NATIONAL COALITION SEEKS 150 MILLION FOR THE ARTS The Canadian Conference of the Arts has recently announced the formation of a national coalition of arts organizations that is driving a major advocacy campaign with the single purpose of increasing funding for the arts in Canada by $150 million dollars. The objective of the Canadian Arts Coalition, is to convince the Federal Government to double the 2006 budget of the Canada Council for the Arts. The campaign has been organized to provide every artist and arts organization in Canada with the information and tools to participate. This is an important and timely initiative. There is more recognition by the media and more information available today indicating the tremendous impact that the arts have on the economy. Various pundits are proclaiming the rise of the creative class and the essential role that culture plays in building healthy vibrant communities. Yet Canadian artists remain in the lowest income brackets with none of the benefits common to most other professions such as extended medical care and pensions. The non-profit arts organizations have fared no better. Most of ARCCO's members - organizations that provide support for production and presentation of contemporary art in communities throughout the province - are struggling with inadequate funding and increasing costs. The majority are receiving lower levels of government revenue than they did a decade ago. Despite the wishful thinking that private and corporate support will increase to fill the void there is no evidence that this is happening. The Canada Council is the one federal agency that supports both artists and arts organizations and it has the programs in place to distribute the funds effectively and efficiently from coast to coast. The following press release is provided courtesy of the Canadian Conference of the Arts. The Canadian Arts Coalition has created several documents which are available below for you to download and use. The Background document gives the essential facts and describes the need. There is a draft letter which you can modify and personalize to send to your MP, and a response form which you should complete and forward after meeting with your MP. Every artist and arts organization in Canada should welcome this opportunity to take an active role in this national campaign. ARCCO urges its members to join the campaign today. Write your local MP ASAP and pass this information on to your members and artists. |
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Press
Release from the Canadian Conference of the Arts Canadian Arts Coalition – Advocacy Campaign The Canadian Conference of the Arts has joined together with a number of high profile arts service organizations and arts advocacy groups from across Canada to form a national coalition called the Canadian Arts Coalition. This Coalition has been established with a singular focus – to lobby the federal government for an increase in funding for the arts through the Canada Council for the Arts in the 2006 budget. The CCA is a founding member of the Canadian Arts Coalition and urges you to join in the important advocacy work that the group is undertaking. Our Advocacy Goal The specific goal of the Canadian Arts Coalition is to secure increased funding of the arts through the Canada Council for the Arts by $5 per capita, which would effectively double the current annual contribution by adding approximately $150 million to the Council's annual budget. Our Strategy The Canadian Arts Coalition will implement a lobbying and public affairs plan designed to build support for an infusion of new funding to the Canada Council. This will include meetings with Cabinet Ministers, MPs, public servants and key influencers and communication strategies to build public support. Our first opportunity All of the political parties will hold summer caucus meetings to refocus MPs and discuss strategy for when the House resumes sitting in September. Our goal is to make the case for increased funding to the arts to individual MPs while they are back in their ridings this summer, so that by the time they meet together with the rest of the caucus, the issue will be top of mind and we will have laid the groundwork for it to be included on the agenda this Fall. How your organization can assist As a member of the Canadian Conference of the Arts, we hope you will play a key role in helping to communicate the Coalition’s message to federal Members of Parliament. Specifically, you can help by educating and building a rapport with the local MP and his/her staff in your riding. Attached is a copy of generic letter that can be edited and sent by your organization along with an Arts in Canada Backgrounder which outlines the need for increased funding for the arts sector. We would urge you to send these out to your local MP as soon as possible, in order to get on the radar for the upcoming caucus meetings. Distribution details You can find your MP’s email address at http://canada.gc.ca/directories/direct_e.html. The most effective distribution method would be to embed the generic letter into an email and attach the Arts in Canada Backgrounder so that it can be sent electronically. Hard copies of each can then be faxed or mailed to the constituency office. Future advocacy Over the next few weeks, we hope that you will consider more ways of increasing profile and visibility for all arts and cultural activities as our advocacy work gains momentum. All ideas and suggestions are welcome and can be sent to Julie Cayouette, Executive Assistant, Canadian Conference of the Arts, julie.cayouette@ccarts.ca, (613) 238-3561, ext. 20. We will be in regular contact to share progress updates. Thank you in advance for your assistance and we look forward to working together to move this important work forward. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Background on the Canadian Arts Coalition In May 2005, a number of arts service organizations, arts advocacy groups and individuals met to discuss the state of federal arts funding in Canada. The group concluded that federal funding for the arts through the Canada Council for the Arts should be significantly increased. Participants agreed to form a single-issue, national coalition to lobby for this goal. The Coalition is member directed, with day-to-day activities being overseen by a Steering Committee made up of 8 volunteers. Canadian Arts Coalition - Steering Committee Members • Bastien Gilbert, Directeur, Regroupement des centres d'artistes autogérés du Québec • Sarah Iley, Vice-President, Programming, The Banff Centre for The Canadian Arts Summit • Mark Jamison, Chief Executive Officer, Magazines Canada • Carl Johnson, Président, Société des musées québécois • Micheline McKay, Executive Director, Opera.ca • Heather Redfern, Executive Director, Alliance for Arts and Culture • Andrew David Terris, Interim National Director, Canadian Conference of the Arts • Lucy White, Executive Director, Professional Association of Canadian Theatres Making the case for increased funding to the arts Currently, government investment in the Canada Council for the Arts supports 2,100 arts organizations and a similar number of individual professional artists like writers, musicians, dancers, actors, painters and sculptors. At issue is that each year, 12,000 eligible arts organizations and artists must be turned down for support, resulting in the loss of enormous creative potential for Canada. Since 1998, Canada Council has seen a 50% increase in the number of applications from arts organizations and a 30% increase from individual artists. We believe it is critical that public funding keep pace with both the growth in the number of artists in Canada and their drive for excellence. Canada’s not-for-profit arts organizations and artists are the backbone of the $39 billion cultural sector in Canada. This sector is bigger than the agriculture, forestry, mining and oil and gas sectors combined. However, current federal contributions add less than 10% to the revenues of a typical Canadian arts organization. Earned revenue and private donations (corporate and individual) generally account for at least 75% of an arts organization’s budget, greatly outstripping public investment. In fact, Canada’s contribution to the arts lags far behind most of its European counterparts both in terms of per capita spending and spending as a percentage of GDP. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ARCCO P.O. Box 44026, Market Tower Lane Postal Outlet 141 Dundas Street, London, Ontario N6A 5S5 email: jewel.goodwyn@sympatico.ca
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