BC Arts Council Compromised By BC Premier's "Legacy Program."

I am reprinting this Press Release in its entirety to raise awareness of the temporarily partisan-izing of The BC Arts Funding Environment.

________________________________________

Pacific Association of Artist-Run Centres

303 E. 8 Ave

Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 1S1

www.paarc.ca

18 August 2010 - For Immediate Release

In recent months, the B.C. Arts Council has been subjected to an
unprecedented amount of political interference, something former Arts
Council chair Jane Danzo called attention to in her letter of resignation,
made public yesterday evening. This political interference, taking the form
of a direct assault on the arms-length nature of the council, should be of
concern to all British Columbians. The B.C. government has
disproportionately cut funding that used to support cultural activity and
services in our communities (overall, by 50% to 70%), and now seeks to
replace that money with politically-directed money from a Legacy Program.
Not only will no money will be saved by this action, the democratic nature
of cultural expression will be significantly impaired.

It is widely suspected in our community that this interference is an
attempt by government to convert the arts and culture in B.C. into a tool
to be mobilized for partisan political ends, rather than an essential
outgrowth of, and benefit to, our communities. Furthermore, it is believed
by some that this attempt to manage culture directly by political fiat
originates in the office of the Premier.

It is incumbent upon the Premier and the government caucus to refute this
theory, not by mere denial, but by demonstrating a strong commitment to
arts funding at arms-length from political operatives, and by reversing the
disastrous, reckless and wasteful decisions identified in Ms. Danzo's letter.

Keith Higgins
President, Pacific Association of Artist-Run Centres

A copy of Ms. Danzo's resignation letter can be found here:
http://stopbcartscuts.wordpress.com/2010/08/17/jane-danzo-chair-of-bc-arts-council-resignation-letter/

For further comment:

Keith Higgins

President, Pacific Association of Artist-Run Centres (PAARC)

khiggins@tatlin.com

"Giving cultural agencies operational autonomy to implement the major
portion of Canadian cultural policy in the arts sector is an important part
of government policy. The arm’s length principle is one of Canada’s
cultural traditions; it lies at the very heart of artistic freedom and
freedom of expression."