The Federal Government tabled budget 2010 yesterday.  Below is the summary provided by the Canadian Conference of the Arts

Canadian Conference of the Arts Executive Summary

The 2010 Budget includes stable funding to arts and culture with no cuts, but also yields no new investments into the creative economy. The CCA sees no investment towards cultural infrastructure, or funds for promotion abroad and audience development. It is encouraging that charities are given more flexible means to conduct business, and research granting associations will have an increased ability to fund higher education within the knowledge economy.  Moving forward, some concerns include administrative reforms, freezes on departmental operating budgets, and changes to strategic reviews. These measures may not be viewed as cuts at the moment, but may lead to financial difficulties for the arts sector down the road.

Read the full detailed update here

Thank you to everyone that has journeyed into the great form abyss that is our Operating Grant Program and made it through the other end.  We are excited about all that financial and statistical data that you have provided us with, (we're weird that way).  Now our job begins, to compile and share these stats back to all the organizations that have put the effort into providing them.  We are looking forward to using this information to tell compelling stories of the impact that our arts organizations have on our City and the lives of Calgarians. 

In the mean time, Lauren is diligently digging herself out from under a mountain of grants and support material and will be in touch with organizations that may still owe us bits of information.  We look forward to reading the operating grant applications and reports and continuing to be inspired be the amazing vision and skill of Calgary's artists and arts organizations!

The Province of Alberta released it's 2010 budget today.  An overview of the Culture and Community Spirit budget is below.  The budget reflects across the board decreases to all areas as anticipated.  The effect of these decreases on each individual program, if any, are yet to be determined.  The following is a strong statement of assurance from Minister Blackett accompanying today's budget, part of which is included here:

"Our 2010-11 budget makes a net reduction of $5 million, or 1.8 per cent, from the 2009-10 forecast, but allow me to explain further.  

Ministry program expenses will actually decrease by $35 million; at the same time, a $30 million one-time grant increase will fund four Alberta capital projects.  The funds for these projects are being provided through the capital fund and not through the department operating budget.  These projects also include some “flow-through” funding from the federal government.

The 2010-11 budget and our 2010-13 Business Plan were put together with the goal of providing the most funding possible to those groups that provide services and supports to the most vulnerable in our society, as well as to increase the competitiveness of our cultural industries.

All areas of my department will share in these budget reductions.  Within the department, we have brought in operational efficiencies and re-examined core roles, which has helped us to make up part of the shortfall.  These changes have also helped focus our budgeting on supporting critically important non-profit, voluntary and cultural sector services.

In my recent meetings with members of these sectors, we discussed ways of enhancing our relationship and having organizations work together to meet short-term challenges.  I look forward to continuing these discussions and finding new and innovative ways to build sustainable cultural and non-profit sector organizations.

My department has also looked for new efficiencies in our grant programs.  By streamlining applications and moving to a quarterly grant schedule, we are striving to keep the impact of budget reductions as small as possible.

While the 2010-11 budget has to face current economic realities, we will not lose the momentum that we have created in helping develop, foster and showcase our culture and community spirit.

We must take this opportunity, during these challenging times, to review what is important, encourage innovation and make it sustainable.  I look forward to working with all of you over the coming year.

Sincerely,

Lindsay Blackett

Minister of Culture and Community Spirit

MLA, Calgary-North West

Budget Overview for Culture And Community Spirit
Budgeted program expense for Culture and Community Spirit is $283.7 million in 2010-11, a net $5-million or 1.8-per-cent reduction from the 2009-10 forecast.  This reflects a $35-million or 15-per-cent reduction in operating expense, and a $30-million one-time increase in capital grants. 
 
The 2010-11 budget includes:
-$165 million for community and voluntary support services, including more than $41 million in capital grants supporting projects such as the Canada Sports Hall of Fame in Calgary and the GO Community Centre in Edmonton.  It also includes funding for ongoing programs, with
$38 million for the Community Facility Enhancement Program, $25.5 million for the Community Initiatives Program and $22 million for Major Fairs and Exhibitions. In addition, $16 million is provided for the Community Spirit Donation Grant Program, which encourages more individual donations to non-profit organizations and registered Alberta charities.
-$56 million for arts and cultural industries.  This includes more than $29 million in assistance to the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and $17 million in support for Film and Television
Production.  Implementation of Alberta’s cultural policy, The Spirit of Alberta, continues. 
-$47 million for heritage programs.  This includes support to the Royal Alberta Museum, the
Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, other museums and historic sites across the province. 
-$8 million for human rights and citizenship.  
 
For information, contact Parker Hogan 780-427-2395

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art opened their Reading Room today.  The site offers ten exhibition catalogues, mostly from the 1960s, that 'definitively placed contemporary art from Southern California on the national map or furthered the dialogue between Los Angeles and New York.' 

Although seeing these amazing works on your computer monitor is not optimal, for someone researching the work of a particular artist, it's a far cry better than ordering back catalogues (if available) or turning to a site like Abe Books to find rare editions that may be available through used book sellers.   read more »

This letter from the Collective Arts Think Tank in New York should be addressed and sent to every arts funder.    It examines what's working and what's not working in strategies to supporting artists and the creation of work.  Scan the highlights below, but be sure to read the whole letter (linked above) to get to the depth of the issues that work for the success or detriment to artists and organizations.

What's working:

1. Artists that make work on the work's schedule
2. Tailor-made management strategies for projects or artists
3. Knowing the real costs
4. Generosity among colleagues
5. Multi-year funding and presenting
6. Subsidized rentals

What's not working:  read more »

The picture above was taken on our last Operating Grant deadline in 2007.  Here's what things look like in the aftermath of our 2009 Operating Grant deadline in our new paperless Operating Grant program:

(You can almost hear Mother Nature breathing a sigh of relief).  Thank you to everyone who submitted this year.  We know that there were quite a few bugs, glitches and painful forms along the way- many of which we are already working on improving for next year.  If you have any questions about our assessment process and timelines then, as always, don't hesitate to contact us.

For anyone that is moved by art, history and a belief in change.  The incredible contribution of some of the world's best artists were front and centre at today's inauguration of Barack Obama, showing the power of art in our lives and the role that it plays in our combined histories.   Here is the performance of Air and Simple Gifts by John Williams, performed by Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Anthony McGill and Gabriela Montero.

Provisions

What should we have taken
with us? We never could decide
on that; or what to wear
or at what time of
year we should make the journey

So here we are in thin
raincoats and rubber boots

On the disastrous ice, the wind rising

Nothing in our pockets

But a pencil stub, two oranges
Four Toronto streetcar tickets

and an elastic band holding a bundle
of small white filing cards
printed with important facts.

- Margaret Atwood

Thanks to Art Journal, I just read an article in Sunday's London Times about the resurgence of popularity of choirs in the UK.  Calgary is a hot bed of choirs, Calgary Arts Development funds 16 choirs which involve over 500 Calgarians.  Many of these choirs tour throughout the country and are winning national recognition.  Maybe CTV will start a Canadian version of Last Choir Standing.

The language around granting is loaded. Even the word 'grant' as defined on dictionary.com speaks to the hierarchy and entitlement that is implied by the word and potentially the action.

something granted, as a privilege or right, a sum of money, or a tract of land.  read more »