Vancouver passes a culture plan for the next decade — with no major increase in fundi

[SpongeG]

Vancouver passes a culture plan for the next decade — with no major increase in funding

Focus on increasing affordable cultural spaces, while emphasizing equity, accessibility and decolonization
Justin McElroy · CBC News · Posted: Sep 11, 2019

The City of Vancouver has passed a new arts and culture plan for the next 10 years that is bold in ambition, if not in funding.

Entitled "Culture | Shift," the plan aims for "blanketing the city in arts and culture" and prioritizes affordable and accessible spaces, cultural equity, accessibility, reconciliation and decolonization.

The full report can be read here.

But while there are dozens of recommendations in the report, the amount of additional money budgeted over the next four years is just $3.2 million and would leave cultural service funding as a smaller percentage of the city's budget in 2023 than it was in 2010.

...

The city hopes to build 800,000 square feet of cultural space in the next decade, including 400 spaces that double as housing. In addition, the report calls for a a music task force, as well a hired person within city hall to lead its music strategy.

...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...ding-1.5277930

[trofirhen]

As a point of comparison, I would be interested to know how the arts - particularly music - scene is funded in Seattle. Their cultural and musical offerings surpass Vancouver greatly.
That said, Seattle is, of course, a bigger city, (4 million metro vs/ 2.5 million in Vancouver), a more corporate city (with probably corporate funding) and public support.
But to get Vancouver into "high gear" culturally, would be a great thing, if it is feasible from here forward. Other, more knowledgeable opinions on this are really appreciated. Thank you

[s211]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

a more corporate city (with probably corporate funding) and public support.

Considering how anti-corporate Vancouver is, I don't see this changing for the better in my lifetime.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by s211

Considering how anti-corporate Vancouver is, I don't see this changing for the better in my lifetime.

I wonder why Vancouver is so "anti-corporate" as you say. Being such does not seem to help anybody, or do anything for the city.
Prices are still outrageous for a place to live, but being anti-corporate means there is "less of everything" for most people. I don't understand the 'why or the wherefore'.
Relating to no funding for the arts, I think that this is at least part of the reason why. A real loss, as a dynamic arts and music scene would inject new life, new blood, into Vancouver.
A very pertinent example of how economics and the arts are intertwined. I'd still love to know how to get around this - finding arts funding, that is. Does anybody know?

[invisibleairwaves]

Funding isn't the problem or the solution. The arts scene, here and elsewhere, is dependent on the ability of local arts groups or small businesses (i.e. bars with live music) to operate venues for it. They do a fine job generally but redevelopment and skyrocketing leases have killed off many, many spaces in the city. The key is not for the city to throw money at whatever well-connected entities it can arbitrarily deem to be The Arts, but to preserve and create spaces that these local groups can then put to good use.

Corporate funding is mostly irrelevant as it exists as a branding exercise for the corporation above all else, and that will naturally be incompatible with a lot of artistic expression for a variety of reasons. Sponsorships are useful for the occasional marquee event but they just aren't part of the day-to-day arts scene and that isn't going to change. Turns out Telus doesn't really want their name all over dingy East Van punk venues but the music scene doesn't exist without those spaces.

[s211]

Originally Posted by invisibleairwaves

Funding isn't the problem or the solution. The arts scene, here and elsewhere, is dependent on the ability of local arts groups or small businesses (i.e. bars with live music) to operate venues for it. They do a fine job generally but redevelopment and skyrocketing leases have killed off many, many spaces in the city. The key is not for the city to throw money at whatever well-connected entities it can arbitrarily deem to be The Arts, but to preserve and create spaces that these local groups can then put to good use.

Corporate funding is mostly irrelevant as it exists as a branding exercise for the corporation above all else, and that will naturally be incompatible with a lot of artistic expression for a variety of reasons. Sponsorships are useful for the occasional marquee event but they just aren't part of the day-to-day arts scene and that isn't going to change. Turns out Telus doesn't really want their name all over dingy East Van punk venues but the music scene doesn't exist without those spaces.

Is it correct that the City uses union staff at the Orpheum and QE? If so, there's part of the problem from an operational cost perspective. Why you need a unionized person to check tickets or seat people is beyond me.

[invisibleairwaves]

Originally Posted by s211

Is it correct that the City uses union staff at the Orpheum and QE? If so, there's part of the problem from an operational cost perspective. Why you need a unionized person to check tickets or seat people is beyond me.

Setting aside the importance of collective bargaining...no, that isn't part of the problem at all. Those two venues have no issue getting booked regardless of what the staff are paid. The problem is the lack of spaces for groups that aren't on the scale of the VSO or big international touring acts. That's the side of the arts scene here that is struggling.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by invisibleairwaves

Setting aside the importance of collective bargaining...no, that isn't part of the problem at all. Those two venues have no issue getting booked regardless of what the staff are paid. The problem is the lack of spaces for groups that aren't on the scale of the VSO or big international touring acts. That's the side of the arts scene here that is struggling.

I wondered whether Chinatown might not provide the cheaper, more flexible spaces that are being lost in the rapidly developing parts of town. Already there are a few established music venues nearby, and the Sun Wah Centre has seen a good chunk of its vacant space transformed into an arts hub. There are quite a few galleries on East Georgia too. If the regulatory, noise and fire code issues could be negotiated it would seem there's plenty of vacant retail space that has no obvious tenants waiting to take it, that might give the area a boost. If there were small retail tenants on the streetfront, it needn't create a deadzone during the day, either.

[djmk]

Originally Posted by invisibleairwaves

East Van punk venues but the music scene doesn't exist without those spaces.

where do i upvote this post?

cheap space is everything

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by Changing City

I wondered whether Chinatown might not provide the cheaper, more flexible spaces that are being lost in the rapidly developing parts of town. Already there are a few established music venues nearby, and the Sun Wah Centre has seen a good chunk of its vacant space transformed into an arts hub. There are quite a few galleries on East Georgia too. If the regulatory, noise and fire code issues could be negotiated it would seem there's plenty of vacant retail space that has no obvious tenants waiting to take it, that might give the area a boost. If there were small retail tenants on the streetfront, it needn't create a deadzone during the day, either.

To my understanding, the residents would consider that kind of thing "gentrification" and kill it on arrival.

[cairnstone]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

To my understanding, the residents would consider that kind of thing "gentrification" and kill it on arrival.

On the edge of DTES you have the Imperial and also the Rickshaw. There are a few more more underground venues

[officedweller]

...

except you have stories like this Courier article from Sept 26, 2019 due to the DTES:

Downtown Eastside venue owners, promoters report losses amid increased crime and violence
...

Tarmohamed bought the Rickshaw Theatre in 2011, knowing full well its location just steps east of Main and Hastings could be bad for business.

He had little idea at the time that the area would deteriorate to the point it now has.

“It was somewhat tolerable before, but that’s because we’ve normalized it so much,” Tarmohamed said. “What’s tolerable to us, should not be tolerable. It was bad eight years ago, and even then I thought it wasn’t normal. Now it’s 10-fold worse.”

Tarmohamed estimates his 2018 losses were between $50,000 and $75,000, solely because bands don’t want to be in the area. Tarmohamed sees tours that landed at the Rickshaw in years past go elsewhere, typically to the Venue on Granville Street. In some cases, those tours won’t come to Vancouver at all.

Tarmohamed follows up with booking agents and promoters, asking why those shows aren’t coming. The reasons are almost always the same.

“The bands that do come here, they’re like a deer caught in the headlights. These are guys from Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit and New York who are saying, ‘Whoa, this is crazy,’” Tarmohamed said.

It doesn’t help his businesses that musicians the world over post videos and photos on social media of needles, feces and scores of people intoxicated in the immediate vicinity of his venue.

Last summer, a band loaded in the back alley of the Rickshaw as a drug user pretended to be playing darts — except the darts were needles and the dartboard was a telephone poll near the band’s tour van.

Hank Von Hell, former frontman of Norwegian rock band Turbonegro, played the Rickshaw in late August and was initially scheduled to perform somewhere between 60 to 80 minutes. Von Hell cut his set to 40 minutes so he could “get the hell out of the neighbourhood, not the venue,” according to Tarmohamed.
...

https://www.vancourier.com/news/down...nce-1.23958582

[s211]

Originally Posted by officedweller

...

except you have stories like this Courier article from Sept 26, 2019 due to the DTES:


https://www.vancourier.com/news/down...nce-1.23958582

Indeed, heard a similar story from a world-traveled performer who asked WTF was up with the DTES.

[invisibleairwaves]

Yeah the DTES is basically the city's main hub for local live music right now. It isn't a great situation by any means, but almost all the venues outside the DTES have been been priced out or redeveloped so where else are ya gonna play?

[casper]

Originally Posted by invisibleairwaves

Yeah the DTES is basically the city's main hub for local live music right now. It isn't a great situation by any means, but almost all the venues outside the DTES have been been priced out or redeveloped so where else are ya gonna play?

Part of the problem is property tax based on the potential development that could exist on a given site vrs what is actually there.