"Art Galleries are not eligible."

The sentence couldn't be more clear. It is the 2011 BC Gaming grant eligibility requirements on their website. I was directed there by Ursula Cowland from the Ministry. I asked her in a recent email "Hey, people keep asking me if we're getting our gaming money now that Christy Clark has announced she's returning the funding... so, are we?" Ursula replied "Well, that money has already gone where it's supposed to go, mainly to the "Family First" initiatives." It seemed promising that she then suggested I check out the new "Fairs, Festivals and Museums" section of the grant guidelines. But when I got there... "Art Galleries are not eligible." I blinked a few times and then gave up the faint hope that someday the province would find a way to fund us.

TONAC & Money

Yesterday I travelled to Kelowna for the annual Thompson Okanagan Network of Arts Councils meeting. A typical meeting, we gave our reports and noted the absence of more than half of the Arts Councils. Nice to see that the Kelowna group is getting some youth action, having done a very cool installation event in an old motel, the "Mad Hatter," in March with a bunch of UBC-O art students. The issue of the moment is how BC Arts Council distributes provincial money. Our per capita grant has been cut in half as of last year. Apparently they are putting more of that money into the performance grant (money for ACs that do a good job fulfilling their mandate). But I think it's all smoke and mirrors. When you change a formulated funding system, you can easily reduce the total and no one really notices. Except, of course, the little guy at the end of the line who wonders why they have to cut back their programs in order to survive.

Then we discussed the recent Christie Clark announcement "hey everybody! gaming grants are coming back!" Whee! Oh, wait a minute. Are we suddenly eligible again? That's how they dumped us two years ago, by changing the eligibility requirements to youth-only programs. Funny, but I can't seem to find that information. I'm not sure I'm willing to spend two weeks writing a gaming grant application only to get zero and find out we still aren't eligible. A little clarity would be nice, Premier Clark.

Amalgamation

The term that caught our ear was "superboard." It brought images of us all wearing a giant "S" on our blue unitards. We laughed long and hard, but then got down to business. The Shuswap District Arts Council and Shuswap Art Gallery Association (SAGA) are amalgamating. The Arts Centre has housed both organizations for the last 16 years, and it has become clear that they both have the same goals in mind - to provide excellent arts programming to this community. The benefits include greater cost efficiencies in accounting, insurance, office expenses, staffing, memberships and contracts. This is going to save literally thousands of dollars. The drawbacks, I don't know, haven't thought of any yet. Everything will look and feel the same as it did before. The gallery will continue to operate as it has done for the last 17 years. The Arts Council will continue to manage programs such as Wednesday On the Wharf (now in happy partnership with the Downtown Association). To most nothing will change. To SDAC and SAGA members, they will have one membership to pay each year and won't have to remember to which organization they belong. To me, the big plus is one board meeting a month, one AGM a year, one Annual Report to prepare, one phone to answer.... the list goes on.

Imagine a stable, secure arts organization with a full strong board of directors, financially sustainable, able to not only provide but expand its programming in the arts. That's a plus for Salmon Arm.

The Queue

This morning I arrived at 6:55am to find that I am number 28 in the line-up for late French Immersion, class maximum is 30. I wiped the sweat from my brow, phoned the next mom on my list, and settled in for a 24 hour wait. Lawn chairs, blankets, coffee mugs of epic proportions surround me. I take a moment to let it all sink in. I wonder not only if my 10-year old has any appreciation for what I'm doing for her, but also if half of Salmon Arm is shutting down today. I see construction workers, a doctor, a counsellor, two music teachers, a speech pathologist, a dance instructor, a financial advisor, and another couple of dozen people whose profession will remain a mystery because they are so deeply involved with their laptops that they may never speak. Perhaps tonight when the poker game breaks out and everyone's support network starts delivering prohibited substances we'll get to know each other a little more. Right now, the early and late immersion parents are just happy to have a secure spot for their kid in the program, a decision that may or may not have anything to do with their dedication to the French language. Many are just seeking alternatives.

Professionalism

Some years ago, I took a workshop on small business accounting. After learning the basics, I figured out some of the more complicated aspects on my own. I've improved over time and am pleased to report that I keep my own books and manage my family's finances and annual tax preparation. With that one little workshop and a lot of practice, I have earned the right to do my own books. However, that does not give me the right to teach other people how to keep their own books. That right is reserved for professionals. Those professionals have an association to which they are responsible. This ensures that only qualified teachers are out there, teaching correct foundation skills and offering their guidance where needed. Now, how do we convince artists of the same thing? Why are there completely untrained and unqualified people out there giving art courses and workshops? It's because artists do not have a professional organization to which they are responsible. If we did, they would come knocking on said artist's doors and say "sorry, without some level of qualification, you cannot teach others in this industry." I suppose there are always exceptions, artists who are brilliant teachers and have not a stick of art education. But overall, there is a sadly abundant array of people throwing their hat into the teaching ring who have no business being there. It contributes to mediocrity, and it certainly doesn't serve to elevate the status of professional artists in this country.

The View From Here

What do you get when you ask a bunch of visual artists to go to the same area and paint the landscape? At SAGA, you get 35 artists with 40 different views. This exhibition, "Paint Paradise: Views of the Salmon River Delta," is wonderful not just because it is a fine collection of excellent works, but because it drives home the point that we are all so amazingly unique in our perceptions. Micro, macro, highly realistic to the madly abstract, the art speaks to us about this extraordinary ecosystem. On opening night Louis Thomas, a Neskonlith elder, spoke about growing up on the delta; skating on the little ponds that formed in winter and playing in the tall grasses in summer. It made us all fall back into our own connective memories of those special natural places. Growing up, who didn't have their own place in the wild, a twisted tree to climb, a river with a secret pool for swimming? Can we not reflect upon our own paradises, and realize that we must protect those same kinds of places for our children and grandchildren? It's easy to wander around the gallery and gaze upon beautiful images, but I'm hoping people will take an extra step this time - out to the delta, to the tall grasses and tiny skating ponds.

Only the Strong Survive

It's been nearly 18 months since the first of the devastating cuts hit the arts sector in BC. It's no longer front page news, and therefore has fallen out of people's minds, replaced by terrorist attacks, riots and earthquakes. Perhaps this is the government's intentions, that people will forget what happened, pick up the slack (once again) and do what we all enjoy doing, making it happen with volunteers and bake sales. However, this is the point where I'm starting to feel weary of the hard uphill climb with less money. This is our second year with the much-reduced operating budget. Scramble scramble, looking at all options, partner here, partner there. What would it look like if the two arts organizations, SAGA and the Arts Council, became one? Some dollars saved, for sure. The vision and the mandate? What would that look like? Together, both could have more impact, more sustainability. Apart, they could continue to struggle just for survival. While the population of the Shuswap continues to grow, who is going to expand arts programming to meet the demand? Not two small organizations just struggling to stay afloat. One bigger arts organization with a beautiful vision of art for everyone... maybe!