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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-007-14 Clarbgton REPORT COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT Meeting: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE Date: May 26, 2014 Resolution#: By-law#: N/A Report#: CSD-007-14 File#: Subject: ARTS, CULTURE AND HERITAGE IN CLARINGTON RECOMMENDATIONS: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report CSD-007-14 be received; 2. THAT the subject of arts, culture and heritage be referred to and included as a part of the strategic planning process of the next term of Council; and 3. THAT all interested parties listed in Report CSD-007-14 be advised of Council's decision. Submitted by: J' Reviewed by: J eph P. Caruana Franklin Wu, ,frector, Community Chief Administrative Officer Services J PC/sm CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON 40 TEMPERANCE STREET, BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO L1C 3A6 T 905-623-3379 REPORT NO.: CSD-007-14 PAGE 2 1.0 BACKGROUND 1.1 On February 10, 2014, Council approved the following Resolution #GPA-063-14: "THAT Community Services Staff be directed to meet with our community cultural groups to explore their goals and direction and to report back on their findings." 1.2 Community Services Department Staff identified two active cultural groups in Clarington for the purposes of this consultation: o Cultural Working Group o Arts in Clarington 1.3 Community Services Department Staff developed questions in order to generate discussion and reflection with the groups. Staff met with representatives from both groups to present the questions and to discuss the intent of the consultation. As well, groups were encouraged to offer any additional information or comments on arts and culture in Clarington to ensure their message was shared and understood. 1.4 Group representatives were provided time and opportunity to review questions and after a couple of weeks, Community Services Department Staff met again with the groups to discuss their thoughts and insight to the questions. 2.0 CULTURAL WORKING GROUP 2.1 The Cultural Working Group is comprised of representation from: • A Gift of Art • Visual Arts Centre • Clarington Museums and Archives • Clarington Public Library • Clarington Tourism • Note: Clarington Public Library was involved with the group initially, however; declined to comment on the questions for the purposes of consultation 2.2 In September 2013, they came together to develop a joint Cultural Strategy proposal for the purposes of submitting an application to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Citizenship's Cultural Development Fund. 2.3 The initial group was intentionally small in numbers in order to productively develop their application. They felt community outreach would be achieved through the course of the project through the development of a community cultural strategy. REPORT NO.: CSD-007-14 PAGE 3 2.4 They did not officially have a vision or mission statement as their focus was guided by the objectives and eligibility criteria of the Cultural Development Fund grant program. 2.5 The Cultural Working Group defines arts and culture in the following manner: • Arts: the various branches of human creative activity (such as painting, music, literature, dance) and social life (literature, language, history) • Culture: includes the arts and other expressions of human intellectual achievement that is regarded collectively as inter-related. It extends to the ideas and customs of the social behavior of a specific population and / or society. 2.6 They feel that there are various successful advances in arts and culture in Clarington through the community events, festivals and exhibits that have been celebrated in our community such as the Mayor's Gala — "For the Love of Art" and the Visual Arts Centre's Picasso's Picnic. 2.7 However, they do feel there is a lack of a comprehensive cultural strategy and a lack of a strong Clarington community cultural identity. Their priorities were identified as follows: • Development and implementation of a Community Cultural Strategy as a priority to build upon for the next five years; • Development of a community sponsorship strategy; and • Cross-training opportunities for employees and Boards of Directors for each participating organization. 2.8 The Cultural Working Group sees their role as a collaborator with other like- minded organizations in the sharing of information and ideas to grow arts, culture and heritage opportunities in Clarington. They are currently not active and have not been since the aforementioned resolution was passed on February 10, 2014. 3.0 ARTS IN CLARINGTON 3.1 Arts in Clarington was developed as a grassroots, collaborative effort through years of conversation between community members interested and engaged in the arts. They feel arts are an essential part of a healthy community, and recognized a lack of artistic venues and collaboration in our community. The group felt there was a strong need for an organization devoted to bringing artists together so that they may organize, promote and create. 3.2 They do not represent any single organization or group of organizations or individuals. They see themselves as a collective. Representing the arts, their group brings together anyone in the community that is engaged in the arts. Their membership includes an array of individuals, some of whom are artists, some REPORT NO.: CSD-007-14 PAGE 4 who simply enjoy the arts, and others who want to work together to create events, educational opportunities and activities. 3.3 The vision of the group is to represent all of the arts in Clarington. They envision their role to act as a Council or Board in the support, promotion and advancement of arts in the community, similar in structure to that of the Clarington Board of Trade. This group strongly believes that the arts are an essential part of a healthy and vibrant society and therefore, they are taking actions to support and promote the arts across our community. 3.4 They are currently considering incorporating as a not-for-profit, possibly under the amended by-laws of another current arts organization in Clarington (Camfest). 3.5 While their focus has been on the arts community, they do see a complimentary role for culture in their work, defining arts and culture in the following manner: • Arts: a diverse range of human modes of expressions and activities. They involve the act of creation and include, but are not limited to the visual and media arts, music and performing arts, culinary arts, dance, literary, theatre, film and heritage arts. • Culture: a set of beliefs held by a group of individuals or society and the actions that come from those underlying beliefs. This forms the basis for a way of life in a society (i.e. Clarington). 3.6 The group has been impressed with the amount and quality of community interest in organizing an effective surge in the arts and see the current strengths in Clarington through: • Existing arts institutions (Visual Arts Centre, A Gift of Art, Clarington Libraries and Clarington Museums and Archives); • Community events: Boots and Hearts music festival and Ribfest; • Successful funding and acquisition of an SL-100 portable stage for use by artistic events in Clarington. 3.7 Arts in Clarington feels there is a need to create and promote arts events in our community, for our community. The organizers feel the arts community is rather disorganized, spread out, segregated into silos and does not have a strong voice in our community. They identify the following as priorities: • Organizing and uniting our arts community; • Ensure art endeavours are sustainable and enjoyed for years to come; and • Explore the existing infrastructure that we have in our community so we can assist artists in finding collaborative space. REPORT NO.: CSD-007-14 PAGE 5 3.8 This group views their role as the voice for the arts in Clarington through addressing the need to support sustainable arts in our community, organizing artists and highlighting our own arts experiences. 4.0 ROLE OF HERITAGE 4.1 It became evident early on in this process that we cannot look at arts and culture in our community without identifying the role and importance of heritage in our discussion as the three areas overlap and interrelate in many ways. 4.2 Currently, heritage falls under the responsibility of the Planning Department, through the new Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) which includes cultural planning as part of Economic Development and encourages a sense of place, by promoting well-designed built form and cultural planning, and by conserving features that help define character, including built heritage resources and cultural heritage landscapes. 4.3 The Clarington Heritage Committee is a committee of Council and was originally appointed in 1977. Their primary role is to assist Council with decisions about designations in relationship to the Ontario Heritage Act, however, they are also involved in education, outreach, salvage, tours and other aspects that all speak to the cultural aspects of heritage. 4.4 When we met with the cultural groups, we asked how they viewed the role of heritage in our discussion and the shaping of the future of arts and culture in Clarington. 4.5 According to the representatives from Arts in Clarington, cultural and heritage arts help to explain the world in which we live; challenging current ideas, thoughts and practice. Cultural and heritage arts are less about definition and more about meaning and making sense of our current environment through an exploration of creativity. 4.6 Arts in Clarington feels that heritage is a cornerstone of their list of mediums of expression that they support and feel that through collaboration, the arts and heritage can thrive together. There is a relationship by which heritage as the stewards of our artistic traditions, act as a catalyst for future artistic growth in our community. 4.7 The Cultural Working Group feels there is a relationship between arts, culture and heritage and they feel this quote provides an accurate description of this relationship: "Culture is a thread woven through everything 1 do — the clothes 1 wear; the books 1 read; where 1 go, who 1 spend my leisure with." Janice/Red Deer Community Culture Vision document (page 3) REPORT NO.: CSD-007-14 PAGE 6 5.0 COMMENT 5.1 Through our consultation with the Cultural Working Group and Arts in Clarington some common concerns and themes were identified: • A lack of organization in the arts community • A lack of a comprehensive community cultural strategy or direction • A lack of a strong Clarington community cultural identity, or the awareness of where and how to express that identity • A pride in our arts and culture organizations, community festivals and events • The need to support, promote and advance arts in our community • The need to grow sustainable arts, culture and heritage opportunities in Clarington 5.2 The Community Services Department would like to thank the Cultural Working Group and Arts in Clarington for their passion in promoting arts and culture in the community. Both groups provided great insight and contributed tremendously to the development of this report. 5.3 At this time, staff recognizes the sole purpose of the Cultural Working Group was to apply for funding for the development of a cultural strategy. While this group is no longer actively meeting, we would encourage them to participate in any future arts, culture and heritage conversations and projects as requested or directed by Council. 5.4 Community Services also supports Arts in Clarington as they move forward in their main purpose of planning arts and culture events in the Municipality of Clarington as well as their continued pursuit of incorporating as a registered not- for-profit organization. As well, we would encourage them to participate in any future arts, culture and heritage conversations and projects as requested or directed by Council. 5.5 The Municipality does play an important role as planner, facilitator, funder and enabler of arts, culture and heritage in Clarington. Currently, the Municipality of Clarington is heavily invested in the arts, culture and heritage community through the Clarington Public Library, the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington and Clarington Museums and Archives. 5.6 As a part of the Corporate Strategic Planning process of the next term of Council, the Community Services Department would recommend the inclusion of arts, culture and heritage as a topic of further discussion during the establishment of Council's priorities for the 2014-2018 term. REPORT NO.: CSD-007-14 PAGE 7 6.0 CONCURRENCE: Not Applicable CONFORMITY WITH STRATEGIC PLAN — The recommendations contained in this report conform to the general intent of the following priorities of the Strategic Plan: x Promoting economic development Maintaining financial stability x Connecting Clarington _ Promoting green initiatives Investing in infrastructure x Showcasing our community _ Not in conformity with Strategic Plan Staff Contact: Sharon Meredith, Manager, Recreation Services List of interested parties to be advised of Council's decision: Kevin Anyan, Arts in Clarington Jesse Parsons, Arts in Clarington Ann-marie Harley, Cultural Working Group/A Gift of Art James Campbell, Visual Arts Centre of Clarington Julia Fielding, Clarington Museums and Archives