May 26, 2013

Dear Mayor and Council,

Since learning of the imminent sale of The Centre to Westside Church in the past 10 days, I have worked at trying to raise awareness around this issue and am hopeful that something can be done to stop the sale.  I started a Facebook page last Friday and already over 1100 people have liked it and are following what is going on. PleaseDon'tCloseTheCentre on Facebook.

Creative SpaceMaking Vancouver - June 12 & 13, 2013

Celebrate, learn about, and map the future for our cultural spaces

Artist-run centres, performing arts venues, creation and production studios, indie music sites, outdoor plazas, art galleries and museums, and workspaces for creative industries — these are spaces that bring culture to life!  

ArtsBC has held a conference every year since its inception in 1979. The conference brings together representatives from community and regional arts councils, other arts and culture organizations and individuals engaged in arts based community development. The conference program offers professional development workshops, information sessions, panel discussions on a range of topics and issues relating to the practices of community arts organizations, as well as social and networking opportunities.

In this issue: A focus on volunteers and donors in Canada, including two Statistics Canada articles on volunteers and donors in all types of not-for-profit organizations, a Hill Strategies Research report on volunteers and donors in the arts and culture, and an Imagine Canada report on long-term trends in individual donations.
 

Charitable giving by Canadians
Statistics Canada, Canadian Social Trends, April 16, 2012
Author: Martin Turcotte

Culture Days has made available a report on the results of the third annual event that took place from September 28 – 30, 2012. 

This summary of statistics, testimonials, photos, tweets and more provide a sense of the impact Culture Days has made in just three years since its launch.

by Brent Belsher

As many of you will have already heard, Westside Church, which is currently using Granville Island Stage for their worship services, is in the process of buying the Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts. This represents a huge loss to our city and, while I'm not sure what can be done, I hope that the arts community will speak up and voice their concerns about what is happening.

We've extended the Early Bird Registration for the Arts Summit to Wednesday, May 22!  

BC's arts, culture, and heritage community leaders will gather at Arts Summit 2013 for two days of brainstorming and visioning as we take the first steps towards developing a comprehensive and sustainable cultural framework for our province. 

Join us on June 21 & 22 at the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre.

Here are the latest updates from the Arts Summit website:

The Alliance for Arts and Culture is pleased to introduce a Group RRSP Savings Plan for its individual and group members.

The fact that many of our member companies provide Extended Health Benefits for their employees through our excellent group benefits program demonstrates that as a sector we are caring and responsible employers. Now it is the future of the cultural worker that is our concern.

Group RRSPs with NEI Investments

Last year, British Columbians celebrated 403 Culture Days activities in 61 communities across the province, a 95% increase from 2011!

This year, in preparation for Culture Days 2013, BC Culture Days will be offering Info + Ideas Sessions around the province to share the many available resources, tools, and tips that can make your Culture Days activities a success.

Last Friday, May 24, Culture Days' first National Congress on Culture, The Art of Engagement: Finding, Igniting and Keeping Audiences held in Toronto was attended by some 250 people while over 750 participated online via the Read More

The schedule of events for Arts Summit 2013 (June 21 & 22) is now available, along with the list of confirmed guest speakers, Dialogue Leaders, presenters, and a special offer from our hospitality partner BEST WESTERN PLUS Chateau Granville. Visit artssummit.ca for all the latest updates. 

We've announced more Arts Summit 2013 news this week, including updates to the roster of Community Snapshots presenters, plus a panel discussion ("The Power of Collaboration"):

Community Snapshots

"What We Have Learned" Presenters include:

Ritchies auction house has announced that they will voluntarily issue the Artist's Resale Right to Canadian artists, beginning with the inaugural Project Contemporalis auction this month. Ritchies will be the first major auction house in Canada begin paying resale commission to artists, a practise that is already law in the UK, Europe, Australia and many other countries around the world. The resale commission will be derived from Ritchies’ own in-house commissions and will affect neither buyer nor seller.

Another feature of Arts Summit 2013 will be a series of inspiring presentations under the title "Community Snapshots / Art For Social Change".