VANCOUVER NOW HAS AN ARTS AND CULTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
According to an article in the Vancouver Sun (May 24) by Manori Ravindran, the new advisory committee “gives artists a voice at city hall.”
AABC says, “We’ll see.”
The Arts and Culture Advisory Committee, approved by Council on February 28th, is Vision Vancouver’s version of their 2007 promise to create a Vancouver Arts Council, which would be an arms-length decision-making body similar to the BC Arts Council. This could have meant the elimination of several high-paying jobs in the city’s Cultural Services Department. Many arts councils, e.g. Toronto Arts Council, also perform a strong advocacy role. The new committee, in its advisory role, obviously has no decision-making power.
You can read the 11-page staff report (Cultural Services staff) here: Establishment of an Arts and Culture Advisory Committee
Here are the members of the committee, appointed from 199 applicants:
Mary-Louise Albert, artistic managing director of the Chutzpah! Festival, former dancer
Graeme Berglund, founder of The Cheaper Show, artist, editor, member of Lifetime Collective
Thomas Cannell, Coast Salish artist
Becky Chan, artist
Hugh Cochlin, principal of Proscenium Architecture
Chan Hon Goh, artistic director of the Goh Ballet
Amy Kazymerchyk, film programmer Pacific Cinémathéque, photographer
Sharman King, founder of Book Warehouse, musician
Paddy MacLeod, co-founder and general manager of Blackbird Theatre Company
Katherine McManus, writing and communications director for SFU continuing studies
Nigel Prince, executive director Contemporary Art Gallery
Esther Rausenberg, artist, photographer
Eric Szeto, journalist
Charlie Wu, managing director of TaiwanFest
Marcus Youssef, artistic director of the Neworld Theatre
They will meet six times a year.
We look forward to hearing the results of their deliberations.
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