 Dancers Davin Luce and Raelynn Heppell dance in Ballet Kelowna's Breaking Boundaries, one of the company's productions during the 2011-12 season. The group is one of many arts groups who were awarded funding by Kelowna city council Monday. |
While more groups are receiving funding to help cover operating and project expenses, the city's grants to three professional organizations - Okanagan Symphony, Ballet Kelowna and Alternator Gallery - will remain at 2008 levels, despite glowing comments about how lucky the Okanagan is to have them.
At Monday's regular city council meeting, Sandra Kochan, the city's cultural services manager, noted 36 groups will share $180,000 in city funding this year compared to 28 that received $165,200 in 2011 and 27 sharing $145,000 in 2010.
Eighteen groups, including Bumbershoot Children's Theatre, Central Okanagan Heritage Society and Chamber Music Kelowna, will receive $110,000 to support their day-to-day operations.
Seventeen organizations, nine of them new applicants, will receive $70,000 for expenses associated with festivals, events and projects. A maximum of $10,000 is available per year for up to three consecutive years.
Kelowna Art Gallery, for example, will spend $9,000 on From Vault to Virtual, digital photographs of the permanent collection that will be available to the public online. Ballet Kelowna will spend $2,638 to hire two dance apprentices as a pilot project. Kelowna Museums will receive $8,750 for Mary's Wedding, supporting the cost of 15 performances of a professional theatre production.
"Even a small amount of municipal support can go a long way," said Kochan, "both in terms of stimulating new programs and activities, but also in leveraging more support from sponsors, senior governments and other funding agencies. The return on investment is positive."
Kochan noted the growing collaboration among those involved in arts, culture and heritage, and reiterated the philosophy in the city's new cultural plan that "government's role is to support rather than create culture."
Noting cutbacks by the provincial government, Acting Mayor Luke Stack commented: "We can't make up the shortfall but we can do our part."
Council also agreeD to provide $50,000 to the Okanagan Symphony, $25,000 to Ballet Kelowna and $20,000 to Alternator Gallery, the same amounts as the last four years.
Kochan commented these are "huge resources for a community our size and we are quite privileged."
Ballet Kelowna, now in its ninth season, is one of only 10 professional companies in Canada, she acknowledged. Okanagan Symphony, in its 52nd season, is finally seeing other valley communities contributing grants, thanks to concerts there.
Alternator is the oldest artist-run centre in the Interior and one of only 70 in Canada to receive Canada Council for the Arts funding.
All three of those were hard hit by provincial and federal cutbacks, and responded with vigorous fundraising campaigns.
