may know, the CCA has learned of the federal government’s decision to put an end to 35 years of financial support. The Board of the CCA, on which outgoing Alliance executive director Amir Ali Alibhai sits, is convinced that there is a need for an overarching cultural organization bringing together all the communities of the arts, culture and heritage sector in Canada.

Accordingly, the CCA has taken up the challenge of developing a new business model that would make it financially independent by 2014-15.

Alain Pineau’s visit is part of a national tour which will take him to 13 cities by the middle of February. Make sure you mark the date of his visit to Vancouver so you can participate in this very important joint effort to ensure a sustained strong voice for arts and culture in Ottawa.

There is no admission to this community meeting, but please RSVP Here to confirm your participation.

More details will follow soon.