CCA Bulletin 32/08

Ottawa, September 2, 2008

More Budget Cuts to Culture and some news from the CCA

New cuts to federal programs for arts and culture have surfaced just before the long Labour Day weekend. It has been confirmed that the government has put an end to the Canada New Media Fund  designed to further the development, production, and marketing/ distribution of high-quality, original, interactive or on-line Canadian cultural new media works, in both official languages, at home and abroad. The New Media Fund was a decade-old grant and advance program administered by Telefilm but funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage, operating under one and two-year renewals. This latest cut ($14.5-million) brings to $ 60.6 million the total of recent budget reductions to the cultural sector.

On the other hand, it was announced late on Friday afternoon that the Standing Committee on Heritage would not meet after all this week: the Chair of the Committee, Conservative MP Gary Schellenberger, stated that there was not enough time to summon witnesses to appear in front of the Committee this week and that it would be unfair to House of Commons staff to ask them to forego their long weekend in order to prepare for a hearing which Opposition critics wanted to start today. Given that the Writ for the election will likely be dropped at the end of the week, such hearing, if it ever takes place, will have to wait for several weeks, depending on the date and results of the election. Like so many other cultural organizations, the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) had prepared a short presentation in case we were called to appear: we think appropriate to put it on the public record, failing the possibility to put it on the Parliamentary one.

News from the Secretariat

I am glad to announce that the CCA has a new Communications Manager. Helen Bobat joined our office on August 11. Helen comes to us with considerable experience in marketing, communications and fundraising. With three B.A.s (one in Modern Languages, one in Project Management and one in Project Design), Helen has worked for various organizations, notably in Zimbabwe.

We are also proud to announce that Guillaume Sirois, our Cultural Policy Analyst since May 2007, is one of the ten recipients (out of 140 applications!) of a prestigious Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation Global Youth Fellowship. Guillaume will explore the roles and responsibilities of Western countries – especially Canada – in fostering the establishment and the consolidation of viable arts and culture sectors in developing countries. This means that as of this week, he will be working with us two days a week only, until December, when he will be leaving the CCA for good to pursue his research. While he is still with us, Guillaume will spend most of his time on work leading to the March 2009 National Policy Conference (details about which will be announced later on this week), as well as developing our Cultural Policy: Next Generation Program. Guillaume has done excellent work since he joined the Secretariat and he will be missed by us all.

The comforting news is that starting next week, we will welcome his replacement in the person of Jessica Litwin. Jessica comes to the Canadian Conference of the Arts after completing a post at the Getty Foundation in Los Angeles. There, she coordinated the funding for an international group of arts organizations through research, publication, and curatorial grants. Prior to the Getty, Jessica held positions with several galleries, museums, and auction houses in Canada and England. She earned a B. A. from McGill University in Art History and Political Science. Jessica also holds a M.A. from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, UK, in the History of Art. Her primary research focuses on the impact of arts and heritage on multicultural societies.

Finally, we are also welcoming this week our new intern, Heather Robson. Heather comes to us after having completed a research internship at the Ontario Arts Council and worked briefly as Program Support at the Department of Canadian Heritage (Ontario Region). She has a B.A. in Fine Arts from the Ontario College of Art and Design and an Arts Administration/Cultural Management Diploma from the Humber School of Creative and Performing Arts. During the six month she will spend with us, Heather will assist Jessica in a variety of files.

Please join me in congratulating Guillaume and welcoming Helen, Jessica and Heather!