In a move deemed “unbelievable” and “demoralizing” by city artists, the Ottawa’s art community could lose $4.1 million in municipal funding if city council approves a series of budget cuts in the 2009 budget.
“I [am] absolutely torched that city staff have once again put forward massive cuts to the arts community,” says Peter Honeywell, executive director of the Council for the Arts in Ottawa.
“If you’re going to take $4 million out of the arts, you’re going to have serious ramifications,” he says, adding that those ramifications could include losing artists to cities more supportive of the arts and city arts festivals closing down.
Honeywell says that after a similar series of cuts in 2004 the arts community had been working with city councillors to reverse the damages.
Ottawa Festivals hosted a press conference at city hall Nov. 18 to address the proposed cuts.
Speakers at the press conference expressed their frustration towards the city for going back on its 2006 promise to increase arts funding.
“It’s not spending money. It’s money that’s well invested," said Ottawa Festivals president Julian Armour at the press conference, adding that the city’s festivals typically raise $21 for every $1 the city invests.
Under the new budget, funding for arts and heritage organizations will be reduced by 42 per cent, while funding for festivals and events will be completely eliminated.
Arts community enthusiasts say local businesses, tourism, city hall, artists and the entire arts sector will all suffer from these cuts.
Christine Tremblay, executive director of Arts Ottawa East-Est, says if the municipal government pulls out its funding support, it will create a domino effect.
If a sector does not have the government’s support, then investors will pull their funding as well.
A loss of funding, she says, will be a “peril” for the arts.
Kevin Waghorn, executive director of the Ottawa Fringe Festival calls the plan “heartbreaking” and “devastating.”
“We’ve spent a long time building momentum and putting hard work into developing a sustainable arts community, and to have the rug pulled out from under us is very frustrating,” he says.
Among the festivals set to lose 100 per cent of their funding are the Ottawa Bluesfest and the Canadian Tulip Festival.
Smaller community groups, including local theatre companies, choirs and visual art groups such as the House of PainT, will also lose their funding.
Larger organizations such as Opera Lyra and the Independent Filmmakers Co-operative of Ottawa will lose almost half of their funding from the city.
In addition to these proposed cuts, the city may defer funding to arts organizations that are in development, such as the Arts Investment Strategy and the Arts Investment Plan.