STATE OF THE ARTS

 

News for and about the greater Saint John arts and cultural community

 

August 19, 2008.   Volume 8, Issue 6

 

IN THIS ISSUE…
1.   Theatre Company holding auditions for the musical ‘Chicago.’

2.   Saint John Theatre Company at 90% of campaign goal.
3.   The Future of Peace – Call for Artwork.
4.   Frustration builds over federal cultural cuts.

5.   Canadian Culture at Risk.

6.   Bay of Fundy in Worldwide 7 Wonders Contest.

7.   2008 Lieutenant Governor’s NBYO Award.

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1.   Theatre Company holding auditions for the musical ‘Chicago.’

 

The Saint John Theatre Company will be holding open auditions for the musical Chicago from August 21st to 24th.

Men and women over the age of eighteen are welcome to audition; no experience is necessary.

 

All auditions will be held at the Saint John Theatre Company’s new building at 112 Princess Street.

 

Individuals hoping to audition should note that they will be required to attend one Dance Audition and one Voice Audition.

 

VOICE AUDITIONS

6 pm. Thursday, August 21st

Please arrive early, as instruction will begin promptly at 6 pm.

Women should be familiar with the song "Funny Honey," men with the song "Razzle Dazzle."

Note: Bottled water recommended.

 

DANCE AUDITIONS

6 pm. Friday, August 22nd

Please arrive early, as instruction will begin promptly at 6 pm.

Note: Comfortable dance or workout clothes recommended. Jazz dance shoes, ballet slippers, or sock feet are all acceptable. Bottled water recommended.

 

Saturday, August 23rd

12:30 pm VOICE AUDITIONS

2:30 pm   DANCE AUDITIONS

 

Sunday, August 24th

12:30 pm DANCE AUDITIONS

3:00 pm   VOICE AUDITIONS

 

‘Chicago’ will be staged at the Imperial Theatre November 20-22, 2008.

 

Source:  Saint John Theatre Company

 

 

2.   Saint John Theatre Company at 90% of campaign goal.

 

Nearing the Finish Line. The Saint John Theatre Company is nearly there.

 

After years of fundraising, thousands of hours of construction, and weeks of final preparation, the Saint John Theatre Company is almost ready to celebrate.

 

The company is only $140,000 dollars away from meeting its $1.4 million capital campaign goal and being able to put the finishing touches on its future 112 Princess Street home.  And while the number may look daunting, it is in fact the final ten percent of the campaign.

 

With the end of the campaign in sight, Artistic Director Stephen Tobias figured it was time to show off the building.  The theatre company held a media event and progress report on Wednesday, August 13^th at 1:00 pm to unveil the façade of their new home.  The event was the final push towards the completion of both the building and the theatre company’s ambitious fundraising initiative.

 

“The purpose of the event is to show off the work that we’ve done to date, and give people a sense of our future needs,” says Tobias.

 

And the work done to date is, to say the least, impressive.

 

“In the last couple of months we’ve ramped up the pace of construction in order to have sections of the building ready to serve our operational needs in the coming season,” says Tobias.  “At this point in time, while far from complete, the building is now ready to house rehearsals and basic operational activities so that the company can move forward with our 08/09 season.”

 

Tobias notes that, while the company is close to moving into the renovated space, the work is far from complete on the uptown heritage-area building.

 

“Until the building is complete, we won’t be fully able to implement the entire scope of our business plan, which includes increased studio productions, enhanced training programs, theatre school opportunities, rental facilities, etc,” he says.  And everyone from volunteers to sponsors is keen to ensure that the company is at the peak of its capabilities and potential.

 

Wednesday’s event was referred to as a progress report, but the day was certainly a celebration for the community and friends of the company.  The Princess Street building has received a significant facelift, and the theatre company is adding another exciting performance and event venue to the uptown area.

 

“Having the building at a stage that we can start using it is a significant milestone.  Reaching 90% of our fundraising goal is a significant milestone. Both are worth celebrating.”

 

Source:  Saint John Theatre Company, Media Release, Email (E. Davidson), 12 Aug 08.

 

3.   The Future of Peace – Call for Artwork.
 
March 6 to April 9, 2009
UNB Art Centre
Memorial Hall, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB
 
Opening:  International Women’s Day, March 8, 2009
 
New Brunswick women are invited to submit work to The Future of Peace, an exhibit of original art co-sponsored by the Fredericton Voice of Women for Peace and the UNB Art Centre.  This exhibition will be shown in conjunction with the exhibit, Building Peace, Making History: 100 Years of Women’s Peace-Building in Canada.  Presented by the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, this bi-lingual traveling exhibition features archival photographs that reveal the courageous struggle of Canadian women for peace in the last century.
 
As a counterpoint to this historical perspective we are inviting artists to challenge the assumption that violence, even war, is sometimes necessary to achieve freedom, equality, fairness, and opportunity for women. We tend to think of war and peace as opposites, but are they? We know there have been wars; has there ever been peace?  Much of the violence we associate with war also exists within societies that are legally at peace. Is building a society in which women need not fear for themselves and their children possible without putting an end to war?
 
Call for artwork
                          
Please submit electronic link or DVD with minimum 3, maximum 10 images of original art. Include title, date, size and medium.
 
In addition, submit current CV and a brief statement about the proposed work and how it relates to your artistic practice and the theme of this exhibit.
 
Deadline for submission of image/resume package is January 31, 2009.
Selection of artworks for the exhibit will be at the discretion of a jury.
 
Work must be framed/mounted, ready for display.
 
Artists will receive CARFAC recommended fee of $125 per artwork. Works are insured while on premises.
 
Works can be delivered to the UNB Art Centre (Memorial Hall, 9 Bailey Drive , Fredericton) by Monday, February 23, 2009. Work can be picked up by April 17, 2009. 
 
For further information, contact: Marie Maltais, Director, UNB Art Centre. Phone (506) 453-4623   E-mail: mem@unb.ca  UNB Art Centre, Memorial Hall, PO Box 4400. Fredericton, NB  E3B 5A3

Source:  UNB Art Centre


4.   Frustration builds over federal cultural cuts.

In the absence of explanations from the federal government about its recent cutbacks to the cultural sector, the shock
and anger of stakeholders and opposition parties is rushing in to fill the dead air.

Since Aug. 8, the federal government has cancelled at least six cutural and media subsidy programs totalling $18-million a year. In all cases, the cuts have been quietly communicated to stakeholders, with no official public anouncements.

Stephen Waddell, national executive director of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) reacted to the loss of a pair of grants worth $300,000 to the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada as well as the cancellation of the $1.5-million Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund and the $2.5-million National Training Program in the Film and Video Sector. "These cuts are shocking and short-sighted, and they certainly aren't business friendly," wrote Waddell in a statement. "Support for arts and culture are among the most efficient investments a government can make."

In its statement, the Directors Guild of Canada wrote: "The relatively small investments made by these programs have generated large returns over the years, and their loss will severely limit the ability of the film, television and new media sector to explore and exploit foreign marketing possibilities."

The Guild referred to the cancelled television and film programs as well as the $4.7-million PromArt and $9-million Trade Routes, programs that in part assisted Canadians in travelling abroad to develop export markets for their work.

The opposition Liberals released a statement Friday morning condemning the Conservative government for further "hurting" the arts and for exacerbating the problem by being secretive about the cuts.

Arts, culture and media groups privately admitted that they were scrambling to obtain reliable information about the status of certain programs.

The continuation of the $27.1-million Canadian Arts and Heritage Sustainability Program had neither been confirmed nor denied by Heritage representatives by late Friday afternoon. It was feared lost after changes to its website discouraged future applications and Heritage officials would not respond to requests to discuss its future. The program was created in 2001 to help arts and heritage organizations centres streamline their operations and stabilize their finances.

"What's really frustrating from our perspective is that the Conservative government is removing a program that enables institutions to do what the government wants them to do, which is become more responsible, more businesslike, more self-sufficient," said Shawn Van Sluys, executive director of the Canadian Art Museum Directors' Organization, in an interview.

The office of Heritage Minister Josée Verner has not responded to the Post's requests for an interview or for more detailed information about program funding.

In an interview with the French-language arm of the Canadian Press Thursday, Verner said, "What we intend to do ... is to look at how we can create a new program or new avenues that will be even better-performing and with a stronger impact for our culture abroad."

She added: "It is false to pretend that I don't care about culture."

Source: National Post, Article by Adam McDowell, 15 Aug 08.

 

5.   Canadian Culture at Risk.

 

The future of Canada’s international reputation is at stake. Since taking power in 2006, the Conservative Government has chosen to eliminate over $34 Million from Cultural and Heritage Granting Programs. The programs affected were designed to assist artists, arts institutions and not for profit charitable organizations in the creation, development, promotion and dissemination of Canadian art both nationally and internationally.

 

The most recent cuts, including a cancellation of the $4.7 Million PromArt program and the $9 Million Trade Routes program, have seriously crippled the ability of Canadian art and artists to travel outside our borders. Both of these programs assisted with the export of Canadian culture by enabling travel and support for artists, authors, performers, designers and the creators of films, television and new media. Canceling these programs only degrades Canada’s reputation in the international cultural

economy.

 

The comments made by political representatives of the government at the time of the announcement undermine the enormous value of Canada’s cultural economy, ignore the significance of the many successes achieved abroad, and underestimate the intelligence of the general public by insinuating that the grants issued were used for leisure purposes by recipients of an immoral or untalented

nature. In reality, well over 300 grants from the Department of Foreign Affairs alone were issued to recognized artists and arts organizations with the purpose of advancing interest in, understanding of and business with our cultural community; a community that defines the multifaceted Canadian identity, with a freedom of expression we claim to promote across the world.

 

Projects funded through these grants instill pride in Canadians, representing the many views, tastes, styles and media of Canadian art. The funds assisted artists, organizations and institutions in bringing Canadian art to the world, and bringing the world to Canadian art. The Department of Foreign Affairs’ International Cultural Relations Division alone connected Canada to over sixty countries in only one year. Many of these and other countries across the world support and understand the relevance of cultural diplomacy as big business, which offers exceptional return on investment. The export of Canadian culture has a direct, positive effect on our economy, one which is not limited to our cultural sector. It allows international audiences the opportunity to relate with Canada on a more intimate basis by showcasing a taste of what we have to offer. Promotion of our multicultural, cosmopolitan, talented and vibrant culture results in increased tourism. Equally important, cultural export expands the marketplace for our cultural community, leading to increased support and new opportunities for our artists, performers, filmmakers, authors and more.

 

Canada’s cultural economy, a $40 billion annual business, is fuelled by vibrant, passionate, hardworking and dedicated taxpaying individuals. Their contribution to the economy of our country is worth no less than the contributions of workers in other fields of business. Their efforts to bring attention to Canada through international touring and presentation should be applauded, as they are

dedicated to building a multifaceted, multicultural, engaging and enlightening international reputation for Canada through Canadian art.

 

Canadian sovereignty is not only a matter of defending our borders. It is about affirming who we are and what we stand for as a people. By undermining the work of artists and institutions, the decades old respected cultural reputation for Canada abroad is damaged. The government should be aware of the impression these cuts give: that we have no identity worth affirming, that we have no values worth defending, and that we have no place on the international stage. Is this what we want to show the world?

The Cultural Community responds

"Abolishing this program is the equivalent of killing the entire culture market abroad" - Alain Dancyger, head of the Les Grand Ballets Canadiens in reference to PromArt

“Canceling the cultural diplomacy budgets for ideological and moral reasons is probably the littlest, meanest, most ridiculous and most representative decision Canada's New Government has made.” – Todd Babiak, The Edmonton Journal

“The wholesale elimination of PromArt and Trade Routes is neither selective nor judicious. And while it constitutes the federal government's latest offensive in its apparent war on culture, it also displays breathtaking ignorance of a subject the Tories, above all others, should know by heart: Commerce.” – Alec Bruce, The Times & Transcript

 

 “…if we want our voice to have influence in the rest of the world, to be the moral beacon we believe it is, that requires marketing Brand Canada. Sending artists and writers abroad is an integral part of that marketing that happens to be extremely cost-effective.”

- Simon Houpt, The Globe & Mail

 

“VoCA finds it depressing - no, it’s deplorable - to think, that at a time when virtually EVERYONE not living under a rock recognizes the importance and value of the arts, …that our Prime Minister still doesn’t get it.” - Andrea Carson, www.viewoncanadiancart.com

 

"I can't believe they would be so stupid. It's just provocative." - Alain Pineau, National Director of the Canadian Conference of the Arts in reference to the cuts to PromArt and Trade Routes

 

“What is equally problematic here is that the recipients of these grants, be they Inuit carvers or Toronto rockers are being demonized for applying to, and receiving support, from a program developed, sanctioned and administered by the Government of Canada.” - Duncan McKie, President and CEO, Canadian Independent Record Production Association

 

"This is going to really erode the ability of artists to get their work on the international stage." – Claire Hopkinson, Executive Director, Toronto Arts Council

 

Source:  Excerpts from a Communiqué from the Visual Arts Alliance, 13 Aug 08.

 

 

6.   Bay of Fundy in Worldwide 7 Wonders Contest.

The Bay of Fundy is now playing in the big leagues when it comes to international nature tourism. It has just been officially nominated as a participant in a new worldwide contest for the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

The Bay of Fundy Tourism Partnership made a compelling case for Fundy’s inclusion in the contest and will now coordinate the Fundy voting effort.

“Canadians are increasingly becoming aware of the significance of the Bay of Fundy as a national nature tourism icon,” noted Terri McCulloch, Bay of Fundy Tourism Manager, “Now a reputable international organization, New7Wonders, considers us worthy of joining such international natural attractions as Mount Everest, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Grand Canyon in a worldwide contest for the top seven.”

The Bay of Fundy, as part of the Gulf of Maine, has been compared in marine biodiversity to the Amazon Rainforest. In addition to having the highest tides in the world, the Bay of Fundy achieved nominee status in the New7Wonders contest for these globally significant features:

- Outstanding geology – both historically and currently.

- Summer feeding area for over a dozen species of whales, including the rare Northern Right whale

- UNESCO designations for the upper Bay of Fundy as a Biosphere Reserve (November 2007) and Joggins Fossil Cliffs as a World Heritage Site (June 2008)

- Critical feeding ground for 90% of the world’s population of semi-palmated sandpipers

- Best site in the world for tidal power potential

 

Voting for the new seven natural wonders of the world commences immediately with the first milestone in the contest occurring on December 31, 2008, when a short list of 21 will take place. Over 1 billion votes are expected by the conclusion of the contest.

 

Voting can take place through www.bayoffundytourism.com website where a Facebook fan page for the Bay of Fundy as a New 7 Wonder has also been set up. 

 

The mission of Bay of Fundy Tourism is to raise the profile of the Bay of Fundy as a Canadian nature tourism icon. This non-profit association is supported by Nova Scotia and New Brunswick Departments of Tourism, Fundy-based Regional Development Associations, Regional Tourism Associations, Munipalities and tourism businesses.

 

Source: Bay of Fundy Tourism Partnership, Media Release (T. McCulloch), 15 Aug 08.

 

 

7.   Lieutenant Governor’s 2008 NBYO Award.

 

The achievements of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra/L’Orchestre des jeunes du Nouveau-Brunswick in recent years are nothing short of remarkable.  Many helpful individuals & organizations have contributed to our success.  We now invite nominations for the 2008 Lieutenant Governor's NBYO Award. 

 

This honour was first conceived during NBYO's 40th anniversary season as a way to recognize exemplary leadership and contributions to the development of the orchestra.  Deserving musicians, instructors, members, patrons, or volunteers from across New Brunswick & beyond are eligible to receive the award.

 

Complete Lieutenant Governor's NBYO Award guidelines and forms are available online at:

English: http://www.nbyo-ojnb.ca/lg_award_en.htm

Français: http://www.nbyo-ojnb.ca/lg_award_fr.htm

 

Please consider whose contributions to NBYO are most worthy of this distinction, and submit your nominee(s) by September 30, 2008.

Source:  New Brunswick Youth Orchestra, Email (D. Matheson), 19 Aug 08.

 

 

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Box 1971, Saint John, N.B.  E2L 4L1

 Tel: (506) 649-6040 

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