Arts Beat by Glyn Goffin
Last year’s funding bursaries are drying up and Ottawa’s artists are on an annual run to the granting trough. But Ottawa should hurry up and implement a new funding structure before the troughs go dry.
A new comprehensive arts and culture funding program is now in the works, but until it takes hold, local grants are being distributed under the old City of Ottawa framework.
Under this current system, fewer than half of all eligible applications can be funded, and Centretown’s arts community now has more competition.
For this year, the information meetings have been held, proposals have been written and in the upcoming weeks the city will dole out the money.
This tedious and out-dated system is in desperate need of an overhaul.
Under the now abandoned regional granting structure individual artists were funded, but under the old city system only groups or galleries were funded.
It would be with the previous regional funding structure that Centretown residents and artists could benefit.
But until the new funding program is developed, artists are following the city system.
Previous grants have allowed Nepean Street’s Gallery 101 to bring in artists and co-host a month of performance art in Centretown, and every fall the doors to the local Enriched Bread Artists Studio open, allowing the community to see how some area artists use their grants.
Ottawa seems to be heading in the right direction with funding, but it needs to continue to progress since there’s a long way to go.
To straighten out the annual funding frenzy, the city has invited artists to participate in end-of-the-month public sessions to develop the city’s new cultural funding program.
Ottawa needs to move forward with a new funding structure.
These meetings show the city is interested in listening to artists.
For now, the established arts community needs to make sure its voice is heard because it can ensure cultural funding benefits the actual artists.
Until the city develops a cohesive funding program, artists must wait for local grants.
It’s not about councilors sitting in their chambers trying to decide where money can go and how much can be distributed. It’s the artists, studios and galleries who can offer insight as to how money should be distributed.
Artists are the people the city needs to listen to.