Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

City Council

FROM:

Director of the Office of Cultural Affairs

SUBJECT:

2002 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 five Diversity Initiative grants totalling $31,000.

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 2002 Cultural Grants budget is $50,000. There are two annual deadlines for this grant program: June 3, 2002 and October 4, 2002.

DISCUSSION

Staff have reviewed the five applications received for the first Diversity Initiatives deadline in 2002. They include two mentorships, two developmental projects, and an artistic residency, and involve artists from a number of distinct communities. All five applications were consistently strong in this round, resulting in recommendations to approve funds for each project. First Nations artists are represented in three of the applications, and have been approved for five grants since 1998. This is an encouraging demonstration of the value of the program's flexibility and support for peer learning, mentorships and artistic collaborations in the First Nation community.
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

Recommended

Ballet British Columbia

$5,000

Full Circle First Nations Performance Society

$4,000

NeWorld Theatre Society

$5,000

Pacific Theatre Society

$7,000

Urban Ink Productions Society

$10,000

Total

$31,000

Ballet British Columbia

Ballet BC will provide a six-month mentorship to Robert Benaroya, artistic producer of the two-year old Caravan World Rhythm Society. Caravan is an emerging leader in presenting and producing culturally diverse music and dance programs and is helping to build an audience for local and international artists. The mentorship will strengthen capacity to manage artistic risks while also providing hands-on experience with a larger staff, more complex budgets, and sponsorship development. Staff recommend a grant of $5,000.

Full Circle: First Nations Performance Society

Full Circle has substantial experience with training and is becoming a notable resource for emerging First Nations artists working in Vancouver. Assistance is requested to mentor First Nations theatre artist Kevin Loring under the guidance of Margo Kane, the company's artistic director, with input from other individuals including past mentees. The mentorship will provide practical experience in artistic direction and in collaborating with other artists. The experiential learning includes further development of Kevin Loring's own play and assisting with the programming of the Aboriginal Artist Series of workshops and performances. A grant of $4,000 is recommended.

NeWorld Theatre Society

The society has applied for an artistic development grant to assist with the research and creation of a new play that will engage myths and realities of Middle Eastern society in a North American context. The development of Ali and Ali's Stationary Roadshow will involve a process and a style of work that represents an important step in NeWorld's evolution as a distinctive voice in Vancouver's theatre community. Staff recommend a grant of $5,000.

Pacific Theatre

A $7,000 grant is recommended in support of a cross-cultural artistic residency for First Nations artist Lisa Ravensbergen with Pacific Theatre. During the residency Ms. Ravensbergen will research, write and workshop her first play, provide dramaturgical support on another project, and co-ordinate a community project with youth and elders from the First Nations community for a work entitled The Rez Show.

Urban Ink Productions

Staff recommend an artistic development grant of $10,000 for this First Nations theatre company's creation and production of Rare Earth Elements - Arias from the Downtown Eastside. Under the guidance of artistic director Marie Clements, the project will bring together six emerging women writers from diverse background, six theatre directors and six professional actors to develop a program of short monologues for presentation at the Firehall Arts Centre. The project builds on the weekly writing workshops that Ms. Clements has co-ordinated in the Downtown Eastside for over two years. It will expand the scope of Urban Ink's creative and community outreach activities, while contributing to the artistic development of emerging artists.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The Diversity Initiatives Grants, as a subset of the 2002 Cultural Grants budget, have been notionally allocated $50,000 in the 2002 Budget. The approval of $31,000 will therefore leave $19,000 for the October 2002 second deadline.

CONCLUSION

Staff recommend approval of five Diversity Initiative applications from the first of two annual deadlines, the second being in October.

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ag020730.htm

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