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Charlie Angus and the Grievous Angels
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS REVERSAL OF CUTS
Posted by Sean McManus
December 10, 2009 at 11:00am
Earlier this year, Canadian Heritage announced that the Canadian Musical Diversity fund was being cut, the biggest casuality being the Canada Council Specialized Music Recording Grant. This grant allowed artistically driven projects to get support for making albums. Many jazz, concert music, folk and roots, and experimental artists received funding through this fund. Often, these are projects that don't have the sales projections to justify funding from FACTOR, but were designated by the Canada Council juries as artistically excellent and valuable to the artistic culture of Canada. Heritage Minister James Moore claimed that the cuts were driven by consulations with the music industry.
This week, a committee of Canadian Heritage has recommended reversing the cuts to the Canadian Musical Diversity fund that were planned for April 2010. The MPs of the standing committee on Canadian heritage said they could find no compelling justification for the cut. New Democrat heritage critic Charlie Angus (and musician) has been driving the effort to have the cuts reversed.
ART HAS SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON WINNIPEG'S ECONOMY
Posted by Rachel Stone
December 8, 2009 at 2:53pm
1 comment
Winnipeg has an international reputation for its arts scene. Now its got some more numbers to back it up. The Winnipeg Arts Council has just released its new economic impact report, Ticket to the Future, that shows that the performing arts have a significant impact on the city's economy.
The Winnipeg Free Press' headline, "Arts double the draw of pro sports in city," is one indication of the 42-page study's content. The brief article goes on to summarize a few of the study's findings:
The Winnipeg Arts Council's new Economic Impact Reports, released Tuesday, shows that the city's arts and creative industries contribute $1 billion to the economy and employ 6.3 per cent of the labour force, or 25,000 people.
Some more findings from WAC's release:
- Each year, city residents volunteer almost 1.6 million hours of their time to local non-profit arts organizations, equivalent to nearly 800 full-time positions.
- Cultural activities are the third most popular activity for tourists visiting Winnipeg, ahead of both sightseeing and outdoor sports and activities. The report estimates that tourists spent about $85 million in 2007 while enjoying arts and culture in the city.
- Every dollar of municipal funding attracts another $18.23 in support to local non-profit arts and cultural organizations by the private sector and other levels of government.
- Municipal arts funding per resident has declined from $6.34 in 2007 to $5.98 in 2009.
- According to local business leaders interviewed for the study, Winnipeg’s arts and creative industries significantly enhance the quality of life for the city’s residents, and serve to attract skilled workers and keep them here.
WAC's executive director and Winnipeg Cultural Capital of Canada 2010 executive producer, Carol A. Phillips, says in the release:
“Ticket to the Future confirms the strategic importance of arts and culture to the social, economic, and commercial fabric of Winnipeg. However, without a new plan for arts investment in Winnipeg, the future may be a repeat of previous decades, when funding plateaued and arts in Winnipeg suffered increasingly diminished support.”
Nate Heagy captured by Google Street View
NEW MUSIC PROMOTION SITE: GOOGLE STREET VIEW
Posted by Rachel Stone
December 7, 2009 at 11:35am
1 comment
If you're a band, you're probably on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, Last.FM, New Music Canada, Wikipedia, and Sonicbids. But are you on Google Street View?
Fear Salesman is. The band's interpid frontman, Nate Heagy, took advantage of the roaming Google car during its visit to Saskatoon by camping out on a street corner with a guitar and a banner sporting his band's name. And now, you can find him promoting Fear Salesman if you happen to search that exact location. Click here to read CBC's story and interview with Heagy.
I can be found promoting the balancing of microwaves on top of fire hydrants on Google Street View. Alas, I neglected to place a banner nearby so my efforts remain a mystery to anyone who might happen across the image.
