ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: November 1, 2001
Author/Local: A.Niwinski/6007

RTS: 2359

CC File No. 2051

CS&B: November 22, 2001

TO:	Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets
FROM:	Director of the Office of Cultural Affairs
SUBJECT:	2001 Diversity Initiatives Grants: Second Deadline

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Council approve Diversity Initiative grants totalling $14,000 to the following two groups, source of funds to be the Diversity Initiatives Grants category of the 2001 Cultural Grants budget:

Group Portrait (Headlines Theatre Society) $ 4,500
Playwrights Theatre Society $ 9,500

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of the foregoing.

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 two Diversity Initiative grants totalling $14,000.

BACKGROUND

The Diversity Initiatives grant 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 artistic 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 category of the 2001 Cultural Grants budget was set at $50,000. Seven grants totalling $36,000 were approved after the first program deadline in June, leaving an unallocated balance of $14,000.

DISCUSSION

Three applications were received for the second Diversity Initiatives deadline on October 5, 2001 and two of these are recommended for funding as indicated in Table 1, and discussed in more detail under individual headings.

Table 1

Organization	Activity	Recommended
Children's Festival	cross-cultural project	$0
Group Portrait (Theatre for Living Soc.)	artistic develop. project	$4,500
Playwrights Theatre Centre	cross-cultural residency	$9,500
TOTAL		$14,000

Canadian Institute of the Arts for Young Audiences (Children's Festival)

The Canadian Institute of the Arts for Young Audiences has applied for a cross-cultural artistic project grant to assist with its First Nations Focus initiative at the 2002 Children's Festival. The project will be an expansion of the activity tent that has been programmed at the festival by the Aboriginal Friendship Centre's House of Culture for several years. It will involve giving the House of Culture more programming responsibility and extending the scope of the programming, including development of a First Nations Day .

Staff note that this initiative involves an extension of previous on-site programming, for which City support is already provided through an annual Operating grant. Moreover, the partnership between the Children's Festival and House of Culture does not meet this grant program's requirement that the project be an artistic collaboration, involving joint development of artistic work. Rather, as the Festival indicates in its application, the project "will entail the House of Culture undertaking the cultural programming, and the Vancouver International Children's Festival providing the budget, administration, promotion and production aspects." While staff commend the festival for its pro-active work with culturally diverse organizations, no grant is recommended.

Group Portrait (Theatre for Living Society)

A $4,500 grant is recommended to support the development phase (including a workshop presentation) of Maharaj's Daughters, a theatre project featuring music, puppetry and storytelling. The play, which is being created by a four-person artistic collective, is based in early twentieth century India and centres on the experiences of one of the participants' families. The group is in the early stages of its development as an artistic collective, and this project is an important step in its growth.

Playwrights Theatre Centre

The Centre has applied for assistance with an artistic residency for Metis playwright Penny Gummerson. The residency will provide Ms. Gummerson with the resources to pursue two main areas of activity: working on her current play (Wawatay) and a new play (Is There Bingo in Heaven?); and providing writing workshops to First Nations and other women through the Prison Education Program. Throughout the residency she will also continue her community work in the downtown eastside, which she has been engaged in for many years. A $9,500 grant is recommended.

Conclusions

Approval of the recommendations in this report will leave no unallocated balance in the Diversity Initiatives category of the 2001 Cultural Grants budget. In total, the City will have assisted with nine initiatives (mentorships, residencies and artistic development projects) involving artists from diverse cultural backgrounds, and including First Nations, people with disabilities and Asian Canadians.

* * * * *

(c) 1998 City of Vancouver