By Lacey Phillips
Ottawa mayor Bob Chiarelli may have given false hope to artists and art lovers alike by announcing a funding increase that has been in place for two years.
During a speech on Sept. 5 at the “Join the Crowd!” arts gathering, Chiarelli announced an arts funding increase of $500,000.
Members of the arts community, however, are skeptical that they will actually receive an increase in their funding.
“There is no extra funding,” says Jen Budney of Gallery 101 in Centretown.
“It’s a complex situation and because of the amalgamation, we actually receive less funding. We have to have more arts lobbying campaigns in order to raise money in the future.”
Peter Honeywell, the executive director of the Council for the Arts in Ottawa agrees.
“I know that the mayor is very proud of local art in the city and I enjoy his enthusiasm, but I’m not convinced that there is an increase in funding,” he says.
“This money was already in the budget, unless the mayor plans to add half a million dollars to the original budget.”
Two years ago, an extra $ 500,000 was put towards funding the arts and was distributed to arts groups.
Last year, the city decided to permanently add money in the budget.
“They couldn’t just give the money one year and take it away the next,” says Honeywell.
Overall, the arts community in Ottawa will see no funding increase this year.
Many art organizations will see less funding and some will receive none.
“With the amalgamation, there has been an increase in requests for funding from art groups by 16 per cent,” says Sue Stewart, cultural planner for the city of Ottawa.
“We were only able to fund about half of the 425 requests we received this year.”
According to Stewart, the decision of which organizations get funding is complex.
Twenty-nine juries and panels weigh ideal amounts of funding with past grants to come up with a figure.
Arts organizations in Ottawa felt cuts this past June, when they received their funding. This was the first time funding was distributed after the amalgamation and some felt it more than others.
“We were only able to fund 31 per cent of individual artists, 63 per cent of arts organizations and 53 per cent of heritage organizations,” says Stewart. “This is less than last year.”
The funding increase that the mayor announced, already two years old, has confused the arts community as well as the citizens of Ottawa.
Stewart says in order for there to be any substantial increases to funding of the arts in Ottawa, the mayor has to convince city councillors that the arts need more money.
And that process could take some time, she says.
“The mayor is not a dictator, he needs the support of his peers before he can raise arts funding,” says Stewart.
“I believe he is doing all he can to promote the arts, especially the local