Julianna Yau’s blog

The Canadian Conference of the Arts is pleased to present, in association with the Centre for Cultural Management, University of Waterloo, and the Alliance for a Grand Community and the Waterloo Regional Arts Council:

Cultural Policy 101 Workshop:
The Politics of Art and the Art of Politics

Wednesday November 18, 2009
7:00 – 10:00 pm

Council Chambers (3rd floor), Waterloo City Centre
100 Regina Street South (at William) in Waterloo

Cultural Policy 101: The Politics of Arts and the Art of Politics seeks to engage and inform arts professionals, students, and interested Canadians on how the arts, culture, and heritage sector in Canada has been, and continues to be, shaped by public policy. This exciting workshop, led by CCA’s National Director Alain Pineau, will give participants:

• A brief background of Canadian cultural policy and the recent developments to our rich history
• An overview of current practices in the workings of government and policy development
• A toolkit for advocating for the arts
• A practical case study exercise

To register, please contact Bill Poole at the Centre for Cultural Management
wpoole@uwaterloo.ca or 519-888-4567 x 35057

The workshop will be limited to 40 participants.

For me, yesterday’s Creative Enterprise Forum unearthed many unresolved issues that I noticed last year while advocating support for the arts. The forum left me with more questions and concerns than answers or confidence that the Council’s time and resources are being properly spent. The raw notes can be found here.

Although someone who was recruiting for their Leadership task force recognized me and said my name had been passed to her, I have yet to be approached by anyone from the Creative Enterprise Initiative or the Prosperity Council. So this is an open letter to them, with my thoughts on what is concerning and what is missing from their plan. Like all blog posts, this one probably still needs a proper copyedit, but this is the best I can do in three hours, before I return to other projects.

My comments here are very blunt and I haven’t bothered to sugar-coat anything. Overall, I would say that what they are doing for organizations have promise, but there is still much to be desired. If anyone from the Initiative or Council wants to speak with me, I would be happy to engage in an open and honest dialogue about what is lacking. Otherwise, I’ll continue to fix these things myself and with the help of other like-minded citizens.

1. Outreach
2. The Enabling Organization
3. Methods & Timeline
4. Semantics
5. The Creator
6. Space
7. Bold, New Ideas

1. Outreach

Perhaps what left the most bitter taste in my mouth yesterday, and what caused me to leave early, was the Creative Enterprise Initiative’s lack of transparency when it comes to identifying who it was in the arts and “youth” communities they engaged. Someone posed this question to them, and this was not actually answered—there was a short, general statement, without any organizations or individuals named. They also mentioned a “meeting” they had last year at Kitchener City Hall; I was at this meeting, and it was extremely one-sided and was a presentation, again, of what they have already done, rather than gathering information from the arts community. This leaves cynics like me wondering whether there was consultation at all with the real-life stakeholders of this initiative.

I was also left wondering why I was never contacted. Although I don’t think I’m the person to speak to, as I noted above, my name has obviously been brought to their attention. I have met with both the NDP and Liberal candidates for my riding in the last election. I am no stranger to copyright legislation or arts administration, or other political issues in the arts. But I was never contacted, and didn’t know this forum was taking place until last week. This is also despite the fact that I receive listings to be added to Artifice, one of the few arts mailing lists serving the region, and am able to keep a pulse on what’s happening in the arts community.

The Creative Enterprise and Prosperity Council websites also leaves much to be desired. No recent information can be gotten from the Prosperity Council’s website, and no contact information is on the Creative Enterprise’s website. This leaves me wondering how the community (artistic and geographic) can find out what they are doing if they aren’t able to secure an invite to forums like the one hosted yesterday. This also doesn’t inspire confidence in the marketing support they are going to offer through the Enabling Organization, if few know about the Initiative or Council themselves. Perhaps this exclusivity was intentional, but this again leaves one wondering who they are supposed to be supporting.

They say that they want to reach “youth”; it doesn’t take much to know that most “youth” spends time online, and without even a maintained website, it’s hard to see how “youth” can learn more about these bodies. I also wonder how they define “youth” (which is why it’s in quotes). Is it 17 and under? If so, where do university students, recent grads and 25-35s fit in their plan?

2. The Enabling Organization

The scope of the Enabling Organization is still very vague at this point. I have two main concerns: one broad, and one specific.

The first concern is that while the Enabling Organization looks to be an excellent resource for galleries and other organizations, support for individuals (and creators in particular) is obviously absent. I realize that the scope and plan for the EO will change over time, but it worries me that the initial plan has left out such a significant part of the arts community.

The second concern is what they have in mind for grantwriting support. The Canada Council and Ontario Arts Council already offer excellent support for those looking to obtain grants from them. Globe Studios recently brought someone to Kitchener from the OAC, and the Multimedia Cinema Club has someone from the Canada Council here this weekend. The Guelph Arts Council also regularly has grantwritting sessions with people from the OAC. CARFAC Ontario and Visual Arts Ontario both offer grantwritting courses (last year, CARFAC Ontario even offered their course by teleconference to a toll-free number, for those who could not attend a class in Toronto). I hope that whatever grantwritting support the Enabling Organization offers will not duplicate efforts already established elsewhere.

3. Methods & Timeline

Members of the Creative Enterprise Initiative speak frequently about wanting a “made in Waterloo” solution that isn’t mimicking another city. What I fear is that in trying to be home-brewed, more time will be spent on reinventing the wheel than implementing a plan. The concept of taking something and customizing it for ourselves can’t be disregarded as a valid method. While creativity is key, there is much to be said for learning from the successes and failures of others. How is taking the essence of something like the Centre for Social Innovation from Toronto, and building our own arts version of that, any different than striving to create an arts version of the Accelerator Centre?

I also wonder how effective these consultations, task forces and organizations will be in effecting any immediate change to keep some of the young talent in the region before the end of a 10-20 year plan. Things like #hohoTO have proven that we need neither a long gestation period nor a large core group to achieve large, financial goals. Things like BarCamps, the next evolution of conferences, are a new and effective way for minds to meet and ideas being formed. These newer methods of doing things are how things are getting done—without task forces, committees and forums. Any attempt to engage “youth” will involve these “bold, new ideas” for how to do things, even though I’ve heard they are extremely unsettling for those who are accustomed to the presentation-and-questions format of “engaging” people.

Yesterday’s presentation mentioned short-term actionable items to build momentum. My biggest question here is what these items are and how soon is the short-term? We are long overdue for change, and initiatives such as KWArtzLab, KWCultureCamp and KWArtCamp are already quickly forming to fill an immediate need that isn’t being served by local arts councils or addressed by the Creative Enterprise Initiative or Prosperity Council.

Speaking very personally, a 10-20 year, or even 5-10 year, plan isn’t going to be of very much use to many of us between 20 and 35. “We” being many of the people who will likely be needed to carry a 10-20 year plan to fruition. If some very basic things don’t change quickly, like more opportunities for new artists or affordable, safe space to create, many of us will have a difficult time deciding whether to move, shelve our creative output, or end it entirely. Perhaps not many are as intent as I am with maintaining a reasonable standard of living (a home that is in a safe neighbourhood and isn’t plagued by unsafe structures or mice) or insisting on working in space that won’t result in my body or living space being polluted—but I also don’t think that these things are unreasonable requests.

The problem is finding space for creation and having access to funds for sustenance is not easy. I support myself through a full-time job, am currently without a studio which is affordable and welcomes a messy artist, and have few local prospects for showing any work that I am able to complete (despite the fact that my work sells quickly when I do host my own shows). I know many others are in similar situations, and without one of these factors changing quickly, staying in the Region will not be a smart choice.

4. Semantics: The Arts vs Artist vs Culture vs Heritage

This problem is two-tired. The first is that art, culture and heritage are not the same thing and can not be cultivated or encouraged in the same way. While they work wonderfully together, nurturing each of these requires individual attentions.

The second is that I have noticed that supporting The Arts and supporting Artists is two distinct things, though few are willing to admit it. Supporting The Arts is supporting organizations and institutions — symphonies, rather than the violinist; theatres, rather than the playwright or actor; galleries, rather than the visual artist; jazz festivals and record labels, rather than the musician. What I’m seeing here, and elsewhere, is a distinct support for The Arts, and the absence of support for the Artist who fills the theatres, galleries, festivals and symphony halls.

5. The Creator

So how, exactly, does the creator/artist fit into the Creative Enterprise Initiative?

The forum mentions sustaining individuals, but there is no apparent part of this draft of their plan which even hints at support for individuals—whether they be small business owners in the creative community, or creators/artists. When the plan outlines the needs which have to be addressed, these items speak only to the needs of organizations, such as operational funding and experimental project funding. While some of this money may make it to the individual creator, creators can not depend on this funnelling for sustenance. This is why granting agencies such as the Canada Council and Ontario Arts Council have separate grants for organizations and individuals.

As I mentioned above, the Enabling Organization is also sorely lacking any plans for enabling creativity at the individual level. This is no surprise, as the needs that it was designed to fulfil are also those of organizations. But where can artists turn when a bad landlord has unjustly entered their studio and destroyed their work? Where can a musician go to obtain temporary equipment for a large show? Who can help ensure that more local writers are featured in bookstores in the region, rather than the big names who already get plenty of attention? What happens when mediation is required between an individual creator and a gallery, studio, theatre or publisher?

More importantly, why were these considerations left out of the plan if people in the arts community had been consulted prior to the presentation of this plan?

6. Space

Perhaps the biggest problem facing individuals right now is space. The Creative Enterprise Initiative speaks of an “Accelerator Centre for the Arts”, which offers meeting, rehearsal and performance space.

But what about dirty space?

Space where a metalsmith can generate toxic fumes. Safely. Space where woodworkers and stoneworkers can generate dust. Safely. Space where potters can dispose of their materials. Safely.

Space where rehearsals for metal bands don’t result in calls to by-law offices. Space where actors can scream without police showing up.

Space here creativity can happen without bounds.

The arts version of an Accelerator Center, at this point, sounds mostly academic and administrative. While this is necessary, I don’t see how we can “foster creativity” without space to create. I have personally been in (and left) studio spaces in Kitchener. None were properly equipped to handle something simple as noise and dust. Certainly, none would be able to handle anything more toxic, such as chemical fumes, without the artist or craftsman investing heavily into the infrastructure, as I had (and still ended up leaving due to other factors in the building).

Creativity is not just painting, desktop design or playing Bach on the piano. We need a space where creation can be dirty, noisy, and even toxic—but for it to be safe and accessible. We don’t need a handout, but we do need the infrastructure.

7. Bold, New Ideas

Overall, I’m very skeptical that the Creative Enterprise Initiative or the Prosperity Council is open to ideas that are bold and new enough to effect real change, without becoming like one of the cities they are trying so hard not to mimic.

Education receives disappointing attention in this plan. I’ve spoken with professors who recognize the lack of real-world training in their arts programs. Things as simple as having a business card or knowing how to get funding for their projects is not part of the education all creators receive. How can we expect arts graduates from Laurier and the University of Waterloo to be as successful as their science and computer science counterparts if they aren’t given the same preparation?

Things like the Enabling and Barnraisers organizations have very broad scopes at this time, and smack of the same bureaucratic practices that many of us have seen and abandoned for new collaborative structures. Arts Councils are not new, and calling them an Enabling Organization that does the same thing will not give us anything new.

And why a solution to manpower is to find more volunteers for arts organizations, rather than finding ways to create more jobs in the arts, is absolutely baffling to me. Not only are volunteers a recourse only because of lack of funding, but I thought one of the goals of the Prosperity Council was to create more jobs. Why not turn the hundreds of volunteer positions into paid full-time, part-time and contract positions? Is this, perhaps, too bold and too new of an idea? I thought it was not merely needed, but obvious. Perhaps I’m wrong.

These are my raw notes from the Creative Enterprise Forum. These notes are not exhaustive, and are as much as I could record quickly. Commentary to follow.

Things of note:

• create and fund a regional arts & culture development & promotion body → outstanding item to address
• cultural vitality → sustainability
• arts, culture & heritage
• ultimate goal is to generate private employers
• attract the best minds, generate new ideas, wrap a business around it, create jobs

Ultimate Goals

• improving our community’s quality of life
• attracting & retaining the best & brightest artistic & technical minds
• cultivating the not-for profit and for-profit creative economy
• fostering enterpreneurism and bold, new ideas

Members of note

• Doug Craig – Mayor, City of Cambridge → Vision Task Force
• Bruce Gordon, Manulife Financial & Manulife Bank → Structure Task force
• -Pauline Houston, City of Kitchener → Structure
• Mike Murray, Region of Waterloo → Resources Task force
• Brenda Halloran, Mayor, City of Waterloo → Resources Task Force

“The Prosperity Council and its supporters believe that a creative sector with a sustainable infrastructure is necessary to fully realize our long-term growth opportunities”

How they plan to do this

• must make a “made in Waterloo” solution
• shouldn’t be a copy of other “creative communities”
• long-term vision must be broad and emphasize creativity and innovation across all sectors of community
• also requires a short-term focus on actionable items (quick wins) that help build momentum
• need to develop a framework or infrastructure that will support the development and implementation of the Vision over many years

5 key themes

• sustainability for creative orgs and individuals
• leveraging collaboration within the creative sector (and other sectors)
• communication & marketing
• education and community engagement
• bold and undiscovered ideas
• world-class institution for the arts, like CIGI or PI

Goal: to create a world-leading environment that

• transforms the human experience
• makes Waterloo Region one of the most attractive and compelling places on the planet
• fosters artistic creativity
• supports constant innovation in commerce & technology

“This successful human environment fosters and promotes Cultural, Economic, Environmental and Social well being for all of its constituents”

What has been done

• already achieved reasonable success in each of the four pillars of sustainability, but have not committed the same level of resources and attention to the arts and culture sector as some of the others
• we are recommending the near-term focus be leveraged towards Cultural vitality (rough note)
• researched & inventoried; compared results with the “Business for the Arts” national fundings survey of arts and culture across the country

Resources

• base sustainability shortfall is $2.5-$5 million annually
• not getting our “fair share” of federal and provincial funding
• local “performing arts organizations” get about 7.5% of their funding from provincial/federal agencies – the national average is 15%
• local “museums and art galleries” get about 10% of their funding from prov & fed gov agencies – the national average is 60%
• private sector funding of performing arts lower than national/provincial averages (relatively small # of corporate supporters)
• business community is not supporting the arts as much here
• companies know they need to give, but don’t know how to do it in arts & culture heritage → don’t know which festival to support, for example
• municipal per capital is “middle of the pack” ($15.50) compared to similar Ontario municipalities, but lower than some important comparators/competitors:
  Ottawa 18.07
  Toronto 24.82
  Hamilton 37.27
• Toronto stepped up funding for arts & culture post-SARS to get people back

Needs

• additional stable base operating funding
• additional special funding to support bold new initiatives (similar to venture capital)
• company needs to be able to make mistakes
  arts funding too tied to organizational funding
• additional funding for sector marketing (raising profile, awareness, support in the community)

Human Resource needs

• attract, hire, retain high quality, skilled, creative staff and managers
• attract and deploy volunteers efficiently and effectively
• attract well-qualified BOD members
• management and leadership training & development for staff, volunteers and BOD
• develop joint benefit plans

Physical resource needs

• affordable, accessible space for rehearsals, performance, meetings
• can be shared space

Financial resources

• public
  • local government
  • provincial
  • federal
• foundations/Not For Profits
• private sector
  • corporate
  • individuals
• high-impact: increase property taxes and other things

Recommendations will

• implement vision
• put initial focus on the arts, culture and heritage sectors
• engage more than just those who participate in the arts, culture, and heritage sectors of Waterloo Region

Rec #1: Establishment of “Barnraisers’ council of Waterloo Region”

• how to deal with issues going forwards
• provide high level, strategic consensus building that is necessary for a large, multi-faceted community to adapt continually
• identify strategic issues & recommend possible responses
• be guided by the need to achieve balance in our overall objectives
• include reps form business, local gov, health care & education, arts/creative sector, foundations & NFP orgs
• include individuals who can make commitments or cause those commitments to be made; commit themselves and their orgs to a role in the solutions and also get others to do so

Recommendation #2

• establishment of an “enabling organization” for the creative sector
• provides services to enable the arts, culture, and heritage sectors to achieve their potential
• Waterloo Regional Arts Council 2.0
• encourage and enable the creative sector
• help provide the environment for arts to create great art
• allow orgs and individuals to focus on their “core” business
• encourage divergent orgs to find & build upon common purpose
• find centers of excellence and build on them
• org would provide/coordinate:
  • admin services
  • human resources
  • benefit plans
  • audience development programs
  • marketing assistance
  • festivals
  • grant writing assistance
  • advocacy
  • corporate funding –> facilitate funding through corporate funding program
  • physical space –> 5-10 years, Accelerator Center equiv for arts

Barnraiser’s Council

• David Johnston has agreed to assist in the formation of the council and will take the lead on determining its initial membership
• goal is to have members in place by the end of 2009

The Task Force Co-chairs will continue in their roles to:

• determine initial board, structure, by-laws etc
• secure 3-5 years of guaranteed funding for the Enabling Org
• initiate search for a high-level Executive Director
• address the creative sector base sustainability funding gap-it cannot be solved by any one sector –all must step up!
• request for additional investment in arts & culture to all 3 sectors – municipal, businesses, fed/prov governments
  • (approx 1M/yr from each)
  • ask the Region to incrementally increase funding by $1 per resident and the local municipalities to also incrementally increase funding by $1 per resident

This is a community investment agenda: all must participate!

Change mind shift from “charity” to “investment”

New leadership

• Engage a diverse alliance of young leaders to work together with us towards strengthening and developing our arts, culture and heritage environment
• met with group under 40 – high school to 40
• want to get them engaged; eg new media
• the “final” product in 10 or 20 years will look much different from what is set out here. It must, by its nature, or it will not be an eneabler and encourager of adaptation through innovation and creativity”

Mentioned spOtlight festival in passing

Talked about a creative economy

Peter Braid

• $50 mil invested in post-secondary education
• $50 million to Institute to Quantum Computing
• Vital Signs

Cheryl Ewing

• eyeGo

Other speakers

• CCT website (what the heck is this?)
• focus on HERITAGE → Oktoberfest, Grand River (the river)
• education
• want to develop a recognized arts institute

(My laptop’s battery died at this point, as there was no where to plug it in)

My friend at Open Studio sent me the article What can we learn from the “netbook” from The Artful Manager. The article was a good reminder for me that not everyone in the cultural community is as immersed in technology as I and many of my new friends from Twitter. Based on the interest in the Technology in the Arts conferences, I would agree with Andrew Taylor that integrating the use of netbooks into a cultural manager’s daily routines could take some work. But there is certainly no shortage of people already using them.

Photographer Sean Puckett picked up an HP tablet a while ago (which I, naturally, ogled) for use as a super digital-photoframe. If I didn’t already have my EeePC, I probably would have gotten one too. Not merely is it a fully functional computer (albeit too lightweight for gaming or for intense audio-visual work), but it’s an absolutely charming option for a portable portfolio. Less clunky than hauling around photos; more practical than having everything on a flash drive and hoping to have access to a computer; more instant than giving someone a card with your website on it.

Amrita, owner of Tinku Gallery, recently acquired an iPhone so she could easily show her artists’ work to others when she’s away from the gallery. Because of the size of the screen, the iPhone was a much better option for her than a BlackBerry. A netbook, on the other hand, was more than she needed, as she already had a full-sized computer.

I’m almost always equipped with a travelling office, with either my EeePC or full-sized laptop, my BlackBerry, occassionally a digital camera (if I know I’ll need it) and more flash drives and SD cards than I can fill. Unlike Sean and Amrita, my gadetry is mainly for administrative work. Although I have photos of all of my work on all of my devices, my BlackBerry keeps me in contact with people from the arts admin work I do, and my EeePC is used to its intended purpose—a connection to the internet (and a glorified note-taking system). For someone who is currently loving connection, being able to access all of my contacts (and not just their contact information) and any information available online makes my life a lot easier.

The question, still, is how to keep up with it all.

From managing Artifice and generally taking on way too much, I have a good idea of some of the major arts/tech/culture events coming up in the first half of 2009. Here are my choice picks (I am, of course, involved in most of these somehow):

Third Thursdays at Globe Studios
This is a new initiative of Globe Studios, where the building and many studios will be open to the public for demonstrations and other interactive activities. We will be bringing in some guests to fill the space too. Please take a look at the website if you want to participate.

Cinematheque Waterloo‘s screening of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Jan 18 and 20
One of the best films I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen a ton of films). I still have two free tickets to give away.

KW CultureCamp, Feb 7
Culture + BarCamps for Kitchener-Waterloo

Technology In The Arts Conference + Canada 3.0 Conference, May 10-12
This is in Stratford, and will be a wonderful mix of art and technology.

spOtlight 2009, June 5-7
The spOtlight festival will be returning to the Waterloo Region in 2009. Here is some information about how to participate.

Researchers at the Cultural Economy Lab at the University of Toronto’s Geography Department are currently conducting a study of Toronto-area professional visual artists, and are looking for volunteers to participate in research interviews.

This research is funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada and is part of a larger research initiative involving scholars from across Canada studying the social dynamics of innovation and creativity.

Understanding the dynamics of the arts sector and in particular, the interpersonal nature of relations within this sector is central to developing policies to strengthen creative industries in Canada. Research questions that guide the study include the following:

1. What is the nature of the relationships between artistic producers, retailers, consumers and other creative workers?
2. How do social characteristics such as diversity, openness, and inclusion attract or retain creative workers in a particular place?
3. What role does the importance of place have in creative industries? In particular, how important is geographical proximity to processes of artistic production? What role does location play in relationships between artists and other actors? How do images of a city or region determine the concentration of artists in a particular city?

The research incorporates in-depth interviews with artists and other creative and cultural workers to develop an understanding of critical issues related to attracting and retaining creative talent in Toronto. Interviews are informal and conversational in style, lasting approximately one hour and can take place at the location of your choice.

Participation is voluntary and will be kept confidential. A detailed summary of the larger research initiative can be accessed here.

Contact: Amy Cervenan at amy.cervenan@utoronto.ca

Geoffrey Crossick’s lecture, Knowledge Transfer without Widgets (without widgets? what?), was the second public lecture of the Canadian University Presidents’ Initiative in Cultural Sector Education and Research. Crossick had no slides and, honestly, my mind started to wander after a while because it was the second lecture in which I was being presented with much information I already had. But the lectures certainly had an impact, because I had many thoughts as a result of them!

Notes

-white paper –> “Creative Britain” (pdf)

-OCAD project on mobile use — Mobile Nation

-“…better able to own and protect their intellectual property” –> scary for Creative Commons types!
- “arts and culture” vs “humanities”

-cultural spaces in urban renewal processes
-increased interest in culture from public
-Britain’s creative export is twice that of the pharmaceuticals
-arts industry in universities <–> creative sector
-research and knowledge –> how to make the results useful?
-what happens when the results of research and knowledge are output as creative works?
-research in educational systems –> interplay with the community ==> knowledge transfer?
-assuming knowledge transfer is reliant on new technologies –> what happens when knowledge transfer needs to happen in an industry that isn’t the technological industry?
-Blast Theory –> technology’s potential; potential of pervasive gaming
-Location One
-governmental involvement –> create spaces for knowledge transfer to occur
-Open Source community model should be reviewed for their community base and how it relates to intellectual property
-redefine what needs to be protected and what can be freely shared
-we need to be able to share information! (Crossick’s comment, not mine)
-HP in Bristol –> prosumers –> getting users to define their needs and addressing them with Technology
-importance of user feedback and companies/organizations to respond!
-networks and networking!
-online social networking ==> coffee houses
-what is required is not the transfer of knowledge, but space to create
-New Zealand –> no funding available for a project to explore a 3D house; “Who is interested in the total package?”
-no widgets in the cultural industry (really? we have memes—isn’t that close enough?)
-art & culture constantly pulled back to the science and technology model, but this is not useful

My Thoughts
~~> is the problem with the arts & culture community’s comfort level with use of technology? the technology community, by using the internet, is using its own outputs to feed more community and innovation; or is it because of the age of the arts & culture community? how much is the younger part of the a&c community using “new technologies” as part of their everyday lives?
~~> space building –> how effective is it for space to be created for a community, rather than by a community?
~different levels of networks; bringing together the people within and between the networks; across the “five categories of the creative culture” (and the missing second slide) (and equivalent in other communities); between different communities (arts & culture, science & technology, law, etc, etc, etc, etc)

Michael Bloom‘s public lecture Canada’s Creative Economy was hosted by OCAD and is part of the Canadian University Presidents’ Initiative in Cultural Sector Education and Research. I was sending Twitter updates with pictures of the slides during the lecture, which was somewhat ironic when Bloom started to talk about how the internet is changing the way we interact. You can find my photos of most of the slides here. Sara Diamond mentioned that the lectures were being videotaped, and I hope they’ll be publicly available after they’re done with post.

Notes

-continued relevance of current era of social change –> started well before recent election
-economic restructuring –> how to get arts & culture in on the ground floor?
-arts and culture have an economic value beyond the aesthetic sphere

1.Direct impacts
2.Indirect impacts –> providers of goods and services for the sector (software, paint, etc)
3.Induced impacts

2007 – direct impact $46.1billion
over 3.8% of Canada’s real GDP

-some countries include sports in their cultural GDP

2007 – indirect impacts $26.3billion
over 2.3% of Canada’s real GDP

2007 – induced impacts 12.3billion
over 1% of Canada’s real GDP

over 1.1 million jobs in 2007
7% of total employment

-written media and broadcast highest for average household spending on culture, followed by film and music, then visual and performance

$21 billion/yr consumer spending on culture

Social benefits
-personal growth and learning
-improves social cohesion; reduces isolation
-enhances local image, pride
-stimulates well-being – by creating a more inclusive revealing atmosphere/environment

-immigration impact on culture –> what about the lecture on the knowledge economy
–> why aren’t these bring brought together??

-products created by Canadians will have high market value outside of the country because of the cultural diversity in Canada

-regulation on networks, etc and impact on cultural economy

-”prosumerism” refers to consumers’ desire to participate directly in generating value from products and services and their preference for interactive experiences
-prosumers like to customize an control their consumption experiences
-don’t like to ask permission

-prosumerisms –> do we need to go back to when pencils were invented to get something similar to what we have now?
-books were a strange new thing when they first made an an appearance

-much more connection and interaction, as producers and consumers co-drive the creative economy
-producers and consumers spark off each other in a creative, responsive cycle of demand and supply of culture goods and services

-innovation involves the relation and diffusion of new ideas
-it also embraces the transformation of ideas to use in new value-added products and services
-for culture sector, it involves developing links between: technology, content, creativity, business acumen

-skilled and knowledgeable creative people are essential to
produce creative content
develop, deploy delivery platforms
judge consumer demand; and
design creative responses to demand

several skill sets are required: business, IT, generic, creative, computer

-creative economy is characterized by a demand for diverse products delivered through diverse channels to diverse markets to meet needs

social capital is created through
collaboration

conclusions
-culture sector is an enhancer of economic performance, a magnet for talent, and a catalyst for economic prosperity
-it connects people locally, globally and virtually; bridges long instances creates communities of interest
-makes a major economic contribution
-stimulates creative activity and innovation across the economy
-attracts skilled and creative people to Canada
-supports city growth and prosperity – especially in large cities
-technology ill influence forms of artistic and cultural expression and alter how it is manifested as culture goods and services
-demographic changes, especially ageing and rise in diversity will alter type of demands for culture products
-culture sector will be more engaged in competition in global markets

-link to other major policies, including innovation, R&D, education
-culture policy-making, research, funding should be viewed as vital investments in the quality of our national future

Notes from Q&A

-business spending on culture?
-data speaks to individuals’ spending
-where is the data for business spending? –> commercial spending

-how many prosumer artists are actually making money? no stats yet
-these changes are ahead of the data curve

-amount of Canadian cultural content?

My Thoughts

~feels like organizations don’t know what to do with social networking
~asking permission and the prosumer –> need to work within the realm of permissions with older institutions, but also need to help them move towards a more open concept of knowledge sharing –> link with second lecture

Below are the handouts and my notes from the spOtlight 2009 info session. Thanks to the OAC for sending me the files!

Handouts

• Highlights from the Celebrate our Artists Weekend June 6-8, 2008 (doc, pdf)
• Celebrate our Artists Weekend: Participant Overview (doc, pdf)
• spOtlight: Proposal Tips (doc, pdf)

My Notes from the info session

General notes

• keeping 2009 as pilot, rather than moving to other cities
• weekend of 1st weekend in June is arbitrary; not sure why it was selected, but it’s in the Status of the Artist legislation; OAC still working on dates
• spOtlight is the beginning of “micro grants” –> OAC may develop new set of ongoing micro grants in the future
• growth of spOtlight –> can’t get the promotional support to move to other cities
• Globe Studios was bouncing off the walls, but other events were not as well attended
• application forms for the 2009 session should be available by mid-January

Application process

• 1-paragraph description of what you’re going to do; focus on audience participation; involvement builds appreciation
• viability; something that doesn’t take much time; 2-3 hours was too much; people want to go to many different studios and plan their day (note: some, such as Majestic Mud Studios, indicated that their longer sessions were fully booked)
• consider issues of safety
• exciting and fun
• summary should not be art-speak; something to interest people; clear explanation of what they will do and how they will interact with you; end results in brochure were from a lot of back-and-forth between OAC and artists; an ad for your event

• budget –> keep it simple
• artist fees –> suggested $200-$400 per day, depending on how much work was required for the event and the prep work and the expertise required
• materials –> how many people you can accommodate in total, multiplied by the cost of material per person
• equipment –> equipment rentals
• venue rental
• technician fees, etc
• balanced budget –> if you are getting money from other sources, must indicate to OAC where that’s coming from (e.g. donations, in kind service); can ask OAC for full amount
• can’t include advertising costs (flyers, posters, etc); OAC already funding advertising for the event and it is included in their overall budget; advertising will not be paid

• final report required
• get receipts! (for everything except artist fees)
• payment made out to the name on the grant; use a name that can be used for cashing the cheque!

• location! if it changes, let the OAC know if it changes
• ditto for time
• age range for events (can be all ages); include in brochure with location and times

• need to be available to discuss your proposal
• leave your first and last name and phone number if you’re calling!

• needs to be a special event just for spOtlight
• can’t be part of your regular programing; can start with spOtlight and keep as regular programing afterwards (can also apply for funding from OAC afterwards)

• if people need to register ahead of time, let the OAC know so they can publish the restriction
• ensure the OAC knows what information may be published (phone number, address, email address, etc)
• if your mailing address is not the same as the activity address, ensure the OAC is notified clearly of the two addresses and which is the activity address

Question period

• adult-only programing is okay, but needs to be clearly indicated
• can be for one day only, multiple days or the whole weekend
• your program info will also be on the OAC website
• all four mayors (Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph) were very supportive
• can do the same thing in 2009 as 2008
• very grey line on the issue of “regular programing”; e.g. KW Symphony‘s regular programing is an event, but allowing people to attend the rehearsal would be different (my recommendation: contact the OAC if unsure!)
• issues of sustainability for where to host spOtlight; already approached by potential sponsor; considering changes to the current model
• looking into creating Facebook account or other hub for people to facilitate finding space; problem is that some municipalities (e.g Cambridge) are firewalled from Facebook
• use municipalities! Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge are happy to help; will put info on website for OAC
• 2009 dates are set; looking at possibility of moving in 2010
• artist must be an Ontario resident to get funding from the OAC
• selection process –> viability; audience-participatory; must take place during spOtlight event; must be free to public; must be new and initiated for spOtlight; must be geographically to spOtlight event; must have artist fee paid; AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION; not juried the same way the grants are
• event must be local; will decline artists from outside of Waterloo, Kitchener, Stratford and Cambridge (can’t just rent space here)
• people are welcome to start spOlight in their own cities cities
• artists allowed to include spOtlight and other sponsors on their self-funded ads
• artists within the 4 cities can have event in other cities within 4 cities (e.g. artist in Waterloo can have their event in Cambridge)

More questions? Contact the OAC!

I went to show my support at the Progressive Coalition rally today, and it was much better organized than I expected.

There was a strong union presence, and although I could hear the artists in the crowd respond to Jack Layton’s reinforcement of the importance of the cultural industry, I was disappointed that we weren’t as organized or visible as the unions. My friend swears up and down that Sandra Oh walked past us, holding her hand to shield her face from my camera. I didn’t get a good look at her, and didn’t take a picture because I respect people’s desire for privacy—celebrity or not. We did, however, hear Broken Social Scene with Leslie Feist before we had to leave.

I was also shocked that, despite being active on Facebook and Twitter, I only heard about the rally last night from a DoC message. Although, I suppose it’s likely I had messages about it earlier, but deleted them because I’ve been bombarded by political bacn in the past few days. I also haven’t been keeping up with my blog reading, and don’t expect to return to it any time soon.

The Department of Culture notes that a mere 500 people showed up to support the Harper rally, picking up on the Globe’s article with the estimated numbers. The Facebook event shows over 2,600 confirmed guests to the Coalition rally, plus another 2,000+ maybes. Pretty good, considering that most of the RSVPs on Facebook don’t come with 100% comitment.