CITY OF VANCOUVER
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: |
July 6, 2004 | |
Author: |
Alice Niwinski | |
Phone No.: |
604 871 6007 | |
RTS No.: |
04228 | |
CC File No.: |
2051 | |
Meeting Date: |
July 20, 2004 |
TO: |
Vancouver City Council |
FROM: |
Director, Office of Cultural Affairs |
SUBJECT: |
2004 Diversity Initiatives Grants: First Deadline |
RECOMMENDATION
THAT Council approve six Diversity Initiatives grants totalling $32,000, source of funds to be the 2004 Cultural Grants budget:
Full Circle First Nations Performance Society $5,500
Gallery Gachet $3,500
Leaky Heaven Performance Society $6,500
Touchstone Theatre $4,500
Urban Ink Productions $6,500
Van. Centre for Contemporary Asian Art $5,500
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services recommends approval of the foregoing.
COUNCIL POLICY
Approval of grant recommendations requires eight affirmative votes.
PURPOSE
This report presents staff recommendations for six Diversity Initiatives grant requests.
BACKGROUND
Six applications were received for the June 1, 2004 deadline of the Diversity Initiatives program, which supports artistic development in culturally diverse communities. The program includes grants for the following types of activities:
· Artistic leadership training - assists with the costs of experiential training (internships, mentorships or apprenticeships) for artists from distinct communities in the areas of curation, artistic direction and artistic production.
· Artistic development projects - for projects contributing to the artistic development of a professionally led arts group from one or more distinct communities. Projects must include new creation or interpretation. While organizations can receive up to three grants in this category, requests in the second or third year must include a long-term development plan.
· Cross-cultural artistic residencies - for artists from distinct communities, hosted by a not-for-profit society from a mainstream or other distinct community, and including a community outreach component.
The budget for the Diversity Initiatives category of the 2004 Cultural Grant budget is $50,000. There are two annual deadlines, in June and October.
DISCUSSION
A staff committee reviewed the six applications received for the first of two Diversity Initiatives deadlines scheduled for 2004. These include two artistic residencies, two artistic leadership training initiatives, and two development projects. Staff recommendations are listed in Table 1, and discussed in more detail under individual headings.
Table 1
Recommendations
2004 Diversity Initiatives Grants: 1st Deadline
Organization |
Activity |
Requested |
Recommend. |
Full Circle Performance Soc. |
development project |
$10,000 |
$5,500 |
Gallery Gachet |
artistic residency |
$4,000 |
$3,500 |
Leaky Heaven Performance Soc. |
artistic residency |
$10,000 |
$6,500 |
Touchstone Theatre |
artistic leadership training |
$5,000 |
$4,500 |
Urban Ink Productions |
development project |
$10,000 |
$6,500 |
Van. Centre for Contemporary Asian Art |
artistic leadership training |
$6,000 |
$5,500 |
TOTAL |
$45,000 |
$32,000 |
Full Circle First Nations Performance Society
Full Circle has embarked on an ambitious three-year project, The Rez Show, which involves extensive community outreach, training and workshopping to develop a new performance work that incorporates stories, dance, song and images from the Aboriginal community, and is designed to connect youth to elders. The initial phase of The Rex Show, which focused on team-building and outreach workshops, was supported through a $6,000 Diversity Initiatives grant last year. The company is asking for a second artistic development grant to assist with year two of this complex project.
Staff note that organizations requesting more than one artistic development grant must have long-term development plans in place. Full Circle is currently implementing a strategic plan that will develop its capacity to deliver The Rez Show project, which, together with several other initiatives, has expanded the scope of the society's activities. Staff recommend a $5,500 grant for the next phase of The Rez Show, which will include collaborative script development and a series of workshops at different stages of creation.
Gallery Gachet Society
Located in the downtown eastside, Gallery Gachet provides an exhibition venue and studios to support artists who face barriers to social, cultural and economic participation because they are clients of the mental health system. The gallery has requested support for a six-month artistic residency that would give theatre/performance artist Siobhan McCarthy the opportunity to develop interdisciplinary work in collaboration with Gachet member artists, neighbourhood residents and the broader community. Ms. McCarthy's The Masks We Wear project will provide mask making and performance workshops for six months, and result in an installation/performance piece at Gallery Gachet in March 2005. A grant of $3,500 is recommended.
Leaky Heaven Performance Society
A grant of $6,500 is recommended to support the cross-cultural artistic residency of theatre artist Lesley Ewen at Leaky Heaven Performance Society. This residency will enable Ms. Ewen, who is an established female artist of Jamaican and Scottish ethnicity, to create a solo performance piece and a community workshop which will deal with issues of ethnicity, gender and culture. The play will be performed at Leaky Heaven's Queer Questions: A Circus Symposium on Performing Gender in February 2005. This initiative will assist Ms. Ewen in developing challenging new work that will enrich her repertoire as an artist and strengthen her abilities as a cultural worker.
Touchstone Theatre
Touchstone Theatre has applied for funding to assist with the costs of a mentorship for Chilean-born theatre artist Carmen Aguirre, who will work with the company's artistic director, Katrina Dunn. After ten years of implementing her creative projects through several theatre companies, Ms. Aquirre is looking to develop the skills that will enable her to lead her own company. The mentorship will provide her with direct experience in programming a season, budgeting, contracting, board dynamics and communication, and fund-raising. A $4,500 grant is recommended.
Urban Ink Productions Society
Urban Ink has requested a grant towards the creation and production of Women in Fish, a large-scale multimedia installation and theatre project focusing on the personal histories of women who worked in British Columbia's fishing industry on Galliano Island and the west coast. The project brings together aboriginal and non-aboriginal women, emerging and established artists, as well as community and arts organizations to create an interactive installation and six radio play to be broadcast live-to-air. The project will be presented on Galliano Island and in Vancouver, where it will be part of the Word on the Street festival.
Staff recommend a grant of $6,500, which will be the company's second artistic development grant from Diversity Initiatives. Staff note that in its three years of existence Urban Ink has grown quickly, built a network of artistic partners, and developed some unique creation processes. It is currently reviewing its organizational needs and laying the groundwork for delivering on its plans for the next three years.
Vancouver Centre for Contemporary Asian Art (Centre A)
Centre A is requesting funding towards a one-year internship for artist Sally Lee that will help her develop the skills necessary to work as a director/curator in a small not-for-profit arts organization. Formerly from Hong Kong, Ms. Lee is a painter and graduate of the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, an active volunteer at Centre A, and a member of an artists' collective and gallery. Under the executive director and the curator at Centre A, Ms. Lee will train in arts administration, board governance, curating and education. She will be responsible for developing and implementing the centre's new art education program and curating one exhibition from conception through to implementation. A grant of $5,500 is recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
Council approved a budget of $50,000 for the Diversity Initiatives category of the 2004 Cultural Grants budget. Approval of the six grants totalling $32,000 as recommended in this report will leave an unallocated budget of $18,000 for the program's second deadline in October 2004. Historically, the number of applications in the second deadline has been smaller than those in the first round.
CONCLUSION
The recommendations in this report relate to applications made for the first of two annual deadlines for Diversity Initiatives grants. Staff note that the six projects received for this grant round were all strong, and that the available budget has limited the size of grants that staff are recommending.
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