21 accents
And now for something completely different….
Author: Michael Wheeler
Culture implodes in British Columbia
Image by Laszlo under a Creative Commons 2.0 license
by Michael Wheeler
Wow, Theatre Skam wasn’t joking when they predicted back in March that the government cuts to culture would cause A Total Eclipse of The Arts.
The recent BC budget called for a 90% cut to arts and culture, while most industries averaged out at 7% cutbacks: From $47.8 million in 2008/09 to $3.75 million in 2010/11. It is not hyperbolic to refer to this as utterly devastating. Within a year, many organizations will cease to exist. Looming over this “arts-pocalypse” as Globe and Mail critic Kelly Nestruck first referred to it on Twitter, is the Cultural Olympiad occuring in BC as part of the upcoming Olympic Winter Games.
The dilemna seems clear: The lead up to the games is the only time cultural leaders will have any leverage with the government. They, along with some of the best talent from across the country, are required to entertain the whole gosh-darn planet in a few of months. Afterwards it seems they will be expendable and dispensable, which is a thesis heavily supported by the provincial budget.
But who wants to mess up the Olympics? Many artists have worked their whole lives to arrive on a stage as bright as this. Almost everyone in the arts knows someone who has an amazing opportunity they wouldn’t otherwise have due to the Cultural Olympiad.
How to handle this situation will certainly require a sophisticated response from BC artists. It’s a mean-spirited position to put an entire industry and community in. There has been quite a bit of action on the Facebook Group: Organizing against Campbell’s cuts to the arts. Within days it has skyroceted to almost 2500 members and looks to be a central hub for information on this topic.
Are we really going to have one of those ridiculous national “Does art matter?” conversations again? What do you think should be done? How can the rest of Canadian artists support those in BC? One day everything on this website will be about art and how much fun it is to make it!
On the one year anniversary of deciding to fight back, things are looking pretty familiar
by Michael Wheeler
A turnout like this means something, you know what, when your first meeting is packed up and its sold out to put it in theatre terms it means you have a hit on your hands. To put it in activist terms it means you are in a movement moment, it means if you organize it they will come. It means you have good timing. That’s the moment we’re in right now.
Naomi Klein addresses the Department of Culture organized Town Hall at The Theatre Centre, September 3rd, 2008.
The inaugural Department of Culture meeting drew hundreds of people to the Theatre Centre on the hottest day of last fall, with people spilling into the lobby and out onto the sidewalk where the event inside was telecast.
Politically, for the arts in Canada, those were some very dark days. The Conservative Government had released a number of ideologically motivated cuts to arts funding over the summer of 2008, while every day the polls showed Stephen Harper cruising to a larger majority government. The notion that Canada “had become more conservative” was being floated as a talking point, and even some of my most progressive friends were starting to reconcile themselves to a bleak five years. Our Town Hall was organized in direct opposition to that notion. We proposed that there was still time to turn this train around and that artists and arts workers could play an integral role in doing so.
The speakers were great, and the turnout was impressive, but what was really key about that meeting was it provided the three absolutely essential resources that our fledging organization needed: Money, volunteers and profile. Money came in the form of individual cash donations straight out of people’s wallets and cheques that came in over the next week. Volunteers were identified with contact info, availability and skill sets by a team entering info into a bank of laptops in the lobby. Profile came from the sheer size and enthusiasm for the event and the clearly serious manner with which our community organized.
1 year ago today, The Theatre Centre was packed to the rafters and out on to the streets.
We used each of these resources for all they worth every day from September 3rd to October 14th 2008. What was kick-started that night morphed into a national grassroots movement. Some of the actions that came out of our first event were:
- Departments of Culture were set up independently by likeminded artists across the country.
- These autonomous ad hoc organizations were tied together in the last week of the campaign by a series of concerts, video contests and theatre pieces, including the first ever national Wrecking Ball in ten Canadian on the same night from coast-to-coast.
- Not all of the thousands of volunteers across the country relied on art. Online volunteers made our Facebook site the #4 Special Interest Group of the election according to CBC.
- Swing teams targeted key 905-area ridings holding public meeting, attending debates and distributing information at GO stations and bus stations.
Our biggest electoral success was playing a part in changing the overall ballot question. 2008 was the first time that a question about culture was posed at the leader’s debate. That artists from across the country were united in their opposition to the government in both official languages had some influence on changing the question from: “Is Canada becoming more Conservative?” to a more traditional Canadian election question like: “Is Stephen Harper too ideologically motivated and out of touch with Canadian values to be trusted with a majority government?” On this question the government will fail every time.
The same creative team behind this video by Hooded Fang was the same gang behind this summer’s Fringe hit musical East of Broadway. Nice year guys.
Michael Ignatieff’s announcement two days ago that the Liberal Party would no longer prop up the Conservative Government points to a new campaign soon. Department of Culture is not affiliated with any political party, but clearly this will mark the beginning if a new chapter in arts activism in Canada.
Some of the key questions facing us are:
- What role will we play this time?
- How can we involve everyone who wants to participate?
- Where will our resources come from?
- Should we have another Town Hall to kick things off?
- How do you play an effective part in an election if you don’t endorse any political parties?
- What is different this election?
- What is the same?
What do you think? I hope Department of Culture will be revived not just because we support the arts, but because culture is an integral part of a healthy society along with a compassionate social safety net, environmental reform, support for the rights of all Canadians, and many other things our current government opposes. Culture does not occur in a vacuum.
Whatever your thoughts, stay tuned to departmentofculture.ca for more information. It’s sure to be back up and running shortly. No, you are not experiencing deja vu. Yes, it does seem like this is exactly half over.
Harper’s Ordinary Artists by Rob Baker, Alastair Forbes, and Alex Hatz gets my vote for funniest video of the 2008 campaign.
How to fix theatre in Canada and the US
Two interesting a pieces from around the theatrosphere about how to fix theatre in North America last week:
1
How to Expand Our Arts Communities
In a fast changing culture, seven ideas for connecting with new audiences.
In the second of three articles drawn from Diane Ragsdale’s recent address to the Vancouver Arts Summit, she lays out some impressive challenges for modern theatre artists and how to face them. Most interesting theory cited: that the “long tail” of the creative economy requires 1000 “true fans” to sustain a career as a creator.
2
Collective Arts Think Tank
First Letter to the Field: What’s working, what’s not working, recommendations
A NYC-based blog/manifesto/letter about the systemic problems facing the field of contemporary live performance. This letter is split into three parts: The state of the field; possible actions for artists; and possible actions for grant-makers.
Out and About – UK Edition
I caught Simon Lee Philips and Roanna Cochrane having a celebratory snog at the opening night premiere of Michael Healey’s Generous outside the Finborough Theatre in London (UK not ON).
Simon has a lot to celebrate – having just been cast in Trevor Nunn’s production of Inherit the Wind. Looks like he’s made the move from small fringe theatre to the West End. Simon’s star meter is definitely on the rise.
SummerWorks 2009 Awards
Now Audience Award: Greenland
SummerWorks Prize for Outstanding Production: Greenland
Contra Guys Award for Outstanding New Play: Say Nothing Saw Wood
Crow’s Theatre Award for Direction: Alan Dilworth (The Middle Place)
RBC Arts Professional Award: Impromptu Splendour
The Spotlight Award: The Art of Catching Pigeons by Torchlight and Andrea Donaldson (Montparnasse)
The Steamwhistle Emerging Artist Award: Akosua Amo-Adem (The Middle Place)
Variation #4: Christine Horne
Text:
“Louveciennes resembles the village where Madame Bovary lived and died.”
Image:
Sound:
(ignore the slideshowy business that goes along with it. click and minimize.)
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Christine Horne is currently performing in Praxis Theatre’s production of Underneath at Summerworks.
She is also Artistic Producer of Kick Theatre and Artistic Co-Director of The Thistle Project with whom she is producing and co-creating Peer Gynt, adapted for two actors at the Church of the Holy Trinity opening in January 2010.
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My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Mirvish Show!
The Panasonic Theatre has more seats than Bread and Circus. (But less DIY charm?)
Yep. It’s true. My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding, the little show that couldn’t stop selling out the tiny Bread and Circus at the Fringe is moving to the Panasonic Theatre on Yonge St.
“The new fall production “will be expanded and reworked to include new songs, more characters, a larger cast and a bigger band. Like the original, it will be directed by Andrew Lamb, and will star Shaw and Stratford festival veteran Lisa Horner as David’s mom.”
Congrats to everyone involved. The Mirvish people seem to have incorporated the talking point: “Drowsy Chaperone” heavily in their PR strategy about the surprise pick up. Let’s hope they’re right.
With Studio 180’s production of David Hare’s Stuff Happens already in the Mirvish season, is there starting to be a genuine path from indie to commercial success in this town?
And now a message from The Indie Caucus
The Indie Caucus
Invites any and all interested parties to:
Canadian Actors’ Equity Association Town Hall #3
Indie Caucus Candidates Revealed!
Thursday August 13th, 7:00pm @ The Theatre Centre
This is the first Town Hall since the historic 96-1 vote at the CAEA 2009 AGM to better represent the needs of member/creators.
This Town Hall is being held during the SummerWorks Festival at The Theatre Centre to reach as many independent theatre creators as possible with the latest exciting developments in how professional associations are adapting to modern creation practices.
This Town Hall will present:
- The names of the two indie caucus candidates who will be running for CAEA Council and the two candidates who will be running for CAEA Ontario CPAG in this fall’s CAEA election. Some of them will also be present at the meeting to announce their platforms.
- What the heck a CPAG is.
- Important information regarding why the ITA agreement has just been extended for a single year.
- Equally important information about a new Fringe/SummerWorks Contract that is currently being drafted by CAEA.
- An update on what steps CAEA has made to fulfill the mandate set forth in the 96-1 vote for reform at the previous AGM.
This is a key moment in how the agreements we use to make art together will develop over the next decade. Come learn more this week and save yourself ten years of banging your head on the wall!
Want to know more? Check out the Facebook Page: Artists for a new CAEA Indie Agreement
Underneath opens tomorrow @ Summerworks
Pip Dwyer and John Gordon play doctors considering playing doctor. Photo by Meredith Whitten
Opening Night: 8:30pm on Friday August 7th at The Factory Theatre Mainspace.
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