After the Conservative government made $44.8-million cuts to the arts last year, they have slowly been re-injecting money into other cultural programs.

We can see their standpoint – that they need to get value from their money, and that they cut programs that weren’t working as well and support those that do – but we’re curious what you think.

We saw the excellent King Lear at Stratford. Image: stage-door.org

The Toronto International Film Festival sent out three press releases crowing about the $3 million from the federal government, a grant “aimed at attracting new film lovers to experience Toronto”. Today’s Globe and Mail reports that the Stratford festival and the Calgary Stampede have also gotten funding.

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There appears to be some confusion over recent cuts announced to arts and culture in British Columbia.

Image: Wikimedia.org

Here’s how Plank Magazine breaks it down:

For the upcoming fiscal year, the provincial government in BC is reducing its spending on arts and culture by 40% from $19.5 million to $11.9 million.

Plus, the income from the new $150 million BC150 Cultural Fund endowment was reduced by 40% from approximately $8 million per year which it was supposed to generate. Due to the economic downturn, this year the Fund will bring in $3.3 million this year (and likely about the same in the next few years to come).

Not to mention that the government is not putting up any money for capital expenditures for arts and culture – compared with the $90 million spent on capital projects last year.

HOWEVER…

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The Canada Prize for the Arts may be the most important thing to happen to the cultural landscape in this country, ever.

…And yet many in the arts, especially in Quebec, are crying. Image: osmoothie.com

Considering that our country’s visual arts have been viewed as a cultural backwater (probably by ourselves, mainly) ever since the American Armory Show of 1913 passed us by, it’s about time that the spotlight shone on Canada.

Ok, ok, we know it’s not a prize specifically for Canadians. But the bigger picture is what matters. Canada will be seen as a place where relevant culture happens.

A major problem for Canada is that our world-class artists often have to go abroad to receive proper recognition. This is why the cuts to travel grant programs were so deplored by cultural organizations and artists – click HERE for past VoCA coverage of government arts cuts.

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Check out this article on how Prime Minister Stephen Harper is trying to repair the damage caused by his cultural slash-and-burn:

“The new funding will reportedly include $100 million for arts festivals, music, and comedy across the country and $60 million for the Cultural Spaces Canada program, which constructs and maintains theaters, museums, and other cultural buildings….”

Hmm….Mr. Nice Guy? Image: dailyseagull.com

Click HERE to read the full update, and HERE for VoCA’s previous posts on the government arts cuts.

The National Post reports on the Independent Media Arts Alliance’s reaction, HERE.

1. Prime Minister Stephen Harper ignores the arts. Consequently, art becomes a political issue across the country as Quebec gives Harper the hairy eyeball.

2. The new AGO opens – Frank Gehry’s renovation of Toronto’s Art Gallery of Ontario is deemed an unqualified success, perhaps partly due to the budgetary constraints he was under. It’s simple in material, but opulent in design.

3. Mark Mayer is named new director at the National Gallery in Ottawa. The youthful 52-year-old brings considerable experience and, hopefully, a flush of new energy to the National Gallery.

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From the November 1 issue of the Globe and Mail, Jeremy Gerard writes from New York:

Barack Obama…is the first White House contender to include a far-reaching arts plank in his platform.

Barack Obama…looking good. Image: dcpox.com

The proposals range from increased support for arts education and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to changing the U.S. federal tax code for artists. “It is unprecedented”, said Robert L. Lynch, president and chief executive officer of Americans for the Arts, a Washington-based arts advocacy group, explaining that no U.S. presidential candidate in recent times has addressed cultural issues in such detail.

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Charles Pachter, The Painted Flag, 1981. Image: cpachter.com

Food for thought by Ms. Blatchford from a recent issue of the Globe and Mail…

“…Artists, while precious and important to the nation, are not fragile and ought not to be infantilized. They don’t need coddling and protection from government; they don’t need their work to be judged only kindly or only by their friends; they need not be constantly praised; and surely, it is not necessary that every aspect of their lives is subsidized by their countrymen.

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There are 5 days to go until the election….

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The Toronto Star says: As Tuesday’s election looms, artists across Canada have a message for culture lovers: Don’t get mad, get Stephen.

Read the rest of the article HERE

On Torontoist.com, Johnnie Walker writes: “In retaliation against the positively terrifying notion of a Conservative majority government, groups like Vote For Environment and the Department of Culture have sprung up to take the battle to the blogs.”

Continue reading the article, and the comments…HERE.

Get involved! Join the Department of Culture – right HERE.

Learn how to vote strategically so as to ensure the Conservatives don’t get a majority – click on Vote for Environment HERE.

THANK GOODNESS.  In a move that seems designed to respond to the brou-haha over the Conservative government cuts to the arts, particularly in Quebec where they are very – rightfully – angry, Prime Minister Harper’s Conservative Government has decided NOT to reintroduce Bill C-10, the bill that would eliminate tax credits to films deemed to be “contrary to public policy.”

Image: fyicanada.ca

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Please, please read the full article that Ms. Atwood – the queen of Canada’s literary scene – wrote in yesterday’s Globe and Mail about the Conservative government’s cuts to the arts. Here’s an excerpt:

“Tuesday, (Prime Minister Stephen Harper) told us that some group called “ordinary people” didn’t care about something called “the arts.” His idea of “the arts” is a bunch of rich people gathering at galas whining about their grants.

Well, I can count the number of moderately rich writers who live in Canada on the fingers of one hand: I’m one of them, and I’m no Warren Buffett. I don’t whine about my grants because I don’t get any grants. I whine about other grants – grants for young people, that may help them to turn into me, and thus pay to the federal and provincial governments the kinds of taxes I pay, and cover off the salaries of such as Mr. Harper.”

Canadian national treasure, novelist Margaret Atwood. Image: imaginastore.com

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