Vancouver City Council |
CITY OF VANCOUVER
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date:
October 28, 2004
Author:
Cherryl Masters
Phone No.:
604 871-6498
RTS No.:
04594
CC File No.:
2051
Meeting Date:
November 18, 2004
TO:
Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets
FROM:
Director, Office of Cultural Affairs
SUBJECT:
2004 Diversity Initiatives Grants: 2nd Deadline
THAT Council approve three Diversity Initiatives grants totalling $18,000, source of funds to be the 2004 Cultural Grants budget:
· Atmasphere Art Society*
· Neworld Theatre Society
· Vancouver Dance Centre Society
*Subject to the conditions contained within this report.
The General Manager of Community Services recommends approval of the foregoing.
Council approved the establishment of the Diversity Initiatives program in 1998, following a review of the Cross Cultural Initiatives program which had been established by Council in 1990. Approval of grant recommendations requires eight affirmative votes.
This report presents staff recommendations for three Diversity Initiatives grant requests.
The Diversity Initiatives grant program was established in 1998 to support artistic development in distinct communities. It has four components: artistic leadership training, artistic development projects, cross-cultural artistic projects, and cross-cultural artistic residencies. For the October 4, 2004 deadline, applications were received from three organizations: Atmasphere Art Society, Neworld Theatre Society, and the Vancouver Dance Centre Society. As indicated in Table 1, the requests relate to the following two components of the program:
· Artistic Development project. This component assists projects that contribute to the artistic development of a professionally-led arts group from one or more distinct communities. Projects must involve new creation or interpretation, and may include development, production, presentation or exhibition.
· Cross Cultural Artistic Residency. This component assists with residencies for artists from distinct communities (for up to 12 months). The residency must be hosted by a non-profit cultural organization from another community (distinct or mainstream) and must have artistic development objectives for both the artist and host organization. The residency should provide opportunities for creation and/or presentation of the artist’s work. This should be in addition to ongoing activities of the host organization and should also include a community involvement component.
A Staff committee reviewed the three applications received, and met and consulted with the applicants to gain a fuller understanding of the proposed projects and to address any questions. Staff recommendations are listed in Table 1, and discussed in more detail under individual headings.
Table 1
Organization |
Proposal |
Requested |
Recommended |
Atmasphere Art Society* |
Artistic Development |
$ 4,310 |
$ 4,000 |
Neworld Theatre Society |
Artistic Development |
$10,000 |
$ 9,000 |
Vancouver Dance Centre Society |
Cross Cultural Residency |
$11,500 |
$ 5,000 |
TOTAL |
$25,810 |
$18,000 |
*Subject to the conditions contained within this report.
Atmasphere Art Society
The recently formed Atmasphere Art Society is requesting assistance for the ANU project where artists of numerous disciplines and from diverse cultural backgrounds are brought together to create an evening of improvised cross-cultural performances. Under the artistic direction of Iraqi-born Vancouverite Jabbar Al Janabi, ANU is three evenings of multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural, improvised performances using dance, spoken word, music and visual art. The Society’s mandate is to provide a post-modern environment for artists to create, converse and collaborate with various artistic disciplines as well as to provide a bridge to the avant-garde and provoke dialogue between the artists and community. The project will contribute to the artistic development of the organization. A grant of $4,000 is recommended to assist with the production and promotion of the event, conditional upon confirmation of the proposed venue and a complete list of participating artists.
Neworld Theatre Society
Neworld Theatre is proposing to sponsor a newly formed Vancouver French theatre company called Les Saints, to develop and produce a new play called the Bloody Clean Up. This bilingual production, based on the death of Marie Antoinette as told by a French-Canadian clown, will aim to build a bridge between French and English audiences in Vancouver. Les Saints creates theatre that incorporates Circus, Commedia and Opera and their approach to serve a bilingual audience is unique. A grant of $9,000 is recommended to assist the production and presentation of this play, which will contribute to the artistic development of this emerging theatre company.
Vancouver Dance Centre Society
The Vancouver Dance Centre is proposing to host Alvin Erasga Tolentino as Artist in Residence for the 2004/05 year. Mr. Tolentina is an artist of Filipino descent who wishes to bring together artists of Asian heritage to create a full-length dance piece called OrienTik/Portrait. Through this project he aims to incorporate music and movement to inspire cross-cultural dialogue and community building. The artists will include Taiko drummer and percussionist Eileen Kage, classical pianist Alison Nishihara and dance artist Andrea Nann. The residency will allow him to develop the piece and interact with the public through public workshops and open studios. A grant of $5,000 is recommended for the creation and public programming component of the residency. The grant will enable the Dance Centre to work with diverse artists and reach out to a broader community while advancing the artistic development of Alvin Tolentino.
A total of $50,000 was allocated to the Diversity Initiatives grant program for 2004. There are two annual deadlines; June and October. Following the allocation of six grants at the first deadline, the amount available for the second deadline is $18,000. Approval of these three requests totalling $18,000, as recommended in this report, will leave no unallocated balance in the Diversity Initiatives component of the 2004 Cultural Grants budget.
The Director, Office of Cultural Affairs, recommends approval of the Recommendation.
The projects presented in this report support the goals of the Diversity Initiatives program in assisting with the professional development of artists and arts organizations from distinct communities. The program enables the Atmasphere Society to bring a unique perspective and vision to the Vancouver community while assisting the artistic development of this emerging organization. It fosters the development of new work by companies not yet fully established such as Les Saints, under the sponsorship of Neworld Theatre. Through a cross-cultural artistic residency at the Dance Centre, it further allows for creative collaboration among artists, organizations and the public to increase intercultural understanding through the development of artistic projects.
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