The Arts On Bowen- Some Musings

I was one of those who talked about a ‘shovel in the ground’ for a Community Hall and Arts Centre in 2008, after having been the liaison to the Community Centre Working Group, which met 55 times during the three years it was active.

That wasn’t the first time; I’d said it before, in 2005, after being on the Community Centre Task Force that also had met innumerable times. So now I think I’ll be a bit more circumspect.

we are to cutting an opening ribbon, but there have been very positive steps taken.

In 2008, we had a complete feasibility plan, with conceptual drawings and some cost takeoffs, a chosen site, and a ‘program’-ie an understanding of how much space would be used for what. It was 18,000 sq ft., and it had a price tag of over $6 millioOf course it is a disappointment that we aren’t closer thann, and more realistically, higher than that to fit the the building out. But we had already seen the financial crisis impacts, and when infrasturcture funding programs popped up in 2009, thoughts were turned to sewers and firehalls, not community halls.

Still, the Action Committee, as it was deliberately named, focussed on what needed actions could take place, and I am impressed by the dedication and resolve of this group, under Shari Ulrich, and featuring perennials like Paul Hoosen.

There is a new building orientation on the site, a reworked concept plan, land dedicated, secured, and starting to be spruced up. The Cygnus Consulting report on fundraising, was disappointing to me, but clearly showed that work needed to be done to sell the idea of the centre. We have been putting money aside most years (though not in 2011), and now have $120,000 in the kitty, in addition to a recreation reserve which has close to $700,000 in it, and the remains of John Reid’s donation. I am fully confident that we will march forward; the logic and the desire is too compelling.

Some other thoughts about the arts on Bowen. Some might have paid attention to the fact that gross spending on recreation was cut back this year, to about $567,000. Now there are offsetting incomes, but the total still pushes $400,000. That’s about 7 times what arts and culture get.

Why is that? Partly that recreation, arguably, is more in demand, though I’m sure counterarguments to that statement could be made. But the main reason is that rec. is a core function of the municipality, with a recreation director, several programmers, access to several spaces.

A thought I’ve put out before is to follow burnaby’s example, where they have a Parks, Recreation, and Culture department:

http://www.burnaby.ca/cityhall/departments/departments_parks.html

If the arts were merged with at least recreation, there might still be fighting over dollars, but entitlements would be certain.

There is a municipal Greenways Committee, a soon to be revivified Recreation Committee, and an honest question ought to be why the purview could not be extended to arts and culture.

Some other thoughts- aggressive promotion. I attended a musical event at Tir-na-Nog a while back, a Vancouver klezmer accordionist like no other. There were 20 people in the audience. Cindi Keep brought over Morlove Oct. 22- I was unwell and didn’t go, but wonder how well that was attended.

Another thought- better integration of information. MAXguide is a region wide Metro Vancouver on-line tool. I searched for Bowen Island events- what cam eup was: “no events found from Oct. 23rd to April 23rd, 2012”. I did an advanced search under all categories- again nada. So use the tools we already pay for.

The message is to cross pollinate.

The Arts are not languishing on Bowen. A new ‘bugs’ show will be hung on Hallowe’en, and I’ve lived through months of our house being a studio for my partner’s contributions to that....

Somehow, though the momentum appears to slow, and not just because we lost Miss Mara and several visual artists, some musicians. People get older, and the output diminishes. The Movie Society called it a day, the legendary Kitchen Junkets are in hiatus. But then along comes someone like Janet Esseiva, who suddenly, it seems, creates a gallery fully of vibrant works,and starts teaching, and somehow raises two teens and works.

I guess it is always like that- people and interest wax and wane. but the community hungers for art, is proud of its artists, and finds ways to support them, just as the artists find new means of expression and venues to showcase their works.

But it is a real shame that all the while, we are making do, an dnot having one place that the arts community can really call ‘home’.