Cuts to arts ‘devastating,’ says local coalition
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Updated: November 20, 2009 3:55 PM
Local arts groups are losing $421,500 in provincial funding, forcing choirs to fold, festivals to be cancelled and programs to be scaled back or cut, according to the Richmond Arts Coalition.
The coalition’s Janice Froese called the impact “devastating.”
“The cuts came without warning or consultation, just when seasons were starting, at the beginning of many fiscal years when budgets were already set and programs committed.”
On Monday, city council agreed to send a letter to Premier Gordon Campbell and Richmond MLAs demanding that funding be renewed for arts groups.
“I don’t think the government has taken into account the number of businesses and people that these cuts actually affect,” said Coun. Linda Barnes.
“The arts are an economic driver,” Barnes added. “It’s like making cuts to your business community. I honestly don’t think the government has taken those pieces into account.”
The coalition, which represents approximately 300 artists and organizations from all artistic disciplines, says the cuts mean a “loss of creative energy.”
Especially hard hit is the Richmond Music School, which last year relied on $51,380 in provincial funding, but this year was denied a grant.
According to the coalition, the impact of provincial cuts grows to $4 million when sports groups, schools and other community organizations are factored in.
Last week, the provincial government’s select finance committee agreed with a recommendation from the B.C. Arts Council that funding be restored to the arts.
In its report on the 2010 budget consultations, the committee recommended arts budgets be restored to at least last year’s level “to begin to build upon the legacy of the 2010 Olympics.”
