Julianna Yau’s blog

Over the past few days, the reports of cuts to government funding for the arts has been alarming. This is after passing the Status of the Artist legislation, wherein:

The Government of Canada hereby recognizes
(a) the importance of the contribution of artists to the cultural, social, economic and political enrichment of Canada;
(b) the importance to Canadian society of conferring on artists a status that reflects their primary role in developing and enhancing Canada’s artistic and cultural life, and in sustaining Canada’s quality of life;
(c) the role of the artist, in particular to express the diverse nature of the Canadian way of life and the individual and collective aspirations of Canadians;
(d) that artistic creativity is the engine for the growth and prosperity of dynamic cultural industries in Canada; and
(e) the importance to artists that they be compensated for the use of their works, including the public lending of them.

The recent funding cuts have impacted the following programs:

• The Stabilization Projects - Stabilization Components - provides grants to Stabilization Projects. A Stabilization Project is administered by an independent non-profit group that represents the interests of the larger community through the make-up of its Board and through the diversity of its revenue base. Funding from this component is added to that raised by the Stabilization Project from other levels of government and the private sector. This broad revenue base in turn funds eligible arts and/or heritage organizations within a specific geographic area that are willing to undergo fundamental changes related to how they plan, organize, finance and govern themselves; to be closed April, 2009
• The Stabilization Projects - Capacity Building Components - provides contributions to arts and heritage organizations that do not benefit from participation in a Stabilization Project. For example, there will always be places in Canada where, due to smaller populations, it is impractical to establish a Stabilization Project. Also, Stabilization Projects may establish eligibility criteria which limit the participation of some organizations. The Capacity Building Component ensures a Canadian scope for the program by providing financial support through direct contributions to those arts and heritage organizations which want to undertake projects to improve their organizational capacity, but do not have access to a Stabilization Project; to be shut down in 2010.
• A-V Presentation Trust - dedicated to increasing Canadians’ awareness of their rich and distinctive heritage in moving images and sound; ending its annual contributions of $300,000
• Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund - private sector funding body which supports non-theatrical film, videos and new media projects created by Canadian independent producers to enable lifelong learning; ending its annual contributions of $1.5-million
• National Training Program in the Film and Video Sector - to foster the professional development of emerging Canadian creators and to renew the skills of professional Canadian creators to ensure a healthy and thriving film and video industry that Canadian audiences can benefit from now and in the future; ending its annual contributions of $2.5-million, with the program to be discontinued April 1, 2009
• Trade Routes - program helps profit and not-for-profit organizations in the arts and cultural sector prepare to export and sell in international markets; the Government of Canada will stop financing contributions under the Trade Routes program at the end of this fiscal year, March 31, 2009
• PromArt - grant program provides funding to Canadian artists and arts organizations for the promotion of Canadian culture abroad, in alignment with Canada’s foreign policy and trade priorities; grant to be ended March 31, 2009

And there is no shortage of coverage on these appalling cuts:

• The Gazette/Canada.com: Axe falls on arts program (August 8 )
• Edmonton Journal/Canada.com: Cancellation of cultural program makes us poorer (August 10)
• Ottawa Citizen/Canada.com: Grant cancellation wrong and dishonest (August 11)
• National Post: Conservatives may slash $50-million in cultural funding (August 14)
• Globe & Mail: Tories to axe five more arts and culture programs (August 14)
• National Post: Frustration builds over federal cultural cuts (August 15)
• CBC: Cultural groups blast additional federal arts cuts (August 15)
• Red Tory v. 3.0: Tory Art Appreciation (August 15)

Between these budget cuts and the rediculous things happening with copyright legislation, I can’t help but feel abandoned by my government as an artist.

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