Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets

FROM:

Director of the Office of Cultural Affairs

SUBJECT:

2001 Diversity Initiatives Grants: First Deadline

 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

Guidelines for the Diversity Initiatives program were approved by Council on July 28, 1998. Approval of grant recommendations requires eight affirmative votes.
PURPOSE

This report makes recommendations for seven Diversity Initiative grants totalling $36,000.

BACKGROUND

The Diversity Initiatives program supports artistic development in distinct communities (defined by race, ethnicity or disability), and cross-cultural artistic partnerships. Applicants must be based and active in Vancouver. The program provides grants for four types of activities:

(1) Artistic Leadership Training: towards the costs of internships and mentorships for artists from distinct communities in the following areas: curation, artistic direction, and artistic production.

(2) Artistic Development Projects: for projects designed to contribute to the artistic development of a professionally led arts group from one or more distinct communities. Projects must include new creation or interpretation.

(3) Cross-Cultural Artistic Projects: to assist with collaborative projects between two or more arts groups, one of which must be from a distinct community. A joint application must be submitted by at least two organizational partners.

(4) Cross-Cultural Artistic Residencies: to assist with a residency for one or more artists from a distinct community hosted by a non-profit society from a mainstream or other distinct community.

The budget for the Diversity Initiatives component of the 2001 Cultural Grants budget is $50,000. There are two annual deadlines for this grant program: June 1, 2001 and October 5, 2001.

DISCUSSION

Staff have reviewed the eight applications received for the first Diversity Initiatives deadline in 2001. They include mentorships, developmental projects, a cross-cultural initiative and an artistic residency, and involve theatre, music, interdisciplinary and media arts initiatives by artists from a number of distinct communities.

Noting the range and generally high quality of the proposals in this round, staff are recommending grants to seven of the eight applicants. The recommendations are listed in Table 1 and discussed in more detail under individual headings.

Table 1
Recommendations
2001 Diversity Initiatives Grants: 1st Deadline

Organization (Sponsor)

Request

Recommen.

Double Helix New Concert production

$10,000

$7,000

Firehall Theatre Society

$10,000

$7,000

Full Circle First Nations Performance Society

$5,000

$4,000

La Luna Productions (VIEW, the Performing Arts Soc.)

$8,000

$4,000

Satellite Video Exchange Society

$10,000

$6,500

Society for Disability Arts and Culture

$10,000

$5,000

Van. Asian Canadian Theatre

$8,000

$2,500

Van. Pro Musica

$7,400

$0

Total

$68,400

$36,000

Double Helix New Concert Productions

A $7,000 grant is recommended to support first phase development of an opera in three languages, The Peach Project. Phase one activities include a developmental workshop, evaluation and first rewrite of the opera by the core creative team of composer, librettist, dramaturge and director, with special emphasis on problem solving around the use of multiple languages (Taiwanese, Mandarin, English). Double Helix, founded in 1999 by co-artistic directors Ya-wen Vivienne Wang and Gabriel Alden, creates forums for cultural exchange through production of original performance works. The Peach Project provides opportunities for the company to expand its scope and scale.

Firehall Arts Centre

The Firehall Arts Centre has asked for assistance with a second artistic residency for Metis actor and playwright Marie Clements, starting in November 2001. This initiative will provide Ms. Clements with the physical, artistic and organizational resources to pursue two main areas of activity: further development of the Downtown Eastside Women's Writing Program that she set up during her initial eight-month residency, and work on several of her plays, each of which is at a different stage of development. Her plans for the women's writinggroup include the creation of an infrastructure to ensure its continuation. A $7,000 grant is recommended.

Full Circle: First Nations Performance Society

Full Circle has applied for a $4,000 grant towards the costs of a mentorship for First Nations theatre artist Lisa Ravensbergen under the guidance of Margo Kane, the company's artistic director, with input from other individuals as appropriate. The mentorship will provide practical experience in many facets of artistic direction, including curating, directing, producing, and collaborating with other artists. One of the main vehicles for this experiential learning will be the development of a First Nations "salon series".

La Luna Productions

La Luna Productions, a group of five theatre artists from diverse cultural, linguistic and racial backgrounds, has applied for assistance with the creation and production of a multilayered cabaret event blending visual art, poetry, theatre and music. This artistic development project will be the group's first opportunity to work as one creative unit and is intended to lay the foundation for a new creation model. Staff recommend a grant of $4,000.

Satellite Video Exchange Society

A grant of $ 6,500 is recommended towards the third and final year of the society's project with deaf artists, which provides instruction and mentorships as well as opportunities to create and present new work. In year two, Video In brought back the "graduates" from the previous year as mentors for a new group. These mentors will now receive further training to become instructors, while last year's graduates move up to mentoring a new group of artists. Under the direction of the deaf artists, the project's steering committee is preparing to present the first annual Deaf Film and Video Festival, as well as seeking status as their own society for future years

Society for Disability Arts and Culture

The society's mission is to celebrate the unique perspectives, strengths and creativity of artists and performers with disabilities. In 1999, an initial Diversity Initiatives grant helped the society develop and showcase work by artists with disabilities in the areas of dance and choral music. The next step in the organization's artistic development is a theatre project, which encompasses elements of dance and music and will lead to a full-scale performance in the spring of 2002. A $5,000 grant is recommended. Staff note that in conjunction with this development work, the society has also been the main organizer of the KickstART! festival of disability arts to be held this August, for which it received a Project grant earlierthis year.

Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre

This recently formed society produces plays in which Asian-Canadian performers take on culturally and artistically significant roles. It has applied for assistance with its production of Exit the Dragon in September 2001. In staging this work, VACT intends to provide Asian-Canadian actors and other theatre artists with the opportunity to hone their skills and gain valuable work experience. Staff recommend a grant of $2,500 towards artistic expenses and the costs of additional rehearsal time, and note that the society would benefit from a long-term strategic plan to build its organizational and artistic capacity.

Vancouver Pro Musica

The organization requested $7,400 towards rehearsal and development of newly composed work by four ensembles, to be presented as part of the third Further East, Further West Festival of New Music for Asian and Western Instruments in May 2002. The cross-cultural artistic projects component of Diversity Initiatives gives priority to collaborative activities that take all players in new directions. Staff believe that the proposed collaboration is not substantively different from the ongoing work of Vancouver Pro Musica. For this reason, and because Vancouver Pro Musica has already received operating support for activities that include the festival, a Diversity Initiatives grant is not recommended.

Conclusions

The Diversity Initiative recommendations in this report address applications made for the first of two annual deadlines, the second being in October. Approval of the recommendations will leave an unallocated balance of $14,000 in the Diversity Initiatives category of the 2001 Cultural Grants budget.

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