Thanks for the quick response! It’s good to know that the Prosperity Council is listening.

I agree that what has been done in the past isn’t working; the concept of investment is definitely great, but the arts community (not just in KW, but everywhere) has been promised change time and time again. And we are still not seeing any different. This is why organizations like Globe Studios have started, and initiatives such as KWArtzLab, KWCultureCamp and KWArtCamp have started from the community itself.

This may only be the start, but I want to stress again that what concerns me, and others, is the distinct lack of the individual creator’s voice up to now. Although I used myself as an example who is ready and willing to help, this is not a personal complaint because I feel I have been left out. The response to my blog post from fellow creators indicates that they share at least some of my thoughts and sentiments about this first draft of the plan.

There are many in the community who want to see change and have ideas that are ready to be refined and implemented. I am not the only one who feels left out from this, and many of us are still wondering how such a large sector of creatives have not been approached, despite obvious intentions to find us. The activities of the Council and Initiative have been extremely mysterious to many of us.

Much of this is echoed sentiment from the meeting at City Hall last year. The Rotunda was filled with concerned members of the creative community who obviously want the Council’s agenda to reflect our needs and for it to be successful. But, to my knowledge, none of us were contacted for even written feedback that the Council could distill at their convenience. There have also been countless receptions for shows in the region, including at major galleries such as the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Cambridge Galleries, and Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery. I wonder whether there was any attempt to reach out to the community directly there.

If I sound bitter…well, I am. Again, not because I have personally not been consulted, but because how this is starting is very reminiscent of what has and is happening with the changes in copyright, where art organizations are assumed to be the same as creators.

I am not questioning the Council or Initiative’s intentions—I am questioning the methods being used. What has been proposed so far will be of tremendous support to those who need it–there is no question at all on that matter.

But the fact that three years of planning still left out the creators who provide the Region with art & culture is simply disappointing. What you have done so far is certainly impressive, but I think you would have more confidence from the creative community itself if you had taken more time to involve us earlier in the process.

You’ve reinforced that you want to hear from the community, and the groups/initiatives I mentioned above are some places you can go to reach members of the creative community, who are *creators* and not necessarily reachable through more administrative organizations like the WRAC. There are also the board and volunteers of CAFKA, the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery, the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery and the Cambridge Galleries, all of which have staff who are not merely arts administrators, but also artists themselves.

The response I’ve received on my blog post from supporters of the Initiative and members of the Council gave me a bit of hope that there is opportunity for this to change. I hope I can look forward to some bigger change in the coming months.

Thanks for your comments on Thursday’s event.

As I am sure you can appreciate, it is very tough to summarize 3 years of work and planning into a couple of hours.

Please keep in mind the primary audience for this initiative – politicians, the business community and the community more broadly. We may not have all the answers or a perfect solution but what I do know is that with respect to Arts and Culture specifically whatever we have been doing for the past 5…10…50 years has not worked so we are trying to figure out how to message an “investment” agenda in an attempt to have these sectors increase support and understanding. We may not have done it in a manner that resonated with you and for that I apologize.

Please also bear in mind that Thursday’s event was the beginning not the end. We (the co-chairs) do not profess to have all the solutions nor the expertise to come up with the solutions so have and will continue to consult with and seek guidance from the broad community. I do not know how many more times we could have said on Thursday that we need everyone’s help to identify those in the community who should be involved going forward because we don’t profess to know everything.

In the process to date we used: members of the Alliance for a Grand Community, WRAC and other active members of the Arts and culture community to identify groups and individuals who needed to be involved either as task force participants, focus group participants or others providing input into the process. I am sorry none of these people identified you to help or participate.

The specific suggestions you make in your post, are the type of feedback and input that will be required as the community puts this plan into action. As an example, I am very familiar with the Centre for Social Innovation and that is exactly what I personally envision for this region. In my comments about finding a “made in Waterloo” solution I did try to say that while I didn’t think we could simply duplicate any one municipality I did think we could learn from others and take pieces – again I am sorry if that did not come across clearly enough.

I don’t profess to be an expert and don’t have all the answers but I do know that the way we have been messaging the Arts and Culture issues in the past have not worked or we wouldn’t be facing the issues we face today. I am rolling up my sleeves to do what I can, I can’t promise success in fact I know I will make mistakes along the way but what I can promise is that I will try my hardest to make this the best place in the world in which to live and I hope you will join me on the journey.

Tim

Happy travels, and yay for twitter connections!

If you have a desire to play around with your Eee and you’re looking for ideas, I’ve been keeping track of all my Eee adventures on my blog. Feel free to take a look!