The Federal Government tabled budget 2010 yesterday.  Below is the summary provided by the Canadian Conference of the Arts

Canadian Conference of the Arts Executive Summary

The 2010 Budget includes stable funding to arts and culture with no cuts, but also yields no new investments into the creative economy. The CCA sees no investment towards cultural infrastructure, or funds for promotion abroad and audience development. It is encouraging that charities are given more flexible means to conduct business, and research granting associations will have an increased ability to fund higher education within the knowledge economy.  Moving forward, some concerns include administrative reforms, freezes on departmental operating budgets, and changes to strategic reviews. These measures may not be viewed as cuts at the moment, but may lead to financial difficulties for the arts sector down the road.

Read the full detailed update here

Thank you to everyone that has journeyed into the great form abyss that is our Operating Grant Program and made it through the other end.  We are excited about all that financial and statistical data that you have provided us with, (we're weird that way).  Now our job begins, to compile and share these stats back to all the organizations that have put the effort into providing them.  We are looking forward to using this information to tell compelling stories of the impact that our arts organizations have on our City and the lives of Calgarians. 

In the mean time, Lauren is diligently digging herself out from under a mountain of grants and support material and will be in touch with organizations that may still owe us bits of information.  We look forward to reading the operating grant applications and reports and continuing to be inspired be the amazing vision and skill of Calgary's artists and arts organizations!

The Province of Alberta released it's 2010 budget today.  An overview of the Culture and Community Spirit budget is below.  The budget reflects across the board decreases to all areas as anticipated.  The effect of these decreases on each individual program, if any, are yet to be determined.  The following is a strong statement of assurance from Minister Blackett accompanying today's budget, part of which is included here:

"Our 2010-11 budget makes a net reduction of $5 million, or 1.8 per cent, from the 2009-10 forecast, but allow me to explain further.  

Ministry program expenses will actually decrease by $35 million; at the same time, a $30 million one-time grant increase will fund four Alberta capital projects.  The funds for these projects are being provided through the capital fund and not through the department operating budget.  These projects also include some “flow-through” funding from the federal government.

The 2010-11 budget and our 2010-13 Business Plan were put together with the goal of providing the most funding possible to those groups that provide services and supports to the most vulnerable in our society, as well as to increase the competitiveness of our cultural industries.

All areas of my department will share in these budget reductions.  Within the department, we have brought in operational efficiencies and re-examined core roles, which has helped us to make up part of the shortfall.  These changes have also helped focus our budgeting on supporting critically important non-profit, voluntary and cultural sector services.

In my recent meetings with members of these sectors, we discussed ways of enhancing our relationship and having organizations work together to meet short-term challenges.  I look forward to continuing these discussions and finding new and innovative ways to build sustainable cultural and non-profit sector organizations.

My department has also looked for new efficiencies in our grant programs.  By streamlining applications and moving to a quarterly grant schedule, we are striving to keep the impact of budget reductions as small as possible.

While the 2010-11 budget has to face current economic realities, we will not lose the momentum that we have created in helping develop, foster and showcase our culture and community spirit.

We must take this opportunity, during these challenging times, to review what is important, encourage innovation and make it sustainable.  I look forward to working with all of you over the coming year.

Sincerely,

Lindsay Blackett

Minister of Culture and Community Spirit

MLA, Calgary-North West

Budget Overview for Culture And Community Spirit
Budgeted program expense for Culture and Community Spirit is $283.7 million in 2010-11, a net $5-million or 1.8-per-cent reduction from the 2009-10 forecast.  This reflects a $35-million or 15-per-cent reduction in operating expense, and a $30-million one-time increase in capital grants. 
 
The 2010-11 budget includes:
-$165 million for community and voluntary support services, including more than $41 million in capital grants supporting projects such as the Canada Sports Hall of Fame in Calgary and the GO Community Centre in Edmonton.  It also includes funding for ongoing programs, with
$38 million for the Community Facility Enhancement Program, $25.5 million for the Community Initiatives Program and $22 million for Major Fairs and Exhibitions. In addition, $16 million is provided for the Community Spirit Donation Grant Program, which encourages more individual donations to non-profit organizations and registered Alberta charities.
-$56 million for arts and cultural industries.  This includes more than $29 million in assistance to the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and $17 million in support for Film and Television
Production.  Implementation of Alberta’s cultural policy, The Spirit of Alberta, continues. 
-$47 million for heritage programs.  This includes support to the Royal Alberta Museum, the
Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, other museums and historic sites across the province. 
-$8 million for human rights and citizenship.  
 
For information, contact Parker Hogan 780-427-2395

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art opened their Reading Room today.  The site offers ten exhibition catalogues, mostly from the 1960s, that 'definitively placed contemporary art from Southern California on the national map or furthered the dialogue between Los Angeles and New York.' 

Although seeing these amazing works on your computer monitor is not optimal, for someone researching the work of a particular artist, it's a far cry better than ordering back catalogues (if available) or turning to a site like Abe Books to find rare editions that may be available through used book sellers.   read more »

This letter from the Collective Arts Think Tank in New York should be addressed and sent to every arts funder.    It examines what's working and what's not working in strategies to supporting artists and the creation of work.  Scan the highlights below, but be sure to read the whole letter (linked above) to get to the depth of the issues that work for the success or detriment to artists and organizations.

What's working:

1. Artists that make work on the work's schedule
2. Tailor-made management strategies for projects or artists
3. Knowing the real costs
4. Generosity among colleagues
5. Multi-year funding and presenting
6. Subsidized rentals

What's not working:  read more »

Hi blog-readers!

Today I came across a story that I found relevant to Calgary and especially my neighborhood (Cliff Bungalow-Mission). The story that I found in the New York Times was one of art reigning victorious when development projects fail. An empty lot was turned into a temporary, interactive, curated art park. This park sounds really great! There is actual programming and while the art park is temporary, it is great that the space is being put to positive use until construction can begin.  read more »

During recessionary times, shops close down, rents decrease, and artists are hopefully able to take advantage of realities such as these in order to secure space for their work; be it creation, incubation, rehearsal, exhibition or performance. It is most often up to the artist or arts organizations themselves to take advantage of these leads.  read more »

Hello blog readers!

The story that I highlight today occured in Hamburg, Germany. It is about how Daniel Richter, an established young artist, led a protest to save a section of Old Hamburg which is slotted to be torn down and replaced by office and living towers. The protest was meant to identify two problems that exist in cities all over the world.

The first is a decision to tear down historic buildings in an old neglected area of Hamburg. Policymakers all over the world employ these types of strategies to fight crime and poverty. Instead of getting to the root of the problem, historic buildings (and even entire neighborhoods) are torn down and those who are destitute that have made these buildings their homes will hopefully just move somewhere else.  read more »

If you're trying to contact anyone on the CADA team by telephone in the short term, I expect you're experiencing frustration.  So are we!

At this point, we are in the midst of moving offices, and unfortunately, due to delays in the work required of our new space, we do not have telephone access.  In addition, our team is telecommuting from various locations around Calgary.

Your best for contacting us is via e-mail or, believe it or not, Twitter! (@calgaryartsdev, @TerryAtCADA, @EricaAtCADA).

The good news is, you'll LOVE the new space!

Terry (cell: 403-681-2909)

The Alberta government will commit up to $20 million to help move the construction of the new Mount Royal Conservatory forward.  The Government of Canada will also consider funding up to $20 million, or one-third of the eligible project costs, through its Building Canada Fund subject to program guidelines being met.  Plans for the expansion include construction of a new 650-seat performance hall, approximately 82 studios, 16 practice rooms, two large studios, various classrooms and large rehearsal areas.

Enrolment at the current Mount Royal Conservatory is approximately 5,000 students under 18 years of age, representing 11,800 course registrations. The Conservatory’s long-term plan is to increase enrolment by 50 per cent over the next 15-20 years and be a leading national arts organization.  read more »